H Samuel ruined my engagement ring

neilmcl

ThumbRemote wrote: »

The conclusion that can be drawn is that there [STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] appears to be something different about the centre stone in the second image. Given that this is the whole reason the OP posted, I don't think it's a stretch at all.

Corrected that for you. Appearances can be deceptive.

Minbee

Hello again! Been on hols, sorry for lack of an update.

So I waited for my call on the Monday regarding the photo from the repair centre AND GUESS WHAT - no one called. Did receive a call on Friday to say my ring had come back again, which was a surprise to me as I didn't know they were sending it anywhere.

Went to collect and lo and behold it's my clear white stone in the middle! They apologised and claim the ring was sent back a second time for cleaning as they had left 'residue' on the middle stone which left it that yellow brown.

I am now 200% certain the first ring wasn't mine as I can now clearly see the site of the repair on the shank, which wasn't visible previously.

I'm happy I've got my ring back but really irritated at them playing me for a mug about it, even when I went to collect it one of the managers admitted the first ring had looked a right state while the other stuck to the story that it was all down to the way they'd cleaned it. Manager one got my polite smiley customer face and manager two got the cold hard stare of someone who's not spent 15 years in retail to be played for a fool!

I'd be less peed off about it if they'd been honest, I still don't know the truth but I don't think I'll pursue it.

Thanks all for your input!

Pollycat

Minbee wrote: »

Hello again! Been on hols, sorry for lack of an update.

So I waited for my call on the Monday regarding the photo from the repair centre AND GUESS WHAT - no one called. Did receive a call on Friday to say my ring had come back again, which was a surprise to me as I didn't know they were sending it anywhere.

Went to collect and lo and behold it's my clear white stone in the middle! They apologised and claim the ring was sent back a second time for cleaning as they had left 'residue' on the middle stone which left it that yellow brown.

I am now 200% certain the first ring wasn't mine as I can now clearly see the site of the repair on the shank, which wasn't visible previously.

I'm happy I've got my ring back but really irritated at them playing me for a mug about it, even when I went to collect it one of the managers admitted the first ring had looked a right state while the other stuck to the story that it was all down to the way they'd cleaned it. Manager one got my polite smiley customer face and manager two got the cold hard stare of someone who's not spent 15 years in retail to be played for a fool!

I'd be less peed off about it if they'd been honest, I still don't know the truth but I don't think I'll pursue it.

Thanks all for your input!

I'm glad you got it sorted but I'm not sure I'd be happy about the part I've put in bold text.

What exactly do you mean 'I can see the site of the repair'?

Minbee

I originally sent it for repair due to a snap where the shank meets the setting. On the first ring I couldn't even tell which side had been repaired (now I realise it was probably neither) but on the new one I can see from looking at the underside that the gold is slightly thicker on one side than the other, where the repair was made.

Pollycat

Minbee wrote: »

I originally sent it for repair due to a snap where the shank meets the setting. On the first ring I couldn't even tell which side had been repaired (now I realise it was probably neither) but on the new one I can see from looking at the underside that the gold is slightly thicker on one side than the other, where the repair was made.

OK, that sounds better.
I thought you might have meant you could see the join (as Eric used to say to Ernie).

Pollycat

Minbee wrote: »

Went to collect and lo and behold it's my clear white stone in the middle! They apologised and claim the ring was sent back a second time for cleaning as they had left 'residue' on the middle stone which left it that yellow brown.

Although I think your instincts are correct & they sent you the wrong ring back initially, I do recall a jeweller friend showing me a ring I'd ordered which was a 'work in progress' and I was horrified at the state of it and would never have believed that it could ever turn into the lovely, sparkly ring it did when it was finished.

Even if that did happen, if was shoddy workmanship at the at the workshop by sending it back uncleaned.

Minbee

I'm certain it wasn't my ring the first time around, the stone was uniform yellowy and sparkly, much like a citrine. The inclusions inside were highly visible to the naked eye, much as I said before like cracked glass.
It looked 'clean', in fact they told me in no uncertain terms that it was yellow precisely because it had been professionally cleaned and I just didn't recognise it.

In fact the more I think about it the more I'm inclined to make a complaint, I don't want anything from them but I am very unhappy with the BS I got!

Nearlyold

Its probably more likely that the ring was not cleaned properly after the repair the first time it was returned to you rather than being swapped for a different ring. When I was in the business most of these high street chains did not do their repairs in house but generally used a small jobbing jeweller to carry out repairs - the chances of the jobbing jeweller having an identical design ring even down to the teardrop indentation either side of the head (just with a apparently darker centre stone) in your size lying around to swap it with would be very remote. Soldering (strictly it's brazed) the shank to the head would produce a good deal of local discolouration and "dirt" requiring cleaning and polishing to remove. If not cleaned properly it would certainly affect the appearance of the stones

Minbee

Here's the repair site, I hope you can see but the thinner side is how both sides were originally and the thicker is the repair. There was absolutely no repair visible on the first ring, hence my initial joy at seeing it!

Minbee