3RD GENERATION ANTIQUES

I purchased a beautiful sapphire estate ring. Within 6 months, the ring started to lose its shape and by the 7th month the sapphire fell out of the setting. I did nothing to cause this damage other than use my hands on my steering wheel while wearing the ring. The owner, Frank Bartle Sr.had the audacity to accuse me of slamming my hand in the door, then running over the ring with my car, and then he remarked that I dropped my ring down the garbage disposal. None of this is true. The jeweler who appraised my ring wrote that the ring was too soft (19K gold) and the prongs were worn down and too short. So when the ring bent to a certain point, a hairline crack appeared (not visible to the naked eye), which compromised the integrity of the setting. I never did find the stone, which is very unfortunate since it was a retirement gift to myself and bought with my income tax refund. My insurance rider did not cover the loss since the policy, unbeknownst to me, only covered theft. Frank Sr. originally told me he would help me by searching for a replacement, but became very accusatory as to the cause of the damage and even hung up on me twice before saying "How dare you say that you did not nothing to cause this damage!" I was very persistent about my having nothing to do with the damage but he called me a liar, saying that his goldsmith adviser told him I damaged the ring. Again, not true!! Since this happened, I have spoken with others who at some point in their lives also had a ring with a stone that fell out after the setting lost its original shape. A reputable merchant does not treat customers in this manner and take their money after selling an inferior setting. Please never trust this merchant if you are buying an estate ring from him. Also, his receipt says "no refund" so buyer beware!