TomKat Jewelers

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/31) */
I had a bad feeling about working with these customers from the beginningThe fiance came in to my store with his parents, (I had not met the lady who wrote the complaint until after the job was complete, and she came back with her
fiance...told me she loved the ring, by the way), and he said he was looking for an engagement ringThe mom seemed to be skeptical about my work and my productsHe showed me some pictures on his cell phone and I showed him some catalogs that had similar designs but they were not exactHis mom kept talking about this company in Florida and sat at the table in my store shopping on her phone...The fiance decided that he would rather order from them because he wanted a certain styleHe also said he was ordering a created diamond from a different company, and asked if I would be able to set the stone in the new ring (which came with a Cubic Zirconia instead of a diamond)I said yes, but I would like to know a little about the stone's quality, hardness, etcThe company professed that their stones compared almost exactly to genuine diamondsI said I could set the stone, but would not guarantee the work if the stone was not as they promisedHe said no problem and a week or so later, he and his dad brought the ring and the stone into my storeI looked at the paperwork that came with the stone and determined that it shouldn't be an issue, but the new stone was a bit larger that the CZ, and I explained to them that I would need to modify the ring setting by "pulling" the prongs out a little to accommodate the larger sizeHe said that was fine and we wrote up the job, I gave him a copyHe asked if I could have it soon because he was planning to propose at a specific time and location, and I said I would have it done in plenty of time, even though I let him know that I was trying to get caught up since I was in the middle of planning my own wedding, which was only a few weeks awayI don't recall which family member picked the ring up, I was in and out with my wedding planning, but whoever it was did not have an issue with anything at that timeThe couple came back in after the proposal, which was the first and only time I had met his fiance, and that's when she told me she LOVED the ringThey expressed that the stone was a little loose and could I tighten itI said I could tighten it as much as possible, but because of the design and the fact that this stone was larger and deeper than the CZ that was originally set in the ring, I did not want to put too much pressure on the stone because it could break the Culit (the point at the bottom of the stone.)
So I then tightened it as much as possible with a pair of "stone setting pliers", which every jeweler I know would be familiar withI polished the tips of the prongs because the pliers tend to make slight "dents"I gave the ring back and they seemed perfectly fineI then measured her finger because the ring was slightly too large, and we all agreed that they would come back and have me size the ring (while they wait), but that it would be after my weddingI did not hear anything else, no complaints, nothing until he and his dad came back in and said that she was just sick about the shoddy workmanship and that I ruined the ring and that they had taken it to a jeweler, (not three), and that they suggested they send it back to the manufacturer and have them "fix" what I supposedly screwed upThey said the jeweler said I "hollowed" out the prongs, etcSo, they took it upon themselves to send the ring to have it "totally redone"I told them that I felt sort of betrayed that they would not have brought the ring back to me and explained what they learned from the other jeweler, and that I would have been more than happy to "fix" the problemI said that from what I saw of the ring the last time they were in my store, that it would have been very easy to reset the stone and drill a small "cup" in the bottom of the mounting to accommodate the culit so that it could take more pressure and would not be touching any moreI could've have done this in the beginning but did not want to modify a setting that was purchased from somewhere elseI explained to them that the only way to set a stone is to do exactly what I did, and that not every mounting is going to be an exact fit, so there is a process you have to go through involving tools, grinding, filing, tightening, etcI can honestly say that the only thing that may have been wrong with the ring the last time I saw it, was the stone was slightly loose, and I may have missed a spot while polishingThey said the other jeweler said "they couldn't believe that she hadn't lost the stone" and that she definitely should not be wearing itWhen the ring left my store the first time, I am positive it was tight, and when it left the last time, there was no way it could have fallen out, unless it got smacked on something very hardHe then said that they were having it "fixed" by the manufacturer and that it was going to cost them $I told him I would refund the money they paid me for the job, even though I feel I did everything right, but that I was not going to reimburse what they were going to pay the other company, because I feel I did nothing wrong, I went about the job just as I would any other after evaluating what needed to be done, and that they could have saved themselves a lot of grief and money, if they would have just come to me
I have been in the jewelry industry since and have done work for many companies, including or local, trusted, family owned jewelers, as well as Kay Jewelers, Keepsake Diamonds and Jared....just to name a fewI have had my own business for years, and have many happy, returning customers who have referred many other returning, happy customersI can count on one hand how many bad experiences I have hadI am sincerely sympathetic as to the couple's feelings, but again, I don't believe I should liable for anythingI feel that I was more than generous in refunding the money they paid me
I do hope they get everything resolved in their minds, and that in the end they will be happy with their decision and with their ring
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/08/12) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
First of all, I would like to point out that my fiancé came in with a specific idea in mind, but he had never been ring shopping before and did not know all of the options out thereHe initially wanted to support a local business but chose to order from the jeweler in Florida because they had the specific ring he was looking forIn addition, "the mom" is the one who recommended ***, so I don't know why she would have gotten the impression she was skepticalAll that aside, everyone should be understanding that people are picky when it comes to purchasing an engagement ring
Regarding the stone, we have at no time had an issue with the quality of the stone or the results of the stone in the settingThe stone appears as though it not damaged by TomKat in any way, so that is an irrelevant topic in this discussion
Now, on to the settingMy fiancé confirmed with the maker of the setting that the stone size he picked was within the size limits of the settingWe did not have an issue when the ring was picked up, nor when I received the ring because neither of us were aware of what a setting should look like under a magnifying glass; we assumed that it was done correctly and there would be no problems, because, like *** has mentioned many times, she has "been in the jewelry industry since 1977."
