I purchased a set back in November of 2014 that set was beautiful and had a wonderful weight. However, after about a week of practicing a new routine, one of the rings broke dead on the weld. Here's the thing, I don't do a hard routine. My routine is more similar to Terry Lunceford than Jeff McBride, if you follow. So I ordered another set, however, this set the joints were not welded very well and after about a day of practice they started cracking. You could see and feel the crack. It is a shame because on the first set the welding was so perfect you could not find the joint even under strong light. So, that's my experience with these rings. I was bummed because they do look beautiful overall, just can't handle the work. Penguin refunded me for the rings.