Ring dilemma - advice needed

[Starfish83]

A few months ago I purchased a beautiful keepsake ring. It was around £100 and I waited for a number of months for it to be made by the jewellery maker (she creates and sets the stones).

A few days after receiving it, I noticed that the stone had did not perfectly fit in its setting so is a little lopsided. I thought I’d let this go, although feel a little frustrated that it isn’t perfect and I notice the flaw quite a bit. Now, I’ve noticed that the band is turning coppery.

I’m assuming that this means that the ring isn’t sterling silver, as I expected. Any ideas as to what I can do? I LOVE the ring and design and the stone has sentimental value, but for £100 I would have thought that it would be neatly set and sterling silver? I realise it’s not a lot of money to pay and ideally would have it set in diamonds and platinum but that’s not ah option at the mo!

Thanks, knowledgable jewellery folk or those who have got this far(!), for your advice! x

Gentle bump. (I know it’s a bit of a niche post! 🙈)

Pictures?

Pics would help. Coppery suggests it isn’t silver though it could be something you are using eg hand cream.
Post a pic

Is it hallmarked (925 is sterling silver) and did you specify sterling silver?

Thank you for the replies so far - am uploading pics and there a few more to follow. (It’s quite difficult to see the tarnishing in the photos but it’s there! It’s also affecting the claws in the setting.) I didn’t specify sterling silver (so, of course, take responsibility for that) but am rather surprised that a £100 ring would be anything else. I’m upset as the ring has sentimental value.

Other pics... x

That looks like plating that is wearing off. Also making a ring like that with all the settings would cost much more than you paid, as it is so time consuming. That looks like a pre made setting, maybe she added the central stone ?

When you say she “makes and sets the stones” what do you mean exactly ?
Also how did you find her, and was it advertised as solid silver ?

I am a jeweller, no way someone made that setting from scratch for £100. Even casting and setting the external CZs would be quite a pricey ring if UK manufactured. As per a PP I think it's a bought in setting which she has set the stone into. I can see the unevenness in the stone setting. Is it a piece of breast milk jewellery? If so the "stone" has been made nicely and could easily be reset into another setting if the one you have is no good.

If you did want this remaking into a piece of fine jewellery - first you should check what the durability is like of the central 'stone' to make sure it justifies it. But a palladium and moissanite halo would be significantly cheaper than platinum/diamonds and would look identical. Might be an option if you wanted it resetting.

What exactly was said about the specifics of the ring when you placed the order / talked with the maker?

Btw, I'd like to second moissanite (instead if diamonds).

Is it a piece of breast milk jewellery?

OMG you learn something everyday

Thanks so much for all the helpful and informed replies. ferretface, that’s absolutely right - the setting is bought in and the maker has made and set the stone. Yes, it’s breast milk jewellery. Could you estimate about how much it would be to have the stone set in palladium and moissanite? I’d definitely be interested in doing that! And thanks Craving, that’s good to hear.

Breast milk jewellery ? ? ?

SirVix and StuffedPenguin - yes, indeed! It’s keepsake jewellery to mark a journey (in my case, two years of feeding my child). Some people have jewellery made with ashes, locks of hair, dried flowers, too. I realise it won’t be to everyone’s taste but for many it’s something special and significant. 😊

Is it durable enough? Does breast milk jewelery have a mohs scale rating or something similar to assess durability?
interesting idea. It does certainly look pretty. 👍

I don't think you have much of a comeback if you didn't specify the metal you wanted, and she didn't advertise it as being sterling silver... you could talk to her, but if you paid for a stone to be set into a ring for £100, and that is all, it didn't need to be done in sterling silver.

It does need to be fit for purpose, so if it's wearing, it's worth talking to her anyway.

Thanks Anchor - I totally take responsibility for my assumption that it would be sterling silver. Good point about it being fit for purpose, thank you.

Craving, I have no idea but I’d like to know!

Rings (well, unless they're super cheap) need to be durable imo. Especially if they have sentimental value and are intended to be worn regularly...

So yes, I'd find out before spending any more money tbh... Or else you may want to have it set as a pendant? Idk.

Good luck.

If the breast milk is set in resin it will have more limited durability than if it's glass - would probably make a difference as to whether it would be worth paying for a more expensive setting. It looks like quite a nice job on the 'stone' irrespective of whether it's glass or resin btw.

I wonder if it would be possible to buy a fine setting in (as the stone is presumably made to fairly standard dimensions in order for the seller to have been able to use a pre made setting)?

That would be the cheapest if so. If you know the dimensions of the stone, Googling 'pear halo ring mount' 'pear halo ring setting' will bring up lots of ring mounts/settings which might be suitable for your stone, some of which would come with accent diamonds already set.

Eg: www.primemountings.com/collections/semi-mount-rings-pear

Then the only work that is required is resetting the stone.

Thanks Craving. Ferret, it’s set in resin. Thank you for the link - I can’t see any palladium/moissanite options...do you think I’d have to get it made as a bespoke piece using those materials? Any idea of what that might cost? I can measure the stone for dimensions. Would happily go for white gold/buying ring mount online option if that were cheaper? (Thanks again for your expert knowledge!)

Yes palladium, moissanite would need to be made as bespoke, I think it would be quite a bit more expensive than finding a suitable pre-made mount in white gold (or silver even).

Here are a few more pre-made mounts, you need to know the exact size of the stone to understand what will fit. I would expect it is a standard size so mounts should be available. www.etsy.com/uk/market/pear_ring_mount

I think something like this would be your best bet if you can find one that fits perfectly - it will be a few hundred pounds but you will end up with quite a durable bit of fine jewellery with sentimental value. From what I could tell resin has a mohs equivalent of about 5.5-6.5, quite soft but similar to an opal, so i think it will hold up OK and could justify a more expensive setting.

Another alternative would be to look for a sterling silver and CZ mount to reset the stone into.