A story of jewellery

I make no apology for the British spelling of 'jewellery', even though the American spell-checker has put a little red line under it. I do hate spell-checkers.

A few months ago I thought I'd like to enjoy my mum's and grandma's diamond rings which have been languishing in a jewellery box these 15 to 20 years. One is far too small, but it's pretty, the other is worn and thin. Since both are of 18ct gold, and the six diamonds are of similar size, I considered the possibility of combining the two rings to create a single ring with a cluster of diamonds. With this in mind I carried the rings with me as I visited three reputable shops which I knew had jewellers on the premises. I avoided the mall, and the chain stores because I wanted to consult with someone who knew what they were doing.

In the first shop I was reassured that I had six genuine diamonds, one of a lower quality than the others (probably the one which mum had bought to replace a lost one). I was then shown a catalogue of ring designs - mostly claw-set, showing the stones in a row. I wasn't so very impressed with those - they seemed so ordinary to me. I was quoted about $350 to have the diamonds put in one of those standard 14kt settings. They weren't interested in reusing the existing English 18ct gold. Not discouraged, because this was the first shop I had visited, I moved on.

The second shop is a bigger, flashier jeweller, which is always busy and attracts people who want to 'upgrade' their diamonds for bigger and flashier ones, and which, we have found, has tended to give a better price to their female customers than to the men. Because I knew they did their work on the premises I decided to give them a try. On the initial visit, I 'consulted' with a young lady who opened up the very same catalogue that I was shown at Joy-Den, but she showed me different designs - mostly of so-called 'right-hand rings'. Those would be diamond rings designed for the independent woman to purchase for herself, thereby negating the need to wait for a man to buy diamonds for her. (Imagine a lot of eye-rolling from me at the premise behind that last sentence.) I actually found a setting I quite liked in the catalogue this time. I like British 'gypsy' settings and the modern equivalent, which in America are called 'bezel' settings, so this was a ring that caught my eye and would fit my six diamonds.

I asked (innocently) how much it would cost to use that setting and was told that it would be about $800 because a new setting would have to be made to fit my diamonds and, no, my 18ct gold could not be used 'because we can't guarantee the purity of the gold' (do they know nothing about English hall-marks??). I was told that for a cost of $50 they could generate the design on their computer and give me an accurate price for a ring that would fit my diamonds. I agreed to this, and offered to leave the rings with them so they could measure the diamonds.

A week later, I received a phone call saying that my design was ready for my approval, so I duly took time out of my Christmas shopping to see what they had come up with. The design was a three-dimensional image, exactly like the catalog design. I couldn't fault it at all, and it was very nice. Then I was handed a little plastic bag containing the two rings and six little diamonds. I was shocked to see that the diamonds had been removed from the rings in order to measure them! No-one had told me that this would be necessary so I wasn't best pleased to see them all mixed up in a bag, especially since I had not committed to having a new ring made. I was then told that the young lady I had spoken to previously was not on the premises that day and no-one else could give me a price.

I left with my little plastic bag and returned the next day. The young lady told me that the cost would be closer to $650, in 14kt white gold, and $35 would be given to me in exchange for the gold and platinum of the original rings. At that point I was thinking the cost was too high, the two original rings were ruined, and (if what she said was to be believed) the diamonds couldn't be reset in them either because the claw settings in the older ring had now been weakened. Of course, I actually said nothing. I didn't tell her I was annoyed that the stones had been removed without permission and I didn't ask if I could have them put back in - I simply asked if three garnets could be put in grandma's ring in place of the diamonds, and how much that would cost. She said since that was a fairly new, rarely worn ring, it would cost $30. (A nice gift for Jamie's 16th birthday next year, I thought.)

In the end I said I'd think about it and left the store.

I visited the third shop between visits to the second, where I was told that a new ring could be made, a design could be discussed and drawn out, a new wax mould would be manufactured to make the ring exactly to my specifications and the 18ct gold could be used to make the new ring. All for a cost of $750 - $850. Sounds easy. Sounds more expensive, too.

Finally, a couple of weeks before Christmas, I decided to end the stress this escapade was causing me and put my little plastic bag containing two former rings back into my jewellery box to forget it for a while. That's as far as the story goes for now. Do I go back to Sachs and ask them to restore the rings to their former glory? And what do I do if they say no? Do I take them to England to seek out a trustworthy jeweller there who understands the hallmarks? Do I even have time to do that and can I afford it?

So there we have it. I'm frustrated with myself for having started the whole business and I'm annoyed that I'm worse off than I was. I should have left well alone. I should have warned Sachs not to do anything to spoil the rings I left with them. I should go back and demand restitution. I should make a decision that I can afford. I'm not even that excited with the design I chose in the end. Ah well. We live and learn by our mistakes and hope our mistakes aren't so bad they can't be overcome.