Ritani Solitaire....Perfect Match?

[Mara]

Oh thanks for telling me about the sale Kayla, I was just telling her last nite that if she tries to find the setting online for $100 less or something, I would ask BBB if they will price match, since her BF is already freaking out about the total cost of everything, so if she can get anything extra off it would be great for his peace of mind and possibly be that one last push he needs. A sale would be even better.

Mrs S...yep that looks like it except the one I tried on didn''t have double prongs and then no surprise diamond. It''s like the ultimate in simplicity. Oh and $1500 is much cheaper than DK eh?!?

So tempting. hehee.

The knife edge shank and how thin it gets near the stone is a big feature of this ring because it makes the center stone look HUGE regardless of size. I put the 3c on next to my w-ring and both my friend and the saleslady were bobbing their heads up and down vigorously when I asked if it looked good...hehe. The lady goes ''oh time for an upgrade''. I was kind of sheepish when I said I just got one!! hehee. She goes oh well we can definitely reset your stone then! hahhaa.

I also have to say that I have been really impressed with BBB every time I go in there, the salespeople are pretty knowledgeable, their stuff is really beautiful, their diamonds look pretty well cut (the 3c I tried on had arrows visible and looked to be a very nice make) and they are super helpful. When a customer came in that belonged to the gal who was helping us, she passed us off to another gal and went to help the customer, took her ring for a cleaning etc. I thought that was really nice..and didn''t mind being passed off at all since we were just browsing.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 6/12/2006 11:23:21 AM
Author: Mara

Mrs S...yep that looks like it except the one I tried on didn''t have double prongs and then no surprise diamond. It''s like the ultimate in simplicity. Oh and $1500 is much cheaper than DK eh?!?

So tempting. hehee.

no kidding..I could have my upgrade a heck of a lot sooner if I could get the DK out of my brain

...ya''ll just need to convince me to go back to a round. I actually saw a gal thing weekend with an antique OEC round in a antique setting and it was just gorgeous. It did make me think am I 100% sure I don''t want another round?

 

[butterfly 17]

Thanks mssalvo, I just downloaded that pic to my hard drive!

Mara, I have to say that I am very impressed with the customer service at BBB as well. Everytime I go, even if it''s just to look, they always offer to clean my jewelery. I don''t know if they are telling me it''s dirty, or what?

Plus, they are always so helpful and let me try on everything. When I wanted to have the prongs checked in my ring, the person I usually deal with named Jen, offered to send it back to Ritani for me, even though I didn''t buy from them. I didn''t take them up on their offer though because she said I would have to pay for the shipping, plus, I wanted to check out the Ritani offices to see what they looked like and see the infamous Ken (who turned out to be a thin Japanese man). For some reason, I thought he was this Blonde, tall Nordic type with big shoulders and massive hands, but anyway, I digress...

Anyway, when I went to meet Ken, I told him how I had gone to BBB in Menlo Park and he told me who did I go to and I told him Jen and he said, oh, next time just have Jen send it to us for you. Tell her to charge the shipping to our account.
I think if I do have problems though, I would rather just carry the ring to Ritani than risk losing it or something in the mail.

The discount is great and it''s all encompassing, not like Macy''s discounts where certain brands are not discounted. Plus, 4 or 5 times a year, they send me these $100 to $150 off cards. The $100 cards have no minimum purchase and I just used one to buy the RC M pendant.

When I went back to BBB to get it I told Jen that I had met Ken and she told me she met him a few times at the LV convention and she was surprised as well because his voice just doesn''t match the way he looks!

Hmmm, that would be a great part time job, working at BBB, wouldn''t it?

 

[dbgaap]

Date: 6/12/2006 11:23:21 AM
Author: Mara


The knife edge shank and how thin it gets near the stone is a big feature of this ring because it makes the center stone look HUGE regardless of size.

Yes! I noticed the same thing. The Mark Morrell seems to be built the same way.
I was thinking that if I went custom with Quest, I''d have them build the shank that way.
I have seen the Ritani with sidestones, but never the simple solitaire. They sure make it hard on those of us who want a really nice solitaire and don''t mind paying for it. There just isn''t much out there.

