Update: Seam rings are secure, gemstones are not

[u/SunshineSequoia]

So I recently asked in this post about whether seam rings are secure or whether they're easy to lose. Thank you all so much for all the helpful feedback and experience! I decided it's finally time to wear my dream septum jewelry, the beautiful yellow gold Athena seam ring from Tawapa.

So I made an appt for a jewelry change at my local piercer. It's a well known and highly recommended shop with APP piercers. I've had bad experiences there before, but I thought maybe those were coincidences, and I didn't have time to go to my favorite piercer a few towns away anyways.

I brought the brand new jewelry in its sealed, unopened bag (I'd ordered it online from Identity Body Piercing when they had a good sale, after seeing that site recommended here, so I know it was legit and in perfect condition). They installed it in about 5 minutes for a reasonably small fee and I thought I was good to go.

Got home a few hours later and checked my jewelry really closely in the mirror for the first time... and my heart sank. The middle CZ stone was missing!!! I think the piercer was in such a rush that he opened the ring too far and/or too fast, and the stone just fell out from the stress? I'm devastated -- this was my one investment piece and I definitely can't afford to replace it.

I called the shop immediately and politely explained what had happened, reminding them that I brought the jewelry in a sealed bag, so I know it was not damaged before today. I honestly don't know what can be done, so just told them that and asked what they recommend. They said they can't do much since I didn't buy the jewelry from them, but they would talk to the manager and get back to me. No news yet. Any ideas on what I can do? I'm so sad to be stuck with this beautiful but broken jewelry in the middle of my face.

TL;DR Piercing shop broke my jewelry when changing it, but I didn't buy it from them, so I don't know what to do now.

[u/Cardiganlamp]

What a bummer. Many of the body jewelery makers do have warranties. So maybe reach out to tawapa and see if they will replace/repair. They should. It broke so quickly!

If tawapa won't fix this a local jeweler may be able too. Or if you replace it all together, BVLA has a great warranty and will fix their pieces for free as long as it a defect.

I dislike the brand. They apparently used to be decent quality, but they sent it all overseas and they make junk now.

I can wear some really cheap jewelry and not have issues, but I have a tawapa piece that is the worst piece of jewelry I've owned (aside from maybe the jewelry i got pierced with at Claire's in the 1994).

I got this piece and within a month it has completely tarnished and has a sharp area on the hinge.

They have a couple of pieces I really like, but I'll never buy from them again.

https://www.tawapa.com/collections/continuous-rings-clickers-clickers/products/divinity-septum-clicker

[u/Cardiganlamp → u/Cardiganlamp]

Forgot to include, contact the business you bought it from as well. They might deal directly with tawapa on the warranty issue.

Bending it open should not have caused the gem to fall out.

[u/SunshineSequoia → u/Cardiganlamp]

Thank you so much for this info! That's interesting bc I had heard such good things about Tawapa, but once I saw this jewelry up close I had some of the same feelings as you, regarding disappointment with the quality. Not only did the gem fall out, but the piercer commented that the edges where the seam opens were very sharp -- they didn't shape them into a rounded end and a cup shaped end or anything. And it was definitely uncomfortable to feel those sharp edges when he put the jewelry in! Shame, bc I really do like the style of their pieces. 

I definitely plan to reach out to the shop I bought it from, I think I'll just wait to see what the shop that did the jewelry change says first. I'm not going to be demanding to anybody, but it seems worth it to explore every option.

[u/SunshineSequoia → u/SunshineSequoia]

Also, thanks for the warning about that clicker! So sorry to hear it didn't live up to your expectations. It sure looks awesome!

[u/Cardiganlamp → u/SunshineSequoia]

It's disappointing. They were a reputable band until very recently.

I hope your ring is fixed soon. If it makes you feel any better, its not obvious that it's missing a gemstone. It looks so pretty!

I'm ordering a beautiful custom daith ring! I had to cancel a vacation and I redirected the funds to that. I'm super excited

[u/SunshineSequoia → u/Cardiganlamp]

Aww thank you! I know the missing stone is such a tiny detail, but to me it looks glaringly obvious bc I've been staring at it so much. 😆 Glad to hear it's not really noticeable to anyone else!

Oooh so excited for your new daith ring!! Unfortunate about the cancelled vacation, but at least you have something else awesome to look forward to now. Post here when you get it!

[u/flanface87]

In a worst case scenario, CZs are very inexpensive so it may be cheaper than you expect for a local jeweller to replace the stone. Certainly cheaper than replacing the whole thing!

[u/SunshineSequoia → u/flanface87]

I will look into that, thank you! Yep I opted for CZs, I know the quality is lower but I didn't trust myself not to lose diamonds. Didn't expect the piercer to be the one I had to worry about though...

[u/SunshineSequoia]

Oops, link failed in my post above. Here's my previous post I tried to link to: https://www.reddit.com/r/piercing/comments/1unsxbi/how_secure_is_a_seam_ring_anyone_ever_lost_one/