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Hwinty

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 29, 2020
Messages
45
Hi all. First time poster. Long time lurker. Hoping you guys can help me decide what to do.

Background: I had to get my e-ring and band cut off during pregnancy. While getting it fixed, I kinda lost confidence in the brick and mortar jeweler my husband had bought it from since they did a very shoddy job of repairing it until I insisted they fix it. This led me down a path of learning all I could about jewelry.
Anyway, my husband said he was told the diamond was certified but was never given any certificate other than an appraisal and the diamond itself isn’t laser inscribed from what I can tell. All we have is an independent appraisal for insurance purposes and my husband wasn’t too sure if that was what they meant when they said it was certified. My confidence in the B and M store further eroded when the lady handed me a what seemed to be random GIA report of a diamond that didn’t match the one in the appraisal. Dunno if she just pulled it out to appease me or if that was the actual report for the diamond. Also having learned a lot more about diamonds since, I’m pretty sure my husband got a bad deal on the diamond (J vs2 1.18 carats with “fair” cut grade per insurance appraisal). It has a large table and shallow crown.

All that to say, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Debating whether to 1. unset the diamond and get it certified and 2. replace it with a hearts and arrows diamond I bought from James Allen. I’m torn because my husband picked that stone for me and I’ve enjoyed it all these years. But then I can’t stop wondering about how he may have overpaid.

What would you guys recommend?

84E08967-D5CB-4570-BEF8-D44EF32B911E.jpeg161CB443-981F-44DB-A41C-282AAF0304F6.jpeg5D950534-0A98-437A-B650-FF83EF089DFB.jpeg
 
The ring is very pretty
We have all made costly mistakes at B&M so try not to get hung up on that

beleave me i know that's hard but you have had your ring all this time and presumably enjoyed it for at least some of that time

How about resetting it into a pendent as it must have some sentimental value and it can be your daily wear

and putting the new stone in your ER as you suggested
 
@Daisys and Diamonds had some great thoughts. I don't think I'd bother getting your stone certified. It may just add to your disappointment and it will cost around $400.00 I believe. I agree it would make a lovely pendant and remind you of where you started together.

We've all made some poor jewelry decisions in hindsight but it's part of getting clear about what we really want. Most of us don't just marry the first person we're attracted to and stay married to them the rest of our lives. There's usually some trial and error involved before we settle in. Why should your wedding set be any different?

Your JA Diamond appears to be cut better from the photo and I think it would look great in your ring.
 
Thanks for the advice guys! I definitely wear my pendants more regularly than I do my rings so the original diamond would get more wear that way and when I look down at my hand it won’t be tainted with negativity. Also, @mwilliamanderson I had no idea it cost that much to unset and send off a diamond for cert. Maybe it’s better not to know. Thank you.
 
tinatark said:
What are the specs of the JA diamond? It's pretty. Honestly, both are.
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The James Allen: 1.21 M VS1 Ca: 35 pa: 40.8 table 56% depth 62% medium fluoro. 6.8 x 6.83 x 4.23. Definitely a chameleon. No haze in the sunlight just bright. Looks pretty next to the patina of the setting. Hoping they don’t have to change out the head.

The original stone: 1.19 J VS2 with faint fluoro. No idea about the cut specs but an independent appraiser rated it as fair. Has a large table and shallow crown and pavilion. 6.83 x 6.89 x 4.04. Very firey and lively but I swear I see a fish eye effect under certain lighting situations and the large table bothers me at times. Debating about getting it certified if for no other reason than peace of mind and being able to more confidently pass it on to the kids one day.
 
musicloveranthony said:
Those are actually both nice stones. The JA stone is certainly better cut, but the engagement stone isn't a dud by any means. I love the idea of swapping out the engagement stone into a pendant and setting that JA stone in the ring :)
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I agree- they are both really prettt but the JA has a nicer cut for a ring. sounds like the best solution and they will both be worn often!
 
musicloveranthony said:
Those are actually both nice stones. The JA stone is certainly better cut, but the engagement stone isn't a dud by any means. I love the idea of swapping out the engagement stone into a pendant and setting that JA stone in the ring :)
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Thanks! Taking it to the jewelers tomorrow. I’m thinking a very simple 6 prong basket setting and box chain in platinum so I can wear it everyday without worrying about it and only take it off for the rare occasion I wear pearls. I have to take off my rings for work so it’ll be nice to always have it on.
 
