Not All Testimonials Are Good!

This is an email from our very first disgruntled customer:

Following our telephone conversation held on 16th June regarding the palladium ring I purchased from you, you should by now have received it by special delivery.

As discussed it was received with a scratch, however since then more developed within the first 24 hours of wearing it. I partook in no form of heavy duty work or manual labour therefore I see no valid reason for the ring becoming so scratched in such a short space of time other than that it is of substandard quality.

I continued to wear the ring for a further 24 hours and even more imperfections appeared so I took it off and returned it to the box and have not worn it since. Palladium is advertised as being as hard-wearing as platinum so I was not only disappointed but surprised with the speed and ease that damage has been caused. As a result I took the opportunity to take the ring into a trusted jewellers to get a second opinion. They agreed that the damage was not typical for this type of metal.

Considering all of the above, I have made the decision to return the item in it's original packaging as per your returns policy and would like a refund in full, including the return postage fee of £5.50.

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This is my reply:

Hi Jack,

I'm sorry to hear that you are not happy with your purchase from us and I have no problem in giving you a refund upon return of the ring, which you should have received back today after its refinish due to normal wear and tear.

We operate strict quality control procedures during the manufacture of our rings and are proud of the fact that we have never had a valid quality issue. Inspection of your ring revealed that all marks were due, as you said previously, to being worn as would be expected for rings made from virtually all metals (less so Tungsten Carbide) and not from any manufacturing defect.

As far as I am aware, we do not make any claims about the durability or scratch resistance of Palladium, however you are correct in as much that it is on a par with Platinum.

Both Platinum and Palladium are durable metals to be used for rings, unfortunately, they are relatively soft and not very scratch resistant. Where they stand out is in their ability not to wear away like other precious metals such as gold or silver.

When Platinum or Palladium are scratched or polished, instead of removing metal from the surface it is displaced, hence the reason they do not wear thin like other metals. I must stress that they are not very scratch resistant and if you had asked my advice before purchasing I could have pointed that out to you and suggested you looked at Tungsten, saving us both unneccessary trouble and expense.

Had you of carried on wearing your ring, eventually all the little rub marks and scratches would have blended in and taken on their own character and not have been so noticable.

I think the 'trusted' jeweller you mentioned may have misled you by saying that the wear and tear was not typical for this type of metal as they are showing a complete lack of understanding as to how the metal performs under normal conditions.

I also think it is important that we clarify to other potential purchasers how Palladium performs as a metal so that they are not disappointed as you were.

Best of luck with your next purchase and if I can offer you any advice about how metals perform under 'wear' conditions, please do not hesitate to ask.

I await the return of your ring to issue a refund.

Regards,

Alan

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Please be advised that Platinum, Palladium and Titanium rings are durable and hard wearing but will take on scratches and rub marks quite easily. These marks will blend in and become less noticeable in time as the ring is worn.