Subject: My Engagement Ring Hunting Adventure:)
Content: 4-15-08 I would like to add that Pacific Jeweler is a great jeweler shop, their goal is to make the customer happy, and I am a happy customer. The work they done is great and professional. 3-13-08 Purchased this ACA 0.6ct Diamond from WF Beautiful Diamond Look here : ) Link After
lots of reading and research and learning, I know that anything from
the Whiteflash ACA line up, Will always good, and with their 10day return policy, I can inspect the diamond first before I decide to keep it or not. The one I got was a keeper:D 3-28-08 Purchased this Palladium setting from Danforth Diamond: Link I
looked everywhere for a 2mm wide setting with 6 prong, and this is the
only place I found them. I was looking for a platinum setting, but
after reading about palladium and the savings, I decided to go for the
palladium setting. Although I've never heard of them before, I decided to give them a try, I figure it can't go wrong with 30day return policy. The setting came quickly after they custom made it.
It is in perfect condition polished to perfection and packaged in a very pretty box. They are very helpful and answered all my concerns promptly. (*I will update with photos later) (**After been informed by the owner at Pacific Jewelers that Palladium is a very soft/weak metal, it can be easily scratched and is hard to work with, I'm now regret and wish I should have spent more money and gotten the platinum or gold version of the setting.) 4-9-08: Went to Pacific Jewelers today, to set the diamond in ring. The prong spacings are uneven and bent with scratches on all 6 prongs after inspection. The jeweler left right after he handed me the ring and therefore I did not get a chance to speak with him. Both the diamond and setting are brand new before sending to the jeweler. . UPDATE! 4-10-08: Went in again to get it fixed, the jeweler apologized for the rush job he done and wants to fix the problem for me. The owner is very nice and helpful and offered to replace the cost of my setting if I wasn't satisfied. After I get the setting back this time. It came back so much better, I wonder what happened the first time, and I likes it very much, although it is only 90% straight and proportional if observed closely, but I believe this is probably the best that can be done by a human. I think of that 10% misalignment and little scratch as of a touch of human been and memory of my hard time looking for something perfect. I'm guessing most of those perfect settings people see on mall displays or inside magazine ads are made with a machine or computer. So if you really care about every detail of your diamond ring, its probably best to get one that is made with a machine and not a local master jeweler. But I'm too late for that. I'm also very thankful of the owner because she informed me that my setting is made of the metal called Palladium, its a inferior metal that is alot softer then gold and is very hard to work with. It is the reason why there are scratches and dent on my ring, and the reason why the jeweler can't make it look nice like the 14k setting I see in the display. The owner was very nice and only charged me normal pricing to set the diamond. I must say that this store have great customer service, very reasonable pricing, very informative with great work and I highly recommend them for your everyday jewelery needs. I will add new photos later once I get time later tonight:) Here is the photo of my ring after the final touch by the jeweler. Most alignment and scratches problem are now corrected. You can still see minor misalignment and scratches done by the jeweler because of the softness of Palladium. But overall, the ring is now beautiful and with the excellent customer service, I'm very satisfied. The prongs are now straight and polished:) very beautiful. Beautiful diamond now mounted perfectly in my brand new setting. For those reading. Do NOT buy Palladium. Although it might look new and shinning at first, the owner warned me that it is a weak metal that is softer then gold. It is very hard to work with and can be scratched easily. See all the small scratches on the prong? Owner said those can be prevented if it were gold. The jeweler made that scratch on the 1st rush attempt, and I decided to keep that scratch on the band as a memory for the time and effort we all spent to make this ring perfect. Most scratches are now gone after many steps of polishing by the jeweler. Only minor scratches are still visible. And according to the owner, because of the softness of palladium, those scratches can't be prevented when setting the diamond in the ring. The jeweler did his best trying to set the diamond in such a weak metal. Look! Now all 6 claws are evenly spaced. Great work by the jeweler without any computer alignment or machines to to the job. Look beautiful, with everything straight and aligned.
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