Today we have lessons about jewelry purchases. How where you buy can be as important as what you buy. Read on for a tale of a wedding ring.
So back when we got married, nearly three years ago, we debated about what type of rings to buy; particularly for me, as James was pretty easy going in a standard band. I love art deco jewelry, so we played around with trying to find something that was antique.
For us this solved several things, in that antique pieces have the style I love plus often the affordability as well. Some might say that they are less conflict ridden as well, but given colonialist practices I wouldn’t go so far as to believe that.
Buying just about anything is cheaper in Oregon than it is in Washington, DC. Plus there is no sales tax. It’s a great way to save money on purchases. We were headed back to Oregon just two weeks before our wedding, so we did a fair bit of research on this end, not finding anything we liked. We found one antique place in Portland and then had a back up plan of a couple of rings that I liked at a jeweler who could get anything ordered or customized within the short time frame, in case we didn’t find something antique that we liked.
So off we went to Oregon to buy rings and get married!
We went to Gilt Jewelry to see what we could find. We found a wonderful piece that we both liked a lot, and at a reasonable price. I’d have to find the receipts for sure, but I believe that it was for sale for about $1,700 and the appraisal said that it was worth $3k. Platinum art deco with nearly a karat center stone and more than a karat combined weight with the baguette diamonds. We fell in love with it and bought it.
Just after the official honeymoon was over, one month after our wedding, we discovered one morning at brunch that my side diamond had fallen out. It turned out that the ring had been repaired faultily at one point, with yellow gold on a platinum setting that you could see ever so slightly if you looked up close.
We tried to look to insurance, but apparently they had somehow messed up our paperwork and the ring wasn’t covered.
So I called Gilt, just to let them know and complain a bit. In the end they said to just send the ring back and they would fix it at no charge.
Now, nearly three years later, I was back in Portland after the Congo and happened to have my ring checked. They noticed several cracks in the platinum band that I had noticed but ignored previously after the initial issues with the ring. But, they said that if it wasn’t repaired it would eventually fall apart.
Since I was in town, I went back to Gilt to see what they could do. In the end they recast the entire ring in platinum at no charge to me. They were extremely professional and friendly about it all.
Now it is even more gorgeous than it was to begin with!
I’d have to say that this is a lesson for us in many ways. First, is to pay attention to the warranties and repair policies for any jewelry you might purchase, including new and antique pieces. You don’t want to lose the value and wealth that the jewelry represents. Second, don’t be shy to come back, even some time later.
In the end the shop has gained my utmost respect and appreciation. I will recommend the place to friends and family without hesitation.
Happy Memorial!
Miel
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