I had the pleasure of meeting my two best friends here in Holland for lunch today.  Add to this that one of them has THE MOST ADORABLE little boy and I was in 7th heaven!  The fact that he was a little fussy did not seem to cloud my goo-goo eyes nor wipe the grin from my face merely from his presence!

** Geez DJ just get to the point already! **

Okay, one of my friends owns the most beautiful vintage/antique style platinum ER.  The center diamond is STUNNING and is enough to make me rethink my view of RBs - maybe I DO need one!   LOL!  Anyway, it turns out that she has lost one of the side stones so I took a look at it and I was a bit flabbergasted (there's a good english word for y'all!).

The stone that is missing was set into a small milgrained bezel.  Yes!  A bezel and a platinum one at that!  The ring is just 4 years old.  How is this possible?  My first reaction was that it wasn't set properly in the first place and that she should take it up with the jeweller who made the ring.  On closer inspection, it looks like another of the stones does not have enough metal surrounding it - it looks to me that part of the girdle is exposed or dang near to it.

What do you all think?  She does not recall banging it but even that shouldn't remove a bezel set stone.  I think she should call the original jeweller and insist he repair it free of charge and check the other stones too.  I'm really interested in what you guys think - does she have any comeback on this?

Here's some pics.

One final thing, the ring was engraved all the way around but the pattern is very worn in the back.  Is this typical with 4 years of wear for platinum?  I thought it would hold much longer but I bow to y'alls wealth of knowledge!   

Thanks for your input!

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Thanks Snooper!  You should see it in real life - it is jaw dropping!

I said the same thing about the shank.  You see all these true antique pieces that only look like that after decades of wear.  Maybe I'm just thinking of bands that wear uniformly as they spin.  I'll bet Itbit would have some great insight into this.  ITBIT?!?!

I was thinking too that the stone could possibly have broken and fallen out but how unlikely is that with a diamond that's set at such an angle that it would be near impossible to hit it hard enough.  I really think it wasn't set right.  HELP!

Yikes DL.

I louped it yesterday and those are certainly supposed to be bezels - no small metal knobs.  Some stones are bead set but there's 8 total bezel set. 

I'm leaning towards having her just take it in to the jeweller she trusts and have him give it a complete check.  It's only a small stone so if that's the only problem, it may be worth just paying to have it fixed out of pocket.

Hmmmm.....

There really seems to be no metal covering the diamonds around the edges.  I would definately have her do the first step...and see what her jeweler says.   I don't think it is uncommon for the engraving on the back of the shank to be worn.......even after 4 years.  Remember, platinum may be a strong metal...but it is also very soft!   Also, it is the back of the shank which rubs the most while doing activities.      The settings on the top of the shank....is what I question the most...really it seems like it may be a case of "faulty" craftmanship.  Also, look at the way the bezels have a curve to them?   The setting is just STUNNING......but maybe whoever made this setting couldn't "forsee" that the design of it may not hold up to it's everlasting beauty.      I am intrigued to see what the jeweler says.   If it can't be fixed,  I sure hope she has some kinda recourse...or can get another EXPERT opinion.   ~Ronda

Oh I missed that point Snooper!  No, she doesn't have an ultrasound.  She said she just uses a little Windex to clean it regularly.

Thanks for all your wonderful replies - I love you guys!    She's been checking in too and I know she appreciates all your opinions!

Amy, she was unsure of the size when I talked to her.  I think it's around .75-.90ct but it could easily be a full carat too.  I haven't been around RBs consistantly for a long time and I have lost the ability to eyeball somewhat.  It is BLINDING though.  Honestly, the girl did real good.  I'm wondering if it has some fluorescence as it has that 'blue-white' thing going on.  What do you think from the pics?

Good points Ronda.  She is going to hold onto the ring until the summer when she is back in the States and then take it to the family jeweller who sold her the center stone for his opinion on the setting.  I too have some concerns that the ring perhaps was not made to last in the long haul but it will be so good for her to hear an expert opinion.  Of course, I think we're all diamond experts but I digress.....!!!

I don't think that's harsh Ruby, probably just sensible given the circumstances!

Rhonda, I am going to give it another good hard look with my loupe next time I get together with my friend - just to make sure I didn't miss something with the bezels.  Thanks for that tip!

Anyway, hopefully, this will be a simple fix with no further problems.  Keep your fingers crossed and I will update you all when I know anything.  Thanks so much for all your comments. You came up with so many things I hadn't thought of.

You know, my son has a little blacklight keychain round here somewhere.........hopefully I can find it and I'll check it out next time!  I'll have to get her to find the paperwork - I'm itching to see what it says.

Thanks Geena - I really value your advice as I know you have a wealth of experience and knowledge.  That's quite telling about your Grandmother's ring (very cool too by the way!) and I truly hope this turns out to be an easy fix that was just a freak issue.

She doesn't wear a ring on the other hand.  In fact, she's not that much of a jewelry person - I know!  The shock and horror of it!  teehee!  It's very interesting to see that pattern worn like that.  The ring is just stamped PLAT.  I was hoping it might be marked with the alloy they used, to try and grasp a reason for the quick wear.  Still, the stone and setting is of far more concern I suppose.

Thanks so much for your response Geena.  I very much appreciate it. 

That's an excellent point, Rhonda.  Another thing I will take a closer look at next time too.  Hmmm, this is all pointing to the workmanship.