The eagle has landed!

[Dee*Jay]

My ring came back TODAY. I went over there to see what the hell was going on and he said that it had arrived about half an hour before. BUT Jack didn''t milgrain the traps (the jeweler is having someone locally do that--let''s all pray that it turns out better than the local guy who SET the stone the first time) and one of the stones that was dark is still not as white as all the others. As far as the overall look, setting the stone lower made it look... better. But I can honestly say that if I had know what the end product of a round stone in a square hole with no accommodation for the different shapes would be I would NOT have spent $10K (or any amount for that matter) on this setting. I imagine that I will live with it for a few years and then put a square stone in the setting and do something else with my round. After this experience I will probably never get another custom piece of jewelery again. I''ll post pics once I get it (I don''t imagine the milgraining will take more than a few days).

 

[allycat0303]

Dee*Jay,

I''m sorry you aren''t thrilled with the end product. Although I''m a little surprised...what happened to all the advice/options about changing the setting other then just setting the diamond lower? Did you end up talking to Jack Kalege about it. I don''t know...it seems to me that for 10K he would be willing to work with you.

I''m curious to see if it looks better though.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Cehra, I forgot to address your question in my last post. I like this jeweler quite a bit as a person and I think that he''s honest and cares about his work. My impression is that a lot of things that happened with this project were out of his control.

For instance, the lack of milgraining on the traps. JACK failed to do it TWICE. Even though the jeweler included my note in the package with the ring when it went back to Jack, and the milgraining was Item #2, it didn''t get done BY JACK even on this second go-round. I can''t say that''s the jweler''s fault. As a matter of fact I think he was already planning on having his local guy take care of it once he saw it wasn''t done.

Or the fact that Kelege didn''t locate my ring for a week once it had been Brinks''d to them. I can''t blame that on the jeweler either. One thing I can fault him for is lack of follow-up with KELEGE and subsequent communication TO ME. If I hand''t asked for a status on my ring a week after it was sent, would the jeweler have ever called on it? Or would it still be sitting in the Brinks receiving room waiting to be claimed by Kelege? I have no idea.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 1/31/2007 1:31:28 PM
Author: allycat0303
Dee*Jay,


I''m sorry you aren''t thrilled with the end product. Although I''m a little surprised...what happened to all the advice/options about changing the setting other then just setting the diamond lower? Did you end up talking to Jack Kalege about it. I don''t know...it seems to me that for 10K he would be willing to work with you.


I''m curious to see if it looks better though.

Ally, once Jack saw the ring his overall assessment was that the problem was not the setting but rather the way the stone had been set. So, in his opinion, lasering in new prongs and setting the stone lower made it the ring it''s supposed to be.

 

[butterfly 17]

Hey DEE*Jay,

This is terrible. I would insist on a new setting. I would not settle for the one that you got especially for that price and now you are thinking of setting a different stone in it altogether?

NO WAY!!!! Please contact Kelege on your own and please let them know exactly how you feel and I am sure they will redo the setting for you or at the very least fix it to perfection.

You should not settle for anything less than a perfect brand new setting exactly the way it was meant to be made.

I had a similar problem when I got my current setting. The diamond was crooked and the store where I purchased it from did nothing about it and made me feel guilty and ashamed to want to fix the setting, let alone ask for a new one.

So, I contacted Ritani directly and they told me to send them the ring directly and they actually had to redo the ring twice before they got it right, but I am so glad that I did that.

Anyway, good luck, but please call them directly.

 

[Beacon]

DeeeJay I really feel your frustration here. It''s so hard to wait like this and then not be thrilled.

Looking at the whole thing, do you think Kelege is more to blame? They always seemed to be only medium in customer service, right from the start when you just wanted to look at a setting and they wouldn''t accomodate you.

In my mind it makes me think twice about using Kelege even though I have seen some of his stuff and it is lovely. Maybe only buy something already made that you can scrutinize before purchase?

Even though it is not perfect in your mind, I do have to say that from the photos, even before the stone was dropped lower in the setting, it is a beautiful ring. I know that does not repair it''s defects in your mind - I *know* how that is - but from what I see, it is beautiful in it''s own way right now.

