QuestionQUESTION: I bought an 18k white gold ring a month ago. It needed to be sized down 1.25. It has been sized twice, still unsatisfactorily. It was out of shape, thin at the bottom and narrow. The 2nd sizing was worse than the first. Now the band is so thin, they have to add a shank to fix it properly. How does a shank work? I am leaning toward refusing the ring outright to demand my money back instead of having a butchered brand new ring. I would appreciate your thoughts. This is a major jewelry chain. Sorry, no pics. I have not yet accepted the ring from them as they continue to try to fix it.
ANSWER: Dear Cherrie,
Being a major chain does not assure fine craftsmanship. Yes, some do very good work. Some do not. And, some do not do the work in-house and use a trade shop. A trade shop does the jewelry work for the chain and perhaps several stores and the workmanship may be excellent or exceedingly bad.
This thought comes to mind: Three strikes your out. Two strikes already tell me to go somewhere else. Of course, first you need to find out how the business will handle your dissatisfaction. They may not refund your money. Talk to them first. If in deed they want to make it right, let them know you are convinced the jewelers doing the work are not doing the quality of workmanship you expected from this business and how can you possibly be assured the new shank work will be done well? Assure them if you have the work done, you will need to examine it thoroughly prior to accepting the job as satisfactory.
What they mean by shank is the ring band, likely replacing the thin section and slightly more. They may replace the bottom half or even more. This is an everyday type of repair work but if not done correctly will show where the new metal is joined to the original ring. Look closely for little pits or line on either side of the ring from about half way up. This would be where the new band was soldered and there should not be any of those little pits. You should not be able to tell where the new metal was added. If you can, point that out and ask the counter person if they see what you are talking about. Done correctly, shank (band) repair is perfectly fine and is a common means of restoration to older rings when the original shank has worn.
Please consider what I have said and then talk to the store again. I do wish you the best in this an a satisfactory outcome.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas.
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QUESTION: Thank you for your quick response. This will definitely help me make my decision. I was told today, the ring was sent to a different jeweler and that the entire shank will be replaced with one my ring size. I will inspect it closely as you mentioned before accepting when the work is complete.
AnswerCherrie, thanks for letting me know. If you want to rate the answer you may do that and if you need to get back you can still do that. I thank you for the comment. I need to answer here now or the allexperts machine between us believe I have an unanswered question left hanging. : )
I am glad they learned a different jeweler was needed. At least they are trying to make it right and don't want to loose a customer or leave an issue unfinished. That is good. Now, to see how all looks when it is done...I suspect someone at the store will look the ring over pretty good before they call you.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas.
