I smashed my engagement ring in a door related incident and was extremely distressed, calling around different places to see who might be able to take on such a case. I called Schwarzchild Keller and George and was assured they dealt with these problems all the time, that they had a jeweler with decades of experience and that I had nothing to worry about. I asked if they would be able to resize the ring in addition to repairing it and they assured me that it was within their capabilities.
They let me know that they were extremely backed up and it could be up to a month before I got my ring back, which I was more than understanding of and did not question. My fiancé dropped it off, and a few weeks later they returned it right on schedule.
Immediately I knew that my ring was not in the best shape still. Granted, it looked much better than it had smushed, but there were three glaring flaws that seemed beyond what such a reputable store should have considered a successful repair.
1. They returned the ring with a loose gem. From what I understand of the process, since it was a moissanite ring (Which was disclosed during my initial phone call) they had to take the gems out to reshape the gold. Not a problem, but it was shocking that such a glaring issue was overlooked and that my ring would be returned to me in such shape.
2. The gold band was crooked. It wasn't such a big deal to me as the loose stone, but it still reflected on their craftmanship overall.
3. Underneath where the gem goes, the gold was expanded and misshapen, looking very clunky. We brought this up with the store, they said that it must have been the result of the damage I caused.
I am of the opinion that this is the result of their work during the resizing of the ring, but in any case, shouldn't it be the responsibility of the jeweler to fix? We asked them to reshape the ring after the accident and they assured us that it was something they could do, with no disclosure that they may not be able to repair the ring to perfect condition. They simply said the price for the repair/resizing and we paid it.
They then quoted us an additional $400 to fix the third issue, which, if caused by my initial door accident, should have been disclosed to us when we initially dropped off the ring, not after they had already performed the full repair and determined it up to their standards.
We respectfully made these concerns apparent. I was disappointed but sure that such a well-respected jewelry store would assuage my concerns.
No! They said that they would review the photos they took of my ring upon intake and get back to me about whether they were liable. This in itself would be understandable, if it wasn't the last communication we received on the issue! We called again to verify the situation and were delayed again without any explanation, and so before they even got around to securing the loose gem, (they had the ring for well over a month at this point) we decided to pick up the ring and find a jeweler that we could trust instead.
I don't understand how we could have been given such subpar results, and then such poor customer service from a jewelry store that is so well rated otherwise. When we got the ring back, they said, "You don't owe us anything." Of course we don't! We paid the initial cost of repair; you haven't done anything since then!
We both agreed, it's like they don't even care!!
I understand things take time and that sometimes it takes more than one tries to get it right, or perhaps they promised beyond what they were capable of. I don't know. I do know that I do not recommend this store for such repairs. read more