to expect an engagement ring from Tiffany to last a lifetime?

[StillMarried]

We got engaged 16 years ago and DH went to Tiffany and bought an amazing ring for me. Two sapphires and a diamond. Suffice to say it was not an inexpensive purchase.

Fast forward 15 years three DC and a very busy life later, one of the sapphires fell out. I took it back to the shop to get them to repair it for me.

They claim that I will need a new stone and that it will cost nearly half the initial cost of the ring to repair it.

AIBU to expect them to put in the stone that my DH has already paid for?

AIBU to expect a ring from Tiffany to last 15 years??

What a load of rubbish. These designer items are not as good quality as you would expect. I have designer bags (Dior, miu miu, Prada) and the quality is not all that fantastic. My mum has been wearing her big nuckledster ring with stones in for 40 years still as good as the day she bought it. She bought it from Cyprus, where gold/silver are cheaper

Why don't you take it to a normal Independant jeweller to repair, would cost a lot less I can imagine

That's a pile of crap. And to be honest if you just need the stone refixing it should not be necessary to take it to Tiffany's.

I had a similar problem with my Ebel watch. The bracelet is a mixture of stainless steel and gold in a sort of a gate link style. Over about 10 years the SS pins that hold all the links together have started to wear away the gold links, as the gold is much softer. I see that as a fundamental design flaw in a supposedly once in a lifetime investment watch. Two different materials that do not wear at an equal rate, fixed together in such a way that is detrimental to the life of the whole piece.

I took it back to Ebel hoping for a repair of some of the worst worn gold links, and their only solution was to try to sell me a whole new bracelet.

i didn't know rings needed servicing, my engagment ring is approx 60 years old and still looks new.

Tiffanys are a bit of a case of PR over substance and are not always as good quality as they should be for the price. DSis works in jewellery and I have this from her good authority.

I am a sucker for them though and do love them.

The new stone requirement just sounds wrong though. Challenge them

And if all else fails DSis can get you a new stone at trade price

If you're anywhere near Berkshire, I know an excellent jeweller who can repair just about anything.

A number of friends have had their engagement rings repaired by him when other stores have claimed a repair will be impossible or expensive, and his repairs have lasted.

Rings need servicing and looking after. The silliest of things can knock and loosen stones/ cause wear and tear. And yes, grannys ring may well have lasted 50 years with no damage, but everyone wears and treats their rings differently. Some never take their rings off and wonder why scratches/damage happens, and some people will take them off for doing housework/gardening. Just because a ring has diamonds or is made of platinum doesn't make it indestructable either. Sounds like the stone has been chipped to need replacing.
And if you can afford to buy overpriced rings from Tiffany, take care of it all the time, get it looked at by a reputable jeweller with their own workshop once a year for a stone check and clean and polish. Then it may well last as long as grannys ring.
(Goldsmith tired of seeing people treat jewellery she makes but will never be able to afford with no due care then wonder why it's damaged.Rant over)

Hophop - totally get your point, but equally feel the total anguish of the people who've posted stories on here of misplacing rings when they take them off to bake cakes / have a shower / etc etc!

are sapphires significantly softer than diamonds in same vein as emeralds? are there any semi precious / fancy stones that are nearly as hard?

My insurance policy says if I don't have the setting in my engagement ring checked yearly, they will not cover it if I lose a stone.

Of course, mine's not Tiffany...

Another one whose insurance policy also says that jewelry listed as a high value item has to be checked annually. I have lost a stone in a Tiffany's necklace and my bastard insurance company won't pay out because it had been 2 years since my last check and i thought that clause in the very small print only applied to my ring.

Why can't they use the same sapphire, my mum had her original sapphire put back in, at a much cheaper jewellers than Tiffanys.

I stopped insuring my jewellery after my friend had her Tiffany ring stolen. Her insurers had a "deal" with H Samuel and therefore and jewellery had to be replaced by them. As far as the insurers were concerned they were replacing with the same weight of stone, so they had fulfilled their duty. I strongly recommend that if you have your jewellery insured you check with your insurer how they would pay out in the event of a theft.

I have to have my jewellery checked annually too. Its a condition of the insurance, but luckily the jewellers (think expensive northern jewellers ) do it for free.

I would agree sapphires are softer and maybe the stone is significantly chipped that a new one would be better ?

I had no idea you had to maintain jewellery or the like for like thing.

I've a pair of earrings from Tiffany that have had to be repaired twice. Not impressed, even though I love them.

It's a condition of my insurance that I have to have an annual prong inspection. I take it back to Tiffany's and they issue me with a certificate thingy; if anything falls out, then my insurance will pay for a replacement stone.

YWVU not to have done this - did you really think that the setting would need no maintenance at all for 15 years?

nancerama that can't be true surely!
Sure your friend didn't maybe tell a few porkies about where her original ring came from ?

Otherwise your car insurers could say, well we know you had a Golf, but here's a Skoda, it's the same colour!

Sorry, just to be clear, do you still have the stone that fell out?

If that is the case, I think they should reset the stone and charge you for the work.

If you have lost the stone, then I think you should have to pay for a replacement.

OMG I could have WRITTEN this post!! I had what sounds like exactly the same ring - 15 years old, 2 sapphires with a diamond in the middle. The diamond fell out last year - no idea where it went.

I went through insurance, who went back to Tiffany. They said that it couldn't be fixed due to the age of the ring (????it's an ENGAGEMENT ring, you don't change it every year do you???) and they would write it off and we'd have to have a brand new one.

BUT they didn't make that ring any more so couldn't have exactly the same

AND the amount they quoted as the insurance value was about £50 more than my DH bought it for. We argued and argued and argued with the insurance company and it turns out that when asked to price it for replacement, Tiffany had just given them the last price it was on sale for - 15 years ago.

I got the money and went and bought a new ring - not at Tiffany funnily enough....

@ nancerama omg, I will be checking that out! I would be livid. The insurance certificates from tiffany's (and I assume all jewellers) state the 4 thingies (clarity etc etc) Didnt they do a like for a like replacement? again.

"They said the setting had deteriorated with wear and the whole ring needed resetting and they needed to source new stones."
This sounds distinctly iffy to me. Yes, the settings of the stones can deteriorate - but not the stones. In days of old it was fairly common to have the inherited family jewels reset into more modern styles for the new owners. New settings, same stones.

I would go elsewhere and get a quote, either from an independent jewelers or an artisan jewelery designer.

My friend submitted a proper receipt and valuation when making her claim. The insurers wouldn't budge

I've been a victim of burglary twice. It is soul destroying fighting for the replacement of every item.

We got engaged as poor students. My ring was £29 "solitaire" cubic zircona from, yes, Ratners! I had to have the band mended once (got my hand slammed n a car door and had to have it cut off) but apart from that I always wear it and there's never been a hint of a problem.

It's the emotional value - no insurance policy wouldnt laugh could replace my Ratners ring!

YANBU. Take it to another jeweller.

bobbifleckman sapphires and rubies are the next hardest stones after diamonds. Emeralds are softer. Look up mohs scale (hardness of stones)