Is it difficult to recreate curved prongs?

[Trmoore]

My jeweller was kind enough to give me a break on the cost of fixing this old setting but I really loved the look of the original, in his words”paper thin, flattened prongs” Is this a major or minor fix?

 

[Rfisher]

For jeweler who wants to do it and has the experience in doing so- I think it’s a relatively minor fix.

For jeweler who doesn’t want to do it - may not have the experience in doing so - it can be seen as a not minor fix.

I can think of a few jewelers who would do this if paid for their knowledge and the time taken.. Who wouldn’t do it /would do the prongs somewhat as they currently are / if it needed to be within a certain budget job. And that’s fair.
Once a jeweler indicates hesitation to do something -other than being a budget issue to remedy - I feel strongly against urging them into it. The results typically are disappointing.

I wouldn’t expect the fashioned to antique looking prongs to be literally paper thin, though. You want some durability there through years of wear.

 

[ringo865]

Right, if a jeweler has the skill to do it, it should be pretty easy for them to smooth down the knobs. they would not make them flat as if from years of wear, but could smooth them down so they are not so “knobby”. If not, then you will hear stuff like “we can’t do that” or better yet, “you don’t want to do that” or just plain ”no”.

Can you show a pic of the remade prongs from the side? The stone is beautiful and it looks very at home in the setting.

 

[Trmoore]

My jeweller was kind enough to give me a break on the cost of fixing this old setting but I really loved the look of the original, in his words”paper thin, flattened prongs” Is this a major or minor fix?

Right, if a jeweler has the skill to do it, it should be pretty easy for them to smooth down the knobs. they would not make them flat as if from years of wear, but could smooth them down so they are not so “knobby”. If not, then you will hear stuff like “we can’t do that” or better yet, “you don’t want to do that” or just plain ”no”.

Can you show a pic of the remade prongs from the side? The stone is beautiful and it looks very at home in the setting.

Here’s a side shot.

 

[VRBeauty]

I once brought a Victorian era ring to a local jeweler to have prongs re-done. By “local,” I’m referring to the somewhat remote gold rush town my parents lived in at the time. I think there were three local jewelers in the town at that time. The ring had three smallish OEC’s (15-20 points each) that had either six or eight little claw prongs each. One of the stones was moving in its setting and I decided to have all of the prongs re-tipped as a precaution.

Then I picked my ring up, I was astonished to see that instead of little claw-like prongs, the new prongs looked like little gecko feet! I got about halfway down the block before I realized that I would never be happy eith gecko feet prongs, and went back yo the jeweler to ask them to fix it. They fixed it with no problem. I think they filed the gecko feet down. (I think there’s a possibility that would actually be a part of their process, but they let me pick up the “completed” ring before it was actually complete.)

My point is that most jewelers would be able to re-create some semblance of claw prongs. HOWEVER, it looks to me like the new prongs your jeweler created MIGHT have problems that go beyond just their shape. Looking at your close-up photo, it’s not clear that the prongs have actually been notched or bent over the top of the stone so they’ll hold the stone in place securely. But you have the ring in hand, so you’re in a better position to assess whether the stone looks and feels like it’s secure in the setting.