I hope you''ll be able to enjoy it more once you get past this totally inconvenient service problem.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Beacon, you hit up a critical point. Yes, I think Kelege is definitely more to blame than the jeweler. The jeweler was all for having Kelege do whatever I wanted, but Kelege is the one that said, no, just dropping the stone will fix the problem.

And you are also right that is IS a beautiful ring.

I will post pictures of it with the lowered stone once I get it and you all can tell me if it''s "better" or not. I think I just had a vision in my mind that didn''t get matched (both with the original ring and with this "fix") and I''m not sure that''s anyone''s fault but my own.

There is the possiblity that I could try to find someone to make the changes that I want, but (a) who would be willing to take on a project like that? and (b) what THEN if it still doesn''t turn out like I want it?

Maybe as a worst case scenario I could reuse the diamonds and just have a new setting made by someone else. At least by recycling the stones the cost would be lower...

 

[FireGoddess]

I''m shocked that Kelege won''t just make the darn ring the right way, accomodating for a freaking round stone. It is a lot to spend on a setting and it is supposed to be CUSTOM, which means MADE FOR YOU.

This is upsetting and would turn me away from this designer, no matter how pretty the pieces look in a magazine.

 

[Beacon]

Here is my short term advice: do nothing.

Right now you are caught up in the drama and action of this ring. When this happens to me I get much more reactive to anything that is going "wrong" and I tend to want to take immediate action cause that is my personality.

In retrospect I usually figure I would have been better off to let the dust settle a little and take a considered action after some period of reflection.

You are doing exactly what I would do, meaning thinking of creative ways to mitigate my loss and get what I want, like take the setting apart and so on.

Maybe just put it on the back burner for a little and see if your feelings evolve more one way or the other.

Look forward to seeing the photos!! Please post.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I keep thinking this was my fault somehow. Like maybe I should have said, Um, make this ring so that it fits the center stone? But doesn''t that seem crazy--that I would have to specify that I want a custom piece from a well know designer to fit the stone that it''s being built for???

Anyway, I''m just going to wear it for a bit and see how I feel about it.

(I do have to confess though that it was taking so long that I started to secretly hope that Brinks has lost it and I could just start over with a different designer!)

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/31/2007 1:24:52 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
My ring came back TODAY. I went over there to see what the hell was going on and he said that it had arrived about half an hour before. BUT Jack didn''t milgrain the traps (the jeweler is having someone locally do that--let''s all pray that it turns out better than the local guy who SET the stone the first time) and one of the stones that was dark is still not as white as all the others. As far as the overall look, setting the stone lower made it look... better. But I can honestly say that if I had know what the end product of a round stone in a square hole with no accommodation for the different shapes would be I would NOT have spent $10K (or any amount for that matter) on this setting. I imagine that I will live with it for a few years and then put a square stone in the setting and do something else with my round. After this experience I will probably never get another custom piece of jewelery again. I''ll post pics once I get it (I don''t imagine the milgraining will take more than a few days).

oh dee jay - I''m sorry... how discouraging!! Good news is that the ring and your stone were already beautiful, regardless of the sticky details!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/31/2007 1:48:34 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Beacon, you hit up a critical point. Yes, I think Kelege is definitely more to blame than the jeweler. The jeweler was all for having Kelege do whatever I wanted, but Kelege is the one that said, no, just dropping the stone will fix the problem.

And you are also right that is IS a beautiful ring.

I will post pictures of it with the lowered stone once I get it and you all can tell me if it''s ''better'' or not. I think I just had a vision in my mind that didn''t get matched (both with the original ring and with this ''fix'') and I''m not sure that''s anyone''s fault but my own.

There is the possiblity that I could try to find someone to make the changes that I want, but (a) who would be willing to take on a project like that? and (b) what THEN if it still doesn''t turn out like I want it?

Maybe as a worst case scenario I could reuse the diamonds and just have a new setting made by someone else. At least by recycling the stones the cost would be lower...

