Woman upgrades wedding ring for anniversary. Then she says Kay Jewelers ‘messed’ it completely: ‘I learned my lesson’

Wedding rings are special. Especially because there aren’t many other pieces of jewelry people wear on a daily basis. So if there’s ever any need to upgrade or alter a wedding ring, it’s worth doing it right.

Unfortunately, bad luck can waylay the best of us. One woman is going viral on TikTok for sharing a long, arduous journey to fix a botched wedding ring upgrade. The saga spanned weeks—and a ton of headaches.

‘Kay Jewelers completely messed up this ring’

In a video posted in Dec. 2025, which has since accumulated over 230,000 views, Becky Johnson (@beckyjohnson325 on TikTok) launched what ended up becoming a multi-part TikTok series. All she wanted was to upgrade her wedding ring. But life isn’t so easy.

“Story time on my wedding ring and how Kay Jewelers completely messed up this ring,” Johnson begins in her first video. “I upgraded my one-and-a-half-carat solitaire to this stunning 5-carat oval ring. And we kept my original wedding band.”

Johnson explains she had to go to Kay’s because she “wanted the full trade-in value for [her] ring.” So, she selected the diamond she wanted. After a couple of weeks, she went to pick it up. But something wasn’t quite right.

“Now from the front, it looks completely fine, it is a stunning diamond,” Johnson says, showing her sizable diamond to the camera. Pausing, she continues, “This is my ring from the side.”

What’s wrong with her ring?

Johnson shows the camera a “literal space” leaving a large gap “at the bottom of the diamond”—a much higher setting than she’d planned. Apparently, even a Kay Jewelers worker was flabbergasted.

“When I went to pick up the ring today, my associate was there and even he was like, ‘OK, this is funky. I don’t know what happened,'” Johnson says. “I was extremely dissatisfied and I definitely let him know that.”

The jeweler then offered to order a new head, but Johnson says the one she wanted was on back order—which Johnson theorized is why the jeweler thought the bizarre setting on her new ring was “appropriate.” While Kay reimbursed her for the fee of this diamond setting, Johnson says they didn’t reimburse her for the warranty. She’s out hundreds of dollars for other fees as well. She wraps the video appealing for help.

@beckyjohnson325 @Kay Jewelers from a repeat customer, do better ? #kayjewelers #engagementringfail #kayjewelersfail #engagementringfailure #diamonengagementring ♬ original sound – Becky J |Home & Fashion|

“I know there’s people dying, like, I feel like Kourtney Kardashian right now,” Johnson says. “But I also feel like we are deserving of a certain experience when we choose to spend our hard-earned money for something that we have worked really hard towards.”

Kay Jewelers responds

In an email to the Mary Sue, a spokesperson for Signet Jewelers (the parent company of Kay Jewelers) sent a statement regarding Johnson’s viral saga.

“Our customers always come first across all Signet Brands, and we are pleased to share we are working directly with Ms. Johnson to resolve this matter to her satisfaction,” they wrote. “We are committed to providing attentive, personalized care to our customers and look forward to a positive outcome for Ms. Johnson.”

From Kay’s to Jared’s

After this initial TikTok, Johnson uploaded about half a dozen follow-up videos over the course of a fortnight, updating her audience on each stage of the ring saga. She begins calling her ring “the UFO” because of how aggressively it appears to be floating, thanks to the large gap and high setting.

While Kay’s social media team did end up reaching out to Johnson, she said they ended up making her feel “gaslit” in their communication with her. She ultimately pivoted to Jared Jewelers in her quest to “land” the UFO.

After some delays and much back-and-forth, Johnson was finally able to pick up the new ring from Jared’s. The verdict? All was finally well.

“Way, way better,” Johnson says, showing the new ring with the diamond set visibly lower. “No gap. Look how much lower it’s sitting. First of all, there’s no gap between the bottom of that diamond and the setting. The halo looks beautiful.”

Johnson concludes her saga with an audible exhale of relief: “Now I can breathe.”

Viewers question the choice of Kay Jewelers

In Johnson’s final video, she offers a few takeaways—the first of which is, “Shop local if you can.” So why did she choose Kay Jewelers in the first place?

Viewers had the same question, asking her multiple times over the course of her series why she’d gone to Kay’s initially.

“I keep getting over and over again, ‘Why would you go to Kay’s?'” Johnson says. “‘Oh, my god! Why would you go to Kay’s?’ You have to remember that my husband and I got married when we were 21 years old, literally 10 years ago. So at the time, we went to Kay’s because that’s what we knew.”

Because that had been the site of their initial purchase, Johnson had to return to Kay’s for an upgrade “in order to get the full value of [her] ring.”

“I wanted to go to a small jeweler to repair it, and corporate told me that if I did that, I was going to void my warranty,” Johnson explains.

Local jewelers vs. chain jewelers: Which one is best?

While the choice between local or independent jewelers and big chains comes down to the individual needs of each customer, there’s definitely an overwhelming consensus online as to which option is better: The internet prefers shopping local.

Many independent jewelers have entire sections on their websites dedicated to explaining why it’s better to go local. The short answer: While big chains might be more convenient, indie jewelers will go the extra mile to take care of their customers. Independent jeweler Mitchel + Co sums it up pretty nicely:

“Chain jewellers charge a premium for their name, but they are consistent wherever you are in the world,” their website reads. “Independent jewellers put quality above all else, meaning you’ll get more, pay less.”

However, you should always look into a jeweler’s reputation before making a decision. Research, research, research.

The Mary Sue has also reached out to Johnson and Jared Jewelers via email.

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