Diamond Prong and Tip Repair Issues: What to Do?

Question
My wedding set is 60 years old, it was my grandmothers. I recently took it in for repair when the band broke and decided at that time to have all the prongs and tips replaced. I have been greatly disturbed since receiving the ring back as it appears that 2 of the prongs on the large diamond are not done correctly. One is a bit off center and the other has a slight ball shape to it instead of the normal prong look. Also on the 6 small diamonds in the band the tips are uneven looking and some even seem to be off center as well.  
My question is, is this what happens when you have prongs and tips replaced? Or is this more likely bad work? I can imagine that it is not easy to add gold to these tiny little tips. As you might see I am quite passive, I did question the large diamond prongs at the jeweler and the two people behind the counter said they saw nothing. I truly see what I stated and I wonder if I should push it by seeing another jeweler?

Answer
G'day Emily and many thanks for your query

There are two methods of repairing claws or prongs and that depends on how bad they were in the first place. Some jewellers may simply add to the existing claw while others may file away the claw completely and replace with a new one (which is often easier).

This can lead to the claws being set in slightly different places according to how much gold is available in the original setting. If it was wearing thin, the jeweller may have moved the claw slightly to a better place in order to get a stronger setting.

There is nothing wrong with you seeing another jeweller and getting their opinion, as they will be able to see the details (which I cannot).

Please don't be too passive - it's your jewelry and you paid good money to have it repaired. If you truly belive there is unsatisfactory work here - bring it to the attention of the jeweller who did the work - not the assistants in the store.

Often though - many jewellers outsource their work to another repairing jeweller, so consider that in the response to your complaint.

As a last resort - file a written complaint with the local ombudsman in your country (department of fair trading etc) but tell the store that you are going to do so first. This often snaps them into action...

Hope this helps....