Advice from jewellers? Ring problem.

KazDub

I went to Antwerp earlier in the year with my husband to buy a diamond ring. He wanted to get me something to celebrate the birth of our second child. We bought a beautiful ring in a shop that we had bought my engagement ring a few years ago. We had a good experience of this shop and were pleasantly surprised with the valuation when we came home.
The ring that we bought is kind of like an eternity ring. The top half is set with round cut diamonds. The ring is very 'brilliant' due to the high setting of the diamonds. They don't actually look very high, but the settings aren't overly deep.
After about a month of wearing the ring on a daily basis, one of the stones fell out, simply by wearing it while putting clothes into the washing machine. Luckily I found it and had it reset for not too much money. When I went to collect it the jeweller told me that although my ring was amazing and very well made, it wasn't a day-to-day ring and that more than likely I'd lose more stones. I was very upset to hear this, after all we'd all the expense of travelling to Antwerp, let alone the cost of the ring but it was also just the thought of the ring being a let-down.
I have worn the ring, on four or five occasions since then, only for special 'outings'. It really has been such a disappointment that I have to treat this ring with such kid-gloves.
I wore the ring again on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday morning I noticed that a different stone had fallen out. This time I have no idea where it's gone. The stone would cost about four hundred euro to replace, before labour.
As much as I love my ring, it's pretty useless. I want to contact the jewellers and see what comeback I have on this purchase. I want a ring that I can wear every day. Although you never have any guarantee with rings I think that two stones falling out in the space of 8 months is a bit ridiculous. What I need to know from some professional jewellers is this; do I have any recourse with the jeweller. They are a huge name Antwerp and every search that you do on Antwerp jewellers returns their name. If you are a jeweller and someone came back to you with this problem, how would you respond? Would you offer a full refund on faulty goods? Would you insist that we fly back over to exchange the ring?
I know that we're not going to get anywhere near as beautiful a ring in Ireland for the money that was spent but I just see no reason to hold on to it. I'm really disappointed and am looking for any professional or expert help before I go contacting the jewellers.

artyeva

2 stones falling out within the space of 8 months - that's ridiculous! i'd be gutted and raging in equal measures.

did they specify that the ring was not an ''every day'' one when you bought it? i would contact them first, and see what they say. and send a copy of the receipt for what you paid to get the first stone re-set, too. you're completely right, though. a product should be fit for the intended purpose - to be worn.

if they decide to do nothing for you, fear not. the metal and stones can easily be re-used to make something else, or the settings could be changed and the stones re-set into the changed ring. i can give you details of a very good jeweller who could do this for you, if you want to send me a pm. you could also [maybe, i don't know for sure] contact your insurance company assuming that you had it specified on your house insurance and see if you could claim for the lost stone? i don't know the specifics so that's just a guess.

but i would say contact the shop first. if they are as prominent as you say then they should stand by their customers.

lazygal

When we went shopping for engagement rings (in Dublin) the place we bought was the one that specifically steered us away from "occasion" rings". I loved one ring but the guy in the jewellers said it would be a nightmare to wear everyday as it was not designed for that. I ended up with a quite a "flat" setting (hard to describe!) which can't catch on anything (the guy in the shop made me take off may jacket and put it on wearing the ring to see how it felt!).


I think unless you ASKED for a ring which can be worn every day there might not be much you can do. The setting might be lose or not suitable for heavy wear but I think this might be an expensive lesson and the ring might have to be used for what it was designed for-occasion wear-unless you have the stones reset in a more practical band.