Yes, it is beautiful.... but I hate to say it I think a big part of this really is your own fault (sorry)... not just because of what we talked about before with the whole square hole round stone thing that should have been discussed before the ring was started, but also because you didn''t talk to jack and *insist* upon the changes YOU WANTED while he had the stone this last time. You took a wait and see approach to let the artist fix his work and, well... he did just that to his own satisfaction.

I had a hairstylist once who was technically *superb* - the best I''ve ever had... but he was an artist and was constantly wanting to do to my hair what *he* liked and every trip was a battle to get him to do what I wanted. I had to walk away despite his great talent because he was too stubborn to just let it go. Jack seems to have gotten to a point in his career where he can charge outrageous amounts of money for his work AND not really care too much whether it is exactly what someone wanted because it is still a beautiful work of art. I certainly wouldn''t let anyone else touch his ring. I can only imagine the nightmare of metal it could get twisted in... in fact I wouldn''t trust anyone else to milgrain it. I''d probably insist on shipping it back to him at HIS expense to take care of that detail that was requested TWICE now. But for an entire do over ring? I don''t think that should be expected of him. yes, for 10k you should be able to get exactly what you want - but you have to be prepared to communicate that other than in retrospect. But also for 10k you should get a beautiful ring and you really DID get that indeed

I definitely don''t want a jeweler with this much ego who won''t bring me along on the journey to approve things before they''re finalized... your story scares the snot out of me dee jay!!! I''m sorry if I sound harsh or mean... I am just trying to look at this objectively... I really wish nothing more for you than contentment and satisfaction where this is concerned...

but hey - you haven''t said much about the new prongs - did he do double prongs?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/31/2007 2:00:53 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Anyway, I''m just going to wear it for a bit and see how I feel about it.

(I do have to confess though that it was taking so long that I started to secretly hope that Brinks has lost it and I could just start over with a different designer!)

((((dee jay))))

 

[Finding_Neverland]

I have always "settled" for "off the rack" settings. Settings that would be kinda, sorta what I wanted. But not quite. Mainly because I couldn''t convey to the jeweler what I really wanted. They could never see what was in my mind''s eye. So I just took what I could get and accepted it.

I read this whole thread, and I certainly feel your pain, Dee*Jay!

I don''t know what to say. No great words of wisdom as to how to fix the situation.

Just **HUGS**,......... and, I am so sorry for you that what should have been your beautiful ring has not turned out as you hoped.

 

[Sundial]

Gosh Deejay I don''t know what to say other than I''m sorry that the ring still does not look exactly the way you had hoped. Perhaps if you just wear it for a while these issues will become less significant to you. I doubt if sending it back to Kelege again would resolve anything and as you''ve said he is part of the problem here.

 

[Dee*Jay]

FG, Kelege does indeed make beautiful pieces, I think I just had different expectations for this one that the reality of how it turned out. I hope I haven't turned other people off from using him though becuase he does do beautiful work.

Cehra, I'm with you on this being my fault, but at this point it is what it is and I'm moving on. I think we might have had the same hair guy BTW. No matter how many times I told him I wanted it to look natural I ended up leaving looking like a close relative of Jane Mansfield!

Never, sorry if I seem a bit melodramatic at this point... I'm just a little weary of the whole thing. But it IS a beautiful piece and it does look better now that it did a month ago so I think I will be fine. If not I will just drink. (More than I already do.)

Sundial, I agree that sending it back again is probably not the answer. And honestly, you're probably right that if I just wear it for a while the issues will become less significant to me. You know how it is when you first get something though--you just scrutinize the hell out of it and every detail is a big deal.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 1/31/2007 4:30:45 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Cehra, I''m with you on this being my fault

Well IMHO... Cehra would like to think folks can control things & make them turn out as perfectly as they are in their own mind ... so, she''d have more reason to HOPE you''ve just somehow *failed* at communication, rather than the arguably more depressing possibility that you''ve merely experienced a PERFECTLY NORMAL gap between expectation & reality.

