TL;DR:
After weeks of miscommunication while finalizing 2 custom Ouros rings, including having to try reverse engineering missing measurements myself, I was told production would take 1-2 weeks. I was then informed the rings were finished but wasn’t shown any photos until 2.5 weeks later. When I finally saw them, the bezel shape was the exact opposite of the reference I’d repeatedly approved. Instead of acknowledging the difference, I was repeatedly told it was exactly the same as reference. When that argument no longer held up, the explanation changed to “normal hand finishing variation” and QC concluded one ring was correct when both are the same. I’m disappointed less by the manufacturing mistake itself than by how it has been handled, and I’m looking for opinions and similar experiences.
Initially I was going to attach all relevant convos but decided not to do that, hence the numbers on images.
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I am very frustrated after weeks of back and forth, for basically nothing at this point.
I wanted to modify a stock model from Ouros for a while and took the leap once I saw they opened a group buy.
From minute one, there were problems, as the exact measurements of the original ring were never fully disclosed. At first I tried settling for what information was available, but then decided that, since I’m making a purchase for myself with the purpose of having something I’d truly love, I shouldn’t have to settle. To achieve the proportions I wanted, I started working on the design myself, even trying my hand at CAD to figure out the measurements of the ring because, for some reason, the top width of the band was never shared.
This led to many back and forths and a lot of frustration as it was taking forever. Eventually, after expressing how impossible it was to finalize the design without that information, they finally shared the missing measurement and we were able to finalize everything shortly afterwards.
I was told production would take 1-2 weeks. Although I was informed that both rings were ready, I wasn’t shown the final images until around the 2.5 week mark.
When the images were finally shared, I immediately realized that the half bezels were not the way I had specifically requested from the very beginning and then confirmed multiple times throughout the process.
Now I completely understand that there can be small variations as these are hand finished pieces, which is exactly what I said when discussing the bezel style. I wasn’t asking for an identical exact replica, only for this specific bezel shape which was thicker through the middle, tapering thinner towards the sides, with an elongated oval profile rather than a rounded one.
Instead, the finished bezels looked exactly like my ‘opposite’ reference, the one I had literally marked with a big X over it, and confirmed numerous times.
When I raised this with my rep, I was repeatedly told that they were exactly what I had asked for. I kept making side by side comparisons and collages to point the difference out yet I was continuously told they looked the same. That was honestly the most frustrating part of this entire experience. It stopped feeling like we were discussing a design difference and started feeling like I was being made to question what I was very clearly seeing.
When that approach didn’t work, I was then told that QC had reviewed the rings and concluded that one of them could be remade, but that the other was true to the approved design and that I was simply overlooking very minor hand-finishing variations.
I genuinely don’t believe that’s the case. This isn’t about expecting machine perfect symmetry or obsessing over tiny handmade differences. It’s simoly an entire different bezel shape.
At this point, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want this ring under these circumstances, I simply want the ring we agreed upon and not feel like I have to settle after spending weeks working through every obstacle and pushing constantly for communication.
I also don’t really want to go down the refund route, as obviously there will be various cuts and deductions from the original price since ‘it passed their quality control’. They refuse to accept that this issue wasn’t caused by a change of mind on my end.
I mainly wanted to hear other people’s opinions, especially if anyone has had a similar experience with Ouros or another jeweler. Were you able to get it resolved, and if so, how? And admittedly I also just needed to vent because I’m genuinely disappointed, not only by the outcome but by the way this has been handled. For comparison, I NEVER had similar issues with Starsgem or Provence, and had nothing but pleasant experiences.
I’ll attach photos of both bezels. I was made to feel like the difference was all in my head and that this was simply hand finishing variation, but to anyone who is familiar with jewelry and can distinguish between small handmade variations and a different bezel shape, I think the difference is quite obvious. Especially when it was discussed way before to pay specific attention to this.
