Are Ardor blue dot irregularities common?

[publicpiper]

Hi all. This is my first post. I recently entered the world of higher end pipes and went and bought 3 Ardors recently. I love the way they smoke but was a little surprised to see some irregularities and asymmetries in 2 of them, in the blue dot. From the most to least concerning to me are:
1) The dot as a whole is not centered left/right on the stem

2) The silver outer dot flairs a bit on one edge

3) the blue is not perfectly centered in the silver
If I can figure out how to attach a photo I will, but my question is: Is this common? I know this style of dot is more ornamental so maybe it's just hard to get it right? (regarding #2 and #3)

 

[peteguy]

Not common that I am aware of unless they are replacement stems from Norwoods Pipe Repair.
Along the top of the box where you type your text is an IMG button that enables you to upload images. Those would be very helpful for answers but in my opinion it is NOT common for an Ardor to have these issues.

 

[publicpiper]

]Blue dot flair[/url]

 

[peteguy]

That one would be heading back to the seller if it were me. Of course it depends on where you purchased it from, is it the original stem, etc. If you cant return it then you can either live with it as it wont effect the smoke or send it to one of the pipe repair outfits, Tim West, Walker, etc. (just not Norwoods) and they can fix it for you with a new stem and dot or if you are lucky just a new dot.
I have probably handled 6 or 8 Ardors in my time, not a great amount for sure, and they are always top quality.

 

[cally454]

I'm not sure what's going on with Ardors I purchased one recently from an highly respected online vendor. The bowl was 1/4" thicker on the right side I mean waaaay off. That one went back. I have several Ardors and they are my favorite brand, and all are spot on. I don't know if they're experiencing higher demand and trying to catch up or what. I started looking closer at the dots and do see some irregularities on some pipes.