I''d say - give it some time, as you plan to do. You''ll probably never be as focused on the setting as you are at this very moment & it is a LOVELY RING -- up to the high Kelege standards, if not your own.

Can''t wait for pix!

 

[FireGoddess]

I can see how you could lay claim to some fault (by not saying do this over instead of tweak it - but honestly if the designer himself says he can fix it instead of redo, I would likely be inclined to trust that), but as far as the communication thing goes...that''s not a fault, that is a gap in communication.

When I had my custom setting done I had diagrams along with measurements....2 mm thick shank, etc...and still got a honking cocktail ring that could direct ships home from space. Was that my fault? No way. Point being it''s easy even when things are s-p-e-l-l-e-d out for communication to break down.

Even before tweaking I thought that ring was beautiful, I''m sure it still is. Perfection is an evil friend!!

 

[Finding_Neverland]

Date: 1/31/2007 4:30:45 PM
Author: Dee*Jay


Never, sorry if I seem a bit melodramatic at this point... I''m just a little weary of the whole thing. But it IS a beautiful piece and it does look better now that it did a month ago so I think I will be fine. If not I will just drink. (More than I already do.)

If it''s not where you are, Dee*Jay,......... It''s gotta be time, somewhere in the world, for a good stiff one!!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/31/2007 4:30:45 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
FG, Kelege does indeed make beautiful pieces, I think I just had different expectations for this one that the reality of how it turned out. I hope I haven''t turned other people off from using him though becuase he does do beautiful work.

Cehra, I''m with you on this being my fault, but at this point it is what it is and I''m moving on. I think we might have had the same hair guy BTW. No matter how many times I told him I wanted it to look natural I ended up leaving looking like a close relative of Jane Mansfield!

Never, sorry if I seem a bit melodramatic at this point... I''m just a little weary of the whole thing. But it IS a beautiful piece and it does look better now that it did a month ago so I think I will be fine. If not I will just drink. (More than I already do.)

Well, at least you haven''t lost your sense of humor over this.

And I''ll have a few with ya, if need be.

 

[KristyDarling]

Sigh. I'm really sorry the ring didn't turn out exactly as you had hoped. I feel your pain. When I ordered my custom solitaire from JA, a number of things went askew. I.e., the orientation of the prongs, the sizing of the ring, and a few other things (memory escapes me). I was on the phone with the designer that JA subcontracted for my project at least twice a week for lengthy convo's for over a month. He seemed to have a good grasp of exactly what I wanted. The specs were repeated over and over ad nauseum. Even so, the finished product was not to spec. In the end though, I was just so excited to have the ring that I decided the ring looked beautiful regardless of the little "changes." I looooved that ring....until the prongs kept coming loose every couple months and I decided to re-set. If there was no structural problem, though, I think I would've continued to love the ring indefinitely.

I wrote all that not because that's how I think YOU should feel....but to give you one person's experience that showed the gap between expectations and reality (that Deco alluded to) that soooo often occurs with custom jobs -- even with the best jewelers -- but which turned out OK anyway. Like others have said, wear it around for awhile and then decide what to do next, if anything at all. You just came off a huge project where you have a very fixed vision of the end product in your head -- trying to reconcile the reality of the ring with that vision is really hard to do.

I can't wait to see pics!

 

[lumpkin]

Oh, DeeJay, maybe it isn''t as bad as all that (I really hope!). I know that I, personally, am never entirely satisfied, no matter what. It''s terrible, but it''s true. There''s always some small detail that could be tweaked. I''m already thinking about someday designing my own setting (very similar to the one I have, but to my own specs). Maybe it''s partly the thrill of the anticipation? I''m reserving an opinion until you can post some pictures. Regardless, it''s a lovely diamond you could get lost in all on its own.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Dee Jay, I am betting the ring looks wonderful assuming they redid the prongs! I would never even consider letting anyone try to adapt that square hole to round. I agree with Cehra that it would have had to have been done from the start that way. I honestly feel like part of your remorse is that the whole ring turned out larger than you imagined, because I remember you saying that you could have gotten by with a slightly smaller center stone had you known you''d choose a halo setting of this size.

