Tuesday, November 9, 2010

My Blue Spinel

This past weekend I went to the jewelry store where Leland got my engagement and wedding rings. A very good friend of mine has been bugging me for a long time to get my ring insured, and I figured three years was long enough to wait.

When I stopped in I told them I wanted my ring cleaned and also needed a written appraisal.

"Oh, by the way," I said, "my center stone feels a little loose. Can you check the prongs to make sure it is ok?"

The woman then took out the little eye magnifying thing and started looking at it.

"The prongs are fine but the reason your stone is loose is because it's broken," she said.

I immediately started feeling sick to my stomach. The stone on my wedding ring was broken, and like I just told you, I don't have it insured. The woman could tell I was freaking out so she went and got Tom, the store owner, to talk to me.

When Leland got my engagement ring, Tom broke the first stone when he was sizing the ring. So then he got a new stone super fast. Because of all of the drama surrounding my stone, my ring has become a sort of celebrity in the jewelry store. Everyone knows the story of my blue spinel stone. The spinel I broke was hand picked by Tom in Sri Lanka. I love my stone. I love having an obscure stone that very few people know about. I love how different the spinel looks in different lighting. I love everything about my ring.



I was having a mild panic attack when Tom was talking to me, telling me that the break is so bad that it won't fit correctly in my setting if he cuts it. He said the only thing I can do is get a new stone.

With my head in my hands and tears running down my face I said with a deep breath, "Ok, can you give me a rough estimate on a new stone?"

"Oh, I'll give you a new stone. I stand behind my stones so I'll replace it for you," Tom said.

That's right folks! My jeweler is so wonderful that he is getting a new spinel for my wedding ring for me FOR FREE.

I almost peed my pants when I heard those words come out of his mouth. Then he said he would give me my old stone back and even cut it to fit a different setting for me. Though I am still upset that my original stone is broken, it is so much easier to deal with knowing that I won't have to wait til I save enough money to buy a new one. And I get to keep the old one.

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is amazing!! and I love that your ring and stone are so different!

Copyboy said...

Wow! Now that's a jeweler's number I'd like to have.

Liz Mays said...

What a blessing! My heart would have been broken too. I think it's fantastic that your ring has a different stone than what is deemed typical!

Just Jen said...

The jeweler that sold The Man my ring lost my ring when it was sent for sizing. They replaced it, and then shut down. I am always scared that something is going to happen to my ring now. Your jeweler is very impressive!

Aubrey S. said...

It's great that the jeweler is standing behind his products....and you've just reminded me that I still need to insure my rings.

Amy said...

That is awesome! Maybe you can have the old stone fitted in a pretty necklace or something.

What a great guy...wish we had a Tom in our town!

Anonymous said...

Whew! What a great guy. Now I know why you're bluespinelgirl. I always wondered.

PS I love your ring.

foxy said...

Okay, all I can say after that is...

WHEW!

Relief.

Frugal Vicki said...

What an amazing jeweler, and what an awesome story behind your ring! That is a beautiful ring, btw. I am always so worried about my ring. I would be heartbroken.

Macey said...

Girl! I am SO glad he's getting you a new stone. And, srsly, I have to google that thing because I never heard of one. But now I know why your e-mail is what it is. I honestly could not figure it out! lol
The ring is BEAUTIFUL.

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

that is so cool.
You should give this jeweler some PR and say his name. If I lived there I'd be high tailing it to his store just because he has such great service!

Bird Shit said...

your ring is beautiful! That's awesome the he replaced the stone for you for free, not a lot of decent people out there anymore that would

Just Plain Tired said...

Now that is very nice. Glad to see the jeweler felt that way.

jv726 said...

That's so awesome! I am so glad you can get a new stone right away. I can't even imagine what you were feeling when the woman said it was broken. Yikes! I love your ring, it is beautiful!! :)

MommyLovesStilettos said...

That is amazing!!

Intense Guy said...

I suddenly understand a certain email adress now.

:)

I hope you will get that insurance business done with though this time!

Anonymous said...

This story gave me SHIVERS! =)

Vodka Logic said...

Certainly renews ones faith in people..its a wonderful story and a beautiful ring.

Cool Gal said...

What a great ending. I just love when things work out.

Your jeweler sounds amazing. I think my mister needs his number.

Happy Thursday!

McVal said...

AHHH!!! That's super!! What a great guy! and a beautiful ring!

Sandra said...

Wow! I would have peed my pants! Your ring is beautiful btw! So glad it worked out!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow!! That is just awesome!! That Tom is just super sweet. Seriously, SO happy for you!!

WhiteSockGirl aka The Fabulous Bitch said...

How great is your jeweler!

Love the blue stone, original and fab.

Cathy said...

That's so fantastic!! Really shows you that there are still good business people out there. I'm so glad everything worked out. Your ring is beautiful.

The Random Blogette said...

That is so awesome! And ti reminds me that I need to get mine cleaned and looked at too. My jeweler is a friend of my dad so he is pretty great too. But I don't think that he would be that awesome! Your ring is BEAUTIFUL! I love blue stones!

Kim said...

I love that your ring is so different! And that you even know where your original stone came from! That is so awesome. And what amazing customer service! Wow! Just replacing the stone like that and giving you your old one back! What an awesome jeweler you guys use! Not to mention the sigh of relief you must have felt at knowing it wasn't going to cost you anything to get your wedding ring fixed!

Keeper of the Skies Wife said...

Oh how awesome...and the ring is beautiful!!!!

AiringMyLaundry said...

That is so cool!! :)

You have a beautiful ring.

Powdered Toast Man said...

That is awesome. I hope you are getting Tom something really nice for Xmas or Channukah or whatever he celebrates.

LC @ Old House Now said...

Your ring is GORGEOUS and I love the idea of wearing something other than a diamond. After reading this post I had to go and google 'blue spinel'... love them!

PS. I always thought you were "blues pine girl"... hahaha. Blonde over here :)

Stephanie Faris said...

WOW. Now that's a jeweler I want. Your story brought tears to my eyes.

Carma Sez said...

I love hearing this kind of stuff. So glad he stood behind his work!! That's quite a guy - esp in this economy!

Carma Sez said...

...and all this time I was thinking the Blue Spinel thingy had to do with some type of hard rock - like Spinal Tap LOL

Aunt Juicebox said...

That's the kind of story I LOVE to hear! Someone who stands behind their product. It doesn't get much better than that, and now he has a repeat customer for life, and you will tell everyone you know to buy their jewelry from him.

Michelle@DomesticationoftheSingleGirl said...

OMG.

I was tearing up (ignore me, I'm hormonal) and then you got to the part about him replacing it and ohhhhhthankgod. Tom is a good, good man.

I love your ring and it's story. And I'd never known what a blue spinel was. I'd always been curious about your bloggerid (BlueSpinelGirl, right?). Now I'm edumacated.

:D

Mandy said...

Oh wow, I am just now seeing this! I was having a mild panic attack too! What a great ending though. Your stone is GORGEOUS! Maybe you can have the broken one made into a necklace or keychain or something else you can hold. I'm so happy it's worked out. Like the gem you wear, you are one of a kind!

Melissa B. said...

Wow...you're a lucky gal! And thanks for joining in on the Poetry Slam. We're doing it again on Monday...

Bridget said...

Oh no, I’m so sorry that the first stone broke! Considering it was hand-picked in Sri Lanka, I’m sure it was very special. The jeweler was awesome for putting a new stone on your ring for free though! That shows confidence in his stones, and true loyalty to his craft and to his customers. I hope the second stone lives up to the first one, and that the jeweler was able to find a great use for the first spinel.

~ Bridget Rossi