Within a week of receiving the ring, I noticed it was looseI know that is definitely not good and since it had very recently been set, I honestly began to questioned ***'s abilitySo, I took the ring to a jeweler who is a family friend, and he tried to tighten it, but when it was still loose, he looked again and recommended that I "take it back to where I bought it because it looks like it's broken." He further explained that the prongs where pinning the stone down, allowing it to turn in the setting (which he said can cause dust and debris to collect and damage the prongs further, causing them to eventually break)The prongs should have been cradling the stone, holding it in place
Since the ring was purchased in Florida, I decided to take it back to *** because maybe it would be an easy fixI told her I loved the ring because I did, and at that time I did not know what the issue wasAfter *** attempted to fix the setting, the prongs were bent and the stone was still looseI did point out to her that the stone was loose and she said it was fine if it was turning in the settingAt that point, I knew she didn't know what she was talking about so I took the ring and left, and didn't notice the prongs were bent from the pliers until I got to the car
The reason *** did not hear anything until we had the problem was because I was taking time to meet with other jewelers, and wanted to determine what would be the best course of action, and then how much that would costMy fiance's dad went in, withouth permission, and without complete informationAnything that he said should be completely discountedIt was not until after he went to visit *** that I found out how much it would cost and what the details were of the damage that was done
Now, *** claims that she did everything right and tightened the stone as much as possibleWhat she fails to recognize is that when she cut the space for the stone to sit in the prongs, she made the cut too deeply, making the prongs need to fold over the stone, instead of hold it in place in a little wedge cut-outI DID ask three separate jewelers their opinion on why it was loose and what could be done, and all three said that the prongs were cut improperly and they would need to be redoneI also asked two of them if it could be done quickly in-store, and they both were uncomfortable attempting to fix it and said I would need to send it to the designer to have the prongs redone, because they were missing too much metal to be fixed properly in-store
*** is upset that I did not come back to her to try and fix it againBut, please remember, I DID go back to have her fix it and she was unable to; it was still loose when I left her store - she even admitted it was "okay to be turning in the setting." So yes, I did take it upon myself to have the designer fix what was messed upThe prongs were too thin to hold the stone in, and therefore too thin to be remadeOf course I would have gone with the less expensive option, but I absolutely in no way felt comfortable giving my ring back to ***
Let's also note that *** says she would have been more than happy to "fix" the problemafter claiming there was no problemHer offer to "reset the stone and drill a small "cup" in the bottom of the mounting to accommodate the culit so that it could take more pressure and would not be touching any more" would have further destroyed the ring and is in no way an appropriate fix based on what I learned from three other, reputable jewelersWhat should have happened was that *** should have recognized that the prongs were cut improperly and fixed them immediately, or at the very least informed us of her mistake
Her claim that "when the ring left my store the first time, I am positive it was tight, and when it left the last time, there was no way it could have fallen out..." is in complete opposition to what she told both my fiancé and IShe told him she did not check if the stone was tight when she gave it to him, and she told me that it's going to be loose and turn in the setting and that that's fine
It did cost us $to have the prongs redone and I would be more than happy to provide a copy of the receipt***'s description of how she would have fixed the ring is absolutely appalling to me, as well as to the other jewelers I have been in contact with throughout this ordeal