FWIW I think your original diamond is pretty, even if your husband may have overpaid. Agree setting it in a pendant is a good choice. I was going to say, If you aren’t happy with the B&M store, maybe you don’t want them to set your new diamond. Maybe leave it as is and find a better quality jeweler to do a new setting for the new diamond. But it sounds like you might enjoy a pendant anyway. Come back and post pics!
 
Ok Pricescopers. Gonna need some advice. Sorry it’s long. I went ahead and took my ring and the loose diamond to a local jeweler who seemed to have a good portfolio and reputation. I asked him for basically 3 things:
1. Unset my old engagement ring and send the loose stone for GIA. He didn’t want to send to GIA and said it would be cheaper for me to do it myself and he’d walk me through it if I had questions. Fair enough. I was amenable to that.

2. Set the loose diamond I brought into the old setting if possible. Change out the head if necessary. He quoted $250 for a change out and $600-ish for a head change. The center diamond is inset into the prongs about 70% of the metal thickness so who knows? It’s platinum so fingers crossed.

3. Order platinum pendant and wheat chain from Stuller so the old diamond can be set into it once back from GIA. He quoted me $1300-ish for the chain (item ch1081:10025: p) and about $300-ish for the pendant (item 29424:1061:s). I had looked up the catalog numbers of what I wanted online. I thought it was weird he asked if I knew the prices of the items and that he went into the back to look up the price of the chain.

I left a deposit of $600 with him for these projects. This was on August 31. He made it clear he would be closed over the weekend of Labor Day and made A LOT of fuss over the fact that he’s been busy etc.

I got a message from him today to let me know the pendant was here and that they’d get the started on the projects. I called back to make sure he wasn’t gonna set the diamond into the pendant yet since the plan was for me to send to GIA. Mind you, I had to leave a message because nobody answered any of the 12 times I called him (at various times throughout the day).

He did call back and said that he was helping customers the one time I left a message. Said the platinum chain would take a few weeks to be delivered and that he’d unset my diamond “at midnight” and I could come pick it up tomorrow along with the pendant or leave the pendant with them. He also said he’d be on vacation next week so he wouldn’t have the new diamond set yet until after he got back.

I did tell him no rush but is all this kinda starting to seem hinky? What do you guys think?
 
LemonMoonLex said:
Others can tell me if I'm wrong but his prices sound way way too inflated holy sh!t. There's no way I'd pay those prices!
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Should I take my business elsewhere? At this point, how do I bow out? I feel like the prices he quoted were comparable to what was quoted at the previous B&M stores I’ve gone to around here. Maybe I should have just sent it off to the online jewelers that everyone talks about here like David Klass and just never do business with B&M stores again. I was hoping to avoid that so I didn’t have to send out my jewelry back and forth.
 
Hwinty said:
Should I take my business elsewhere? At this point, how do I bow out? I feel like the prices he quoted were comparable to what was quoted at the previous B&M stores I’ve gone to around here. Maybe I should have just sent it off to the online jewelers that everyone talks about here like David Klass and just never do business with B&M stores again. I was hoping to avoid that so I didn’t have to send out my jewelry back and forth.
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I mean it's really up to you & your comfort level. Some are just totally uncomfortable with sending their jewelry out, and that's OK but for some you're going to pay heaps more for work that may or may not be up to par. DK is really wonderful at what he does and would make shipping painless by including a label & instructions but I understand if someone never has sent gems/diamonds/jewelry and just isn't comfortable.

Unfortunately the best deals and the majority of the highest quality jewelers will work online in this way.

Maybe if you're just curious send DK an email & just see what he'd charge for this project without making any CADS? But really it's all up to you & your comfort level. Just know that most would find the prices that he's charging you to be on the high end.
 
LemonMoonLex said:
I mean it's really up to you & your comfort level. Some are just totally uncomfortable with sending their jewelry out, and that's OK but for some you're going to pay heaps more for work that may or may not be up to par. DK is really wonderful at what he does and would make shipping painless by including a label & instructions but I understand if someone never has sent gems/diamonds/jewelry and just isn't comfortable.

