Independent Jeweler faulty repair of engagement ring

mikb

olivia2122 said:

 ... and they have etched in the brand again, however it is not the same as it previously was.

Alderbank said:

No jeweller, not even an ‘official’ one, will forge a brand onto it. That’s plain illegal.

I'd have thought that accidentally destroying the original branding on enlarging, would not have been improved by forging in a replacement one, but apparently they did ....

sheramber

@Sandtree they didn’t say it’s not to be resized at all, they’ve said it should be resized only by Leo Diamond so that they resize it correctly due to the branding inside the ring and the diamond on the inside of the band. 

So, you didn't follow the makers  instructions.

Now, you know the reasons they said that.

Concerned75

Well, it's certainly got you all talking! I'm only here for the comments, but something as irreplaceable as what I'm getting from the OP, should've been resized by the best man for the job in the first place.....

olivia2122

Ok I think some of the comments are being quite judgemental when I just wanted some advice. I may not have done it the right way however as I’ve said I am not a jeweller, I don’t know that I have to inform them of the branding inside a ring because I didn’t know that this was an uncommon thing that I need to make a jeweller aware of before resizing. Especially when I was told a full inspection would be done prior to resizing. 

I do not know that the ring had to be resized by Leo Diamond and therefore if I did I would have obviously done that. However I was never told this. 

I didn’t know that the place I took it for resizing wasn’t going to do a good job. But I have and this is what I’m left with. 

My aim in this is not to make a claim, it’s to know my rights so that I can restore my engagement ring that I loved back to how it was as much as I possibly can. This is quite an upsetting thing that’s happened and I am just looking for some clarity on the matter rather than being blamed. 

I appreciate everyone’s comments and advice that I’ve had in this. 

olivia2122

Just to clarify anyway, new material was added but to me it looks like it has been stretched too for some reason otherwise why would the band be thinner and the small hole behind the diamond look stretched?

Sandtree

olivia2122 said:

My aim in this is not to make a claim, it’s to know my rights so that I can restore my engagement ring that I loved back to how it was as much as I possibly can. This is quite an upsetting thing that’s happened and I am just looking for some clarity on the matter rather than being blamed. 

I appreciate everyone’s comments and advice that I’ve had in this. 

Bar a single comment I am not sure many are blaming but perhaps are trying to align expectations that there are consequences of doing multiple resizings of a ring.

Your rights are to claim for damages if you can prove the jeweller didnt exercise due care; this is typically done via commissioning and independent expert report, the cost of which you can add to your claim. 

Technically under law you claim for the devaluation their negligence has caused however there is a long standing principle that the cost of repair can be taken as a proxy for this, with the exception where the cost of repair exceeds the pre-incident value of the item.

You would need to make a claim against the jeweller and the monies, if awarded, can either be used to restore the item or simply pocketed. 

Unfortunately high street jewellery has a massive markup hence why Leo rings sell on ebay for 20-25% of their original purchase price. Depending on how much the ring is worth its possible the value will be insufficient to be fully restored as professional crafts people (not just someone with a hammer and resizing form) charge for the years of experience they've needed to do a great job... it'll be up to you if you want to add the extra.

As has been pointed out, if the logo has been filed away or otherwise lost there is no getting it back but it adds no material value to the ring.

cx6

I can understand your frustration in the the jeweller damaged your ring given to you by your husband

For me, the way forward is to ask Leo or a good jeweller such as EY the cost to put right the damage

Once you have this, ask the rogue jeweller to pay for these repairs or take them to court