Hi,
My wife's wedding ring is Niessing tension set ring, and the diamond has just fallen out of it for the second time.
Both the first time, and this time, Niessing is saying it's nothing to do with the quality of their ring and that we must pay £450 to have it repaired.
My wife doesn't feel that she's abused the wedding ring, she removes it to go to the gym for example.
Does anyone know about these things? My wife is getting pretty mad and upset about it given that it's her wedding ring and she's being treated like shit by Niessing. I'm getting fed up of having to pay for repairs to shoddy product!
Thanks!
Comments
While you're looking at melting it I'm curious as to which of their tension set ring designs it is... Got a picture?
As to melting it - any jeweller who makes stuff should be happy to do this, it's a job worth virtually no material cost so it's all time (often there will be material added as sawing/filing will reduce the material a bit, but close to zero materials).
A good goldsmith will be able to make most designs and only a few choices will need specific machines or techniques ... So start looking at rings in catalogs and magazines or online, find out what she really wants, go to a jeweller get a price and I'll let you know if it's the right ballpark price - I would normally knock out between 5 and 20 wedding rings a day (depending on complexity) so unless she has her heart set on a crazy design with complex moving parts it should be possible to work out what time it would take and so what hourly rate you're being quoted.
Very tired as I'm having a very long day so I hope this makes sense... Basically... 450 is mental
Also, resizing tension rings (as will likely need to be done at some stage) seems to be a major PITA.
I think we've been quoted about £350 by the jewellery shop for the work to remake the ring into a simpler design (I'm not sure exactly what would have been chosen for that design, i.e. if it was another tension set, a traditional mounting or even just a band.
The ring we currently have looks a bit like the picture below but with a very small diamond.
I've read a couple of online reviews of these Niessing tension rings that have fallen apart and I certainly wouldn't recommend one after the problems we've had and the way we've been treated by Niessing.
At least if we get it remade it's a chance to take control of this mess and create a more positive memory/experience out of things...and get a chance to give work to a good independent designer/maker rather than some corporate that is selling a dream without reality...
Even if they offered to repair for free, given that it's now failed twice I'm not sure that we'd accept as we'd just be scared of it failing and having to go through all this hassle again.
Remaking now definitely seems the way to go.
Thanks DLM for tagging - I had hoped we'd have an expert somewhere but I couldn't remember who it was!
How can that possibly cos £450, or even £20.
I don't know how much pressure it takes to open and close the gap in the ring you have but I've done titanium Ball colure rings over 10mm in thickness with a set of pliers (one to open one to close) that cost me a fiver.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
superglue ?
I'm a body piercer but I must say the BCR is the worst piece of jewellery I have to work with, using tension to hold a ball in place is not only not secure but bloody difficult to fit depending where in the body it is, and even more so now everyone wants a very tight fit.
Interesting to see some of these problems are crossing artistic media!
Another London based jeweller is quoting rates of about £120 per hour - is that a fair rate? Sounds expensive but may not be far off given a London cost base...any thoughts?
Thanks!
So it's a fairly sensible pricing.
You're not wrong... but... diamond is notably tougher than gold, so bumps on the stone will dent the very carefully cut recess the stone sits in, once it's loose pretty much need to file it down and re-cut the slot - substantially less than £450 of work, but probably a lot more than just squeezing the ring a bit... maybe £50 including any re-finishing. Oh and the stone has to sit very flat and central or the stone will pop out - or break (though brilliant cuts around the girdle are pretty damn strong, they're still susceptible to chipping and fractures)
Most tension sets are either a a faux tension set with a metal ring hidden under the stone so the ring as a whole is still complete, preventing it from opening over time... or are made from materials that wont open as much over time - tungsten, ceramic, etc, or are thick enough that it takes more force to bend and deform... but gold and platinum are not indestructible and over time precious metal tension rings will loosen. wedding rings are not a great choice for tension set stuff because they're worn all the time, tight jean pockets, handbags, hand rails on stairs, all these things and more batter, squeeze and abraid wedding rings all the time, hence court shaped (smooth oval profile) plain rings being comfortable and the longest lasting.
Agree with your thoughts on tension set - really wishing that we'd never bought the damned thing.
Feel very let down by Niessing, even with daily use I'd hoped a tension set would last longer than 18 months. Their attitude seems to be "melt it down, whatever, now you've bought it we don't give a fuck!"