Unfortunately the best deals and the majority of the highest quality jewelers will work online in this way.

Maybe if you're just curious send DK an email & just see what he'd charge for this project without making any CADS? But really it's all up to you & your comfort level. Just know that most would find the prices that he's charging you to be on the high end.
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I looked through the Stuller catalog and he’s charging me the MSRP listed. I have no idea what wholesale prices are and what the mark up at MSRP is. I guess he’s off to go on vacation for elk hunting and doesn’t know when he’ll be back so I was at least able to get my loose diamonds and ring back. I already paid for the Stuller stuff through him sans labor. Wondering if at this point I should see if I can get someone else to set the diamond for me.

For my next project, I’m definitely gonna shop around all over instead of just in town. Thanks for all the advice.
 
::sighs:: Update on the ring:

Help!!! Need opinions about prongs.

Hey all. Long time lurker. Second time thread starter. Here’s a link to the thread re the project I’m referring to: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/to-change-or-not-to-change.268643/#post-5031128 So I took my ring and new diamond to a different jeweler to have it set. We’ve bought...
www.pricescope.com

In summary: took it to a jeweler that wasn’t on vacation elk hunting. They set it. Two of the prongs look messed up to me. Can it be fixed? Should I even bother to take it back? Your opinions appreciated.
 
I would certainly expect the prongs to be free of dents, you paid this jewelry good money to do a good job so I would bring it back and have them fix these prongs.
 
YadaYadaYada said:
I would certainly expect the prongs to be free of dents, you paid this jewelry good money to do a good job so I would bring it back and have them fix these prongs.
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Yeah. The unfortunate thing is it looks like they bent it backwards on 2 of the prongs and it’s gonna be permanently dented unless they take out the head and fix it completely. I know it was the new jewelers that did this too because the first one was super careful about it. I’ve come to the conclusion there are no good jewelers to be had in this town.
 
Hwinty said:
Yeah. The unfortunate thing is it looks like they bent it backwards on 2 of the prongs and it’s gonna be permanently dented unless they take out the head and fix it completely. I know it was the new jewelers that did this too because the first one was super careful about it. I’ve come to the conclusion there are no good jewelers to be had in this town.
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Finding a good jeweler can be challenging, I can empathize with that struggle.

Part of this really depends on your budget and how far you want to go with this. The least expensive route is going to be replacing the peg head they put in there. I’ve had a ring with a peg head and you can absolutely expect smooth prongs free of dents and imperfections.
 
YadaYadaYada said:
Finding a good jeweler can be challenging, I can empathize with that struggle.

Part of this really depends on your budget and how far you want to go with this. The least expensive route is going to be replacing the peg head they put in there. I’ve had a ring with a peg head and you can absolutely expect smooth prongs free of dents and imperfections.
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Yeah. I agree. I specifically chose a diamond close to the original measurements to avoid having to change out things. It looks pretty clear they just yanked the prongs backward. I think the owner realized this because he started talking about “oh I would’ve recommended going with a 6 prong but most women like 4 prongs so they can see the diamond” and “we’ll apply the charge for setting this toward a new head if you decide to go that route”. Never mind that I specifically asked them first if they could just do a simple reset or if it needed a new head. I’m done with the local jewelers.
 
Update: found a great jeweler in town after asking my co-workers! They set my pendant and managed to fix the prongs without changing the head with a laser welder. It’s not 100% straight but it’s not at all noticeable to me without a loupe.

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Needs a good cleaning. Happy ending after all!
 
Here’s the pendant. I can wear the original diamond all the time now (and I have hence the need for a desperate clean).

GIA certified the original diamond as an H instead of a J so I guess my husband got a great deal after all.

52F7C456-A5D7-4D01-A173-27D16DEE7474.jpeg6AF119BA-599E-4CFB-A581-A06FC48B7A3E.jpeg
 
Love the new pendant and the straight prongs! They look great.
After wearing an H for so long, do you notice the tint of the M at all?
 
This is awesome! Glad it worked out!...Who else smiled and nodded their head in relief when they read the words, "laser welder" :)
Congrats on the news about your original diamond too! Beautiful outcome all around!
 
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