Here is Mark Morrell with the nice thin, but tallish shoulder near the head:

 

[Kim N]

Date: 6/12/2006 3:19:04 PM
Author: butterfly 17
Thanks mssalvo, I just downloaded that pic to my hard drive!

Mara, I have to say that I am very impressed with the customer service at BBB as well. Everytime I go, even if it''s just to look, they always offer to clean my jewelery. I don''t know if they are telling me it''s dirty, or what?

Plus, they are always so helpful and let me try on everything. When I wanted to have the prongs checked in my ring, the person I usually deal with named Jen, offered to send it back to Ritani for me, even though I didn''t buy from them. I didn''t take them up on their offer though because she said I would have to pay for the shipping, plus, I wanted to check out the Ritani offices to see what they looked like and see the infamous Ken (who turned out to be a thin Japanese man). For some reason, I thought he was this Blonde, tall Nordic type with big shoulders and massive hands, but anyway, I digress...

Anyway, when I went to meet Ken, I told him how I had gone to BBB in Menlo Park and he told me who did I go to and I told him Jen and he said, oh, next time just have Jen send it to us for you. Tell her to charge the shipping to our account.
I think if I do have problems though, I would rather just carry the ring to Ritani than risk losing it or something in the mail.

The discount is great and it''s all encompassing, not like Macy''s discounts where certain brands are not discounted. Plus, 4 or 5 times a year, they send me these $100 to $150 off cards. The $100 cards have no minimum purchase and I just used one to buy the RC M pendant.

When I went back to BBB to get it I told Jen that I had met Ken and she told me she met him a few times at the LV convention and she was surprised as well because his voice just doesn''t match the way he looks!

Hmmm, that would be a great part time job, working at BBB, wouldn''t it?

butterfly, the information you provided is really helpful for those of us, like me, who haven''t done business with BBB. I like these discounts. I didn''t know stores like BBB gave discounts for designer brands. Which BBB location is Ken at?

 

[butterfly 17]

Hi Kim, actually Ken works as a manager at Ritani.

 

[mrssalvo]

so mara...any news???

 

[Scintillating]

Date: 8/1/2006 12:26:27 PM
Author: mrssalvo
so mara...any news???

What''s the word Ms. Mara?

Scintillating...

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 8/1/2006 12:26:27 PM
Author: mrssalvo
so mara...any news???

It''s still there as of right now.....

 

[Mara]

still thinking it over, i was traveling for 2 days and just got home this evening....maybe tomorrow i'll think about taking some action.

i asked a knowledgeable PS appraiser about his thoughts on the setting based on the information and pictures given, so depending on what he says re: a few outstanding things...there are a few red flags, so we'll see!

 

[Mara]

so i asked richard sherwood what he thought of the ring and my biggest issue right now is that he said the ring appears to have been notched for a stone...which means that the ring probably held another stone beforehand which i wouldn''t care about except that he said that typically another stone doesnt just fit into a pre-notched ring...so the prongs may have to be shaved off and rebuilt for my stone, which may or may not come out nice looking, depending on who i have do the work. so i could end up with a wonky looking pronged setting. not really my cup of tea. on the other hand he said that the metal itself on the ring is worth like $175 for scrap so i''d only be ''out'' $120 if it didn''t work out if i bought it....but i don''t really know if i want to deal with the whole fixing the notching/seeing if my stone fits etc. AND the seller has been totally unresponsive since my last email from two days ago where i asked if the setting had held another stone etc. he seems very unknowledgeable about the ring and the condition of it, and i just don''t feel all that comfortable with him. even if rich had told me the setting looked perfect, never used etc, i''d still feel weird because this seller is such a weirdo! who doesn''t respond to interested parties emails? and in HIS last correspondenced to me, he said that he has two other people asking about it and he is sure they will buy it. ummm okay buddy, then good luck with that! i just don''t get the super confident ''this is a good seller'' vibe from him at all. what if i buy it and he never sends it or he won''t take it back as a return or whatever. i just don''t want to deal.

