R. E. Piland, Goldsmith — Local services in Arnold

I invested in a gold ring, and the entire experience has been disappointing.

First I had to wait months for the order, and when it arrived... the casting was downright sloppy (with flack and discoloration) and the wrong stone had been set (faceted instead of the signature cabochon style used in almost all of his pieces that I had reasonably assumed). I was told the sloppiness was due to an apprentice having cranked it out in a rush over holiday workload- so, you know, THAT made me feel better.

In deliberating whether to keep or revise it after so much waiting, I asked if a cut stone was much more valuable than cabochon and got a very vague reply of essentially: "sometimes but not always." Thinking the value close and wanting the more masculine look, I paid to ship it back for resetting. An opportunity for proper council/communication from the vendor had been dropped.

Another several weeks followed. At one point I was called and asked questions about my preferences already answered in an email I'd sent which had been "skimmed." Even after reiterating what I was hoping for, my input was ultimately ignored.

I received the final ring only to find the stone to be of shockingly disappointing quality in cut, clarity, and color, relative to all the other pieces I've collected. It is dull, muddy with occlusions, and has a crack down the side of it. I feel personally slighted by this. Moreover, it is set so badly that it is loose enough to rattle loudly and be easily rotated in its setting. The vendor's pride had been bruised, and I was thus given what must be the cruddiest stone in the drawer.

In subsequent communication I just learned that the faceted stone had been worth 5 times the cabochon's value- which means that I'd been initially charged a price based on that much higher valuation of a cut stone! This had not been communicated to me when I was deliberating what to do with it.

Now I'm stuck with a shoddy ring that gives no pride or joy, that I technically overpaid for, and a bitter taste in my mouth. This vendor should be embarrassed by the way this has been handled from start to finish, and by the sloppy product he produced.

*Update: took the ring to a real jeweler to be fixed and they were appalled by the poor craftsmanship and poor quality of the stone. Validation. If you want an overpriced silver ring by a craftsman with an inflated ego, go for it; but if you want to spend thousands on a piece of gold jewelry, find a real jeweler... there are plenty who craft in this pseudo-Celtic style with more...

I ordered my wedding set from Mr. Piland back in September (it was a custom design, if you want an original piece, you wait for ART) and picked it up yesterday. After only seeing a sketch and handing over my future mother in law's diamond I was nervous, but I was overwhelmed at how much I loved this set. It was much more than I ever imagined. If I'm going to wear it for the rest of my life, it needed to be the best. And it is. If you want one of a kind, be prepared to wait for the...

I own a few Piland pieces now and I love how they're all unique to their shop, not designs you can find just anywhere in chain jewelers. The staff has been friendly and knowledgable. I sadly can't afford any of the more intricate/rare stone pieces yet (my budget, totally worth it if I had it) but I've found some great presents there too, including stuff for the guys in my life which is rare in a jewelry shop. Definitely...