My solution would be to either put your round back in a solitaire setting or send it off to Leon and get a KristyDarling setting made. Then find a killer square sapphire (or diamond if you have the cash) and stick it in the Kelege setting as a rhr. Then the stone would fit the hole perfectly and it would still be an heirloom ring.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 1/31/2007 6:14:48 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
My solution would be to either put your round back in a solitaire setting or send it off to Leon and get a KristyDarling setting made. Then find a killer square sapphire (or diamond if you have the cash) and stick it in the Kelege setting as a rhr. Then the stone would fit the hole perfectly and it would still be an heirloom ring.

NOW YOU''RE TALKING!!!! GREAT IDEA!!!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 1/31/2007 6:14:48 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006

My solution would be to either put your round back in a solitaire setting or send it off to Leon and get a KristyDarling setting made. Then find a killer square sapphire (or diamond if you have the cash) and stick it in the Kelege setting as a rhr. Then the stone would fit the hole perfectly and it would still be an heirloom ring.

Dee Jay, if you get your ring back and you don''t fall in love with it after wearing it for a while, I think Diamondseekers idea is a fabulous back up plan.

 

[KristyDarling]

Date: 1/31/2007 6:24:39 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 1/31/2007 6:14:48 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006

My solution would be to either put your round back in a solitaire setting or send it off to Leon and get a KristyDarling setting made. Then find a killer square sapphire (or diamond if you have the cash) and stick it in the Kelege setting as a rhr. Then the stone would fit the hole perfectly and it would still be an heirloom ring.

Dee Jay, if you get your ring back and you don''t fall in love with it after wearing it for a while, I think Diamondseekers idea is a fabulous back up plan.

Ditto! Or is it thritto?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/31/2007 4:30:45 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Cehra, I''m with you on this being my fault, but at this point it is what it is and I''m moving on. I think we might have had the same hair guy BTW. No matter how many times I told him I wanted it to look natural I ended up leaving looking like a close relative of Jane Mansfield!.

LOL on the hair - and as for the ring, I do think that for 10k you should have a jeweler who would at most intuit the issues and at least should have discussed them with you... but alas... oblivion!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/31/2007 4:44:32 PM
Author: decodelighted

Well IMHO... Cehra would like to think folks can control things & make them turn out as perfectly as they are in their own mind ... so, she''d have more reason to HOPE you''ve just somehow *failed* at communication, rather than the arguably more depressing possibility that you''ve merely experienced a PERFECTLY NORMAL gap between expectation & reality.

hmmmmm yes, I love to think that dee jay FAILED - you know me so well I think I''ll buy you some lemon pie!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/31/2007 6:38:35 PM
Author: KristyDarling

Date: 1/31/2007 6:24:39 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 1/31/2007 6:14:48 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006

My solution would be to either put your round back in a solitaire setting or send it off to Leon and get a KristyDarling setting made. Then find a killer square sapphire (or diamond if you have the cash) and stick it in the Kelege setting as a rhr. Then the stone would fit the hole perfectly and it would still be an heirloom ring.

Dee Jay, if you get your ring back and you don''t fall in love with it after wearing it for a while, I think Diamondseekers idea is a fabulous back up plan.

Ditto! Or is it thritto?

quatro? LOL! That setting is definitely not a lost cause... but I *really* liked it even when the 7 dwarves could mine the diamonds under the main stone... so I''m sure I''ll love the newest pics Though if the dwarves are really there to stay, maybe a huge yellow square radiant?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/31/2007 4:30:45 PM
Author: Dee*Jay

Cehra, I''m with you on this being my fault, but at this point it is what it is and I''m moving on. I think we might have had the same hair guy BTW. No matter how many times I told him I wanted it to look natural I ended up leaving looking like a close relative of Jane Mansfield!
deal.

BTW Dee Jay - I''m sorry that I might have upset you with what I said above. Sometimes I can get a little too analytical and forget that human feelings are involved and try to draw black and white lines rather than just being empathetic.