so unforutnately i don''t think i am going to get it. i MIGHT have been willing to take the chance if the ring had not been pre-notched or it was easier to take care of that issue, but with that in mind and the sellers unwillingness to really answer my questions (which are not unreasonable at all by the way, just some info like was this a consignment piece or used in any way, i also said i didnt care if it was, i just wanted to know)...i just don''t feel like throwing out $300 to see what i get back. it''s a shame too because i LOVE this setting and even if i wasn''t sure i wanted it for my diamond, i figured i could find some use for it, but having prongs rebuilt? not interested. but it''s interesting and now i am going to keep my eye out on ebay for other things like maybe the vatche RC...hehee. you never know!! i have a few years before i will do anything to my setting anyway, so i have plenty of time to find a good deal if i so desire.

but THANKS scint for posting that ebay link....oh it is really tempting still. i keep thinking ''it''s just $300''. but if it turns into $700 with the rebuilding of everything and some stress, and it comes out not quite perfect, that might bug me.

 

[KristyDarling]

I think that''s a good call. I personally would have the heebie jeebies working with an eBayer who doesn''t give me good vibes. And based on what Rich told you, it could turn into one of those "Man I wish I hadn''t wasted $300 on this thing that SEEMED like a good idea at the time" scenarios.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 8/3/2006 2:44:26 PM
Author: KristyDarling
I think that''s a good call. I personally would have the heebie jeebies working with an eBayer who doesn''t give me good vibes. And based on what Rich told you, it could turn into one of those ''Man I wish I hadn''t wasted $300 on this thing that SEEMED like a good idea at the time'' scenarios.

I agree. i found something on ebay a while back that was a great deal. everything checked out but the seller didn''t email me back answering a simple question. no way was I sending off $ to someone who won''t even answer a simple email in a timely manner. You''re right, you have some time and who knows what will pop up where.

 

[Mara]

yeah if i went through with it, it wouldn''t be a comfortable feeling....i would be SURE something would go wrong with the seller or the payment or something and if that all managed to go okay, then i''d get the setting and have to see what can be done with it. it''s just too iffy. if the seller had been something like a gal who owned the ring and could tell me history of it, what size stone it held and other things and taken some extra pictures it would have been better. i might even have paid more like $500 or $600 if i felt really confident about it. but this guy, just unresponsive, rude, and he says things like ''i''m sure the ring is okay''...okay don''t you have it there to LOOK and see if it''s fine? it''s just odd.

plus someone else told me via email...isn''t it a little odd that a $1400 retail setting is on ebay for $300? i mean surely he''d know if it was a REAL ''like new'' ring, he could get more for it right? so that made me think too.

 

[cutey TT]

It''s probably for the best...as much as you love the setting, you would hate for it to arrive and confirm all the possible negative scenarios... You know what they say...if something seems too good to be true, it probably is...

Your ring is gorgeous the way it is right now.

 

[Scintillating]

Makes sense Mara - sounds like more trouble than it's worth.
Seller sounds like he casts *a lot* of doubt as well.
Save your pennies and get what you really want when the time comes.

Scint...

 

[butterfly 17]

I was eagerly waiting to see if you would get it, but if you have a bad vibe from the start, then it''s really not meant to be.

About the prongs being rebuilt, I originally had the Royal Crown with a 1.52 carat stone and I got a price quote from VAtche for $300 to rebuild the prongs for the 2.03 that I upgraded to .

When I had WF send over the diamond to Chris at AGA, I mentioned about the prong thing and he said he could have the prongs rebuilt for me for $50. So, I went ahead and let him do the work and it came out fabulous!

Fast forward to a few months later, when Slammie upgraded from her 1.52 to her 2.03 she also had the Royal Crown setting. She had PM''d me about something and I mentioned to her that I had Chris rebuild the prongs for my RC, so she contacted him and shipped it out to him as well and he did the work again. For $50!

So, if you are worried about the prong rebuild, I am sure it can be done for under $100, maybe even half that price and it can be done well.

 

[gailrmv]

Sounds smart Mara. Plus, by the time you are ready to use the new setting, who knows if something even better will have caught your eye.