My preferred jeweler did not finish my engagement ring on time and therefore, I didn't feel like my business, or my engagement, mattered.
I have been a tremendous fan of Lorien's jewelry since the start. So much so, that when my now husband and I started discussing marriage, I made it clear I did not want a ring made by anyone but her. I wanted to support a small business, local maker, and fellow creative. I went into the shop and gave her my measurements just to make sure there were no hiccups in the process. I shared my love of her work, and told her I was so excited to hopefully wear a piece of hers forever. Kind of a big deal, if you ask me.
My husband goes in, helps pick out the metal, order the materials, and design the ring. He is using a family diamond that he's awaiting arrival on. He is planning to propose on a family trip to Hawaii. Lorien assures him he will have it the week before he's leaving. He gets the diamond to her slightly later than planned, but still plenty of time and again, she assures him. After all, he's planning a proposal in Hawaii that he can't exactly replicate if the ring isn't ready in time. The delivery day comes and goes with no word on finishing the ring. He reaches out, checks in, she needs more time. Okay - okay. The day before he is set to fly to meet us all in Hawaii - he goes into the shop, and is told it'll be done by the afternoon. He goes back in...she promises to have it done by the evening. 10pm rolls around and my husband cannot get her to reply to emails, and he is leaving on an airplane in literally hours. Finally he gets a response and she says she will not have it finished. He immediately finds a post office close to the house we're at, sends her the address, and asks her to overnight it knowing that it takes 3-5 business days to overnight to Hawaii. She promises, again, that she will do this, and he leaves without a ring.
The day after he arrives he reaches out to check in on shipment, and she says "I was just on my way to check on that." Read: I haven't shipped it yet. At this point he tells her to forget it, and on the verge of tears tells me that he doesn't have the ring. Here's the deal - this family trip to Hawaii was a celebration of my brother joining the Marines. It was likely the last family vacation we will take for many years, and our entire engagement/wedding timeline was planned around his leaving, as we are close and I wanted to celebrate and enjoy that season with my whole family. So I knew it was coming, and the level of disappointment I experienced when he told me he did not have the ring and WHY was huge. I felt worse for him than for me, though. He was sad, I was sad, and moreover, disappointed that in a season where all I wanted was to feel like a bride and like this time in life mattered - I felt like it was not prioritized, especially by someone I made intentional contact with and an effort to put a face to a name.
My ring is stunning, and when we got home he was able to propose and all's well that ends well...we're married and I believe she compensated by discounting my wedding band. I was just so terribly unimpressed by the client experience, and ours was quite awful. Moreover, in spite of all this, I made a point to say thank you at the local fair she had a booth at shortly after, and the interaction was cold and lacking. To be honest, if I had messed that up and my client was forgiving and warm anyway, I would go above and beyond to make up for the bad experience by making them feel valued and acknowledged. After several encounters after that first one, I still don't feel like she knows who I am or like our business was worth her time, and that sucks.
When people ask about my ring, and tell me how beautiful it is, I smile, say thank you, and recommend them to someone similar instead because no one's experience for an occasion that big, should be that terrible. read more
