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Has anyone used Tripps.com?

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rierie26

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Hello,


I posted this in Jewelry Pieces, but someone suggested I post here since many you might have had experience with Tripps.com.


Also, is anyone familiar with their "Easy Mount" settings? Their website says you can use their gemsetting pliers to mount gems in their settings yourself. I bought a bunch of "for fun" stones that I would like to have set, but I don''t want to spend a lot of money to have them set professionally in more expensive settings.


Do you think it''s worth it to buy the pliers and their settings or do you think the stones with fall out/will get damaged?


Thanks!

 

Michael_E

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Date: 1/26/2010 12:37:29 PM
Author:Kitcha

Hello,



Do you think it's worth it to buy the pliers and their settings or do you think the stones with fall out/will get damaged?



Save your money, get good settings and have someone cut the notches or even set the stone for you. Tripps settings are O.K., but the idea of using gem setting pliers like that makes me cringe. The problem is that they are a leveraged plier and while they make it easier to bend prongs down, they reduce the feel of the bending back to your hand. The increased force and reduced feel translate to a higher chance of chipping sensitive stones during setting. The best plier to use is, in my opinion, is a small needle nose plier which has a 90 degree bend towards the tip. You then cut a groove lengthwise into the inside of the tips and smooth it out well. This allows you to grab the prong tips from varying angles and not slip onto the stone. The smaller plier also gives much better feedback about the forces your putting into the bending. Bending prong tips is done in several different directions at different times and with different stones so that feedback is very important.

The other thing with prenotched prongs is that they only work well with VERY durable gems. If you try using them with less sensitive gems like peridot, opal, tanzanite, or any of the quartz gems, you are definitely going to break some of the stones. You're really going to need to get some tools to do the finish work after setting anyway,(a flex shaft, handpiece and assortment of smoothing and polishing wheels is nearly indispensable in finishing the piece as well as cutting seats), so why not learn to cut the seats as well ?

If you're really on a tight budget I would suggest getting some small files, sanding and polishing papers, pliers and a ring clamp and just do it slowly. I'd hate to see you get bummed out by using tools and settings which are more frustrating than useful.
 

lelser

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It hurts my heart when people put my stones in Tripps mounts.
 

mastercutgems

Shiny_Rock
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Kitcha;

They may be fun to play with; but I would not try using snap mounts/ easy mounts with nice gems; maybe smooth radius girdles in something like smoky topaz or quartz; but never try a snap mount with a full faceted girdle; you may get more than you are asking for...... Plus there are many things to consider like how deep is the pavilion, is it a true calibrated size and shape??? Many of those mounts have little tolerance for variations of depth and shape/size...I know many mounts even from very good suppliers are designed for the diamond and not the colored gem; so you have to take into consideration depth from culet to girdle on many mounts and not just tripps.

I know I go over-kill sometimes and use radius burrs, etc. cutting seats to eliminate the unseen cracks like in 14k white gold, etc. but like Lisa and other cutters will agree you will go that extra mile to keep from chipping a gem you spent several hours cutting and polishing and days trying to find the rough...

Michael_E ; you are very correct in your statements and sound advise...


Lisa; You make me smile ; I love to see the passion in a cutter :) I am glad there was no one in my office when I read your post as I burst-out laughing... It was a good laugh though... Yes i would not want someone using a snap mount on a gem I spent 4 hours cutting and polishing... oh no; it would make my heart hurt also
28.gif


Michael was right; if you want to learn to set; start slow and IF your area has a visual arts or community college with a metal working class that would be the ticket as you can use their equipment to see if you like it or not.

I like tripps for some things like sterling silver, and also their tourmaline mounts are neat for when you have those long pencil looking tourmalines that are 8mm wide and 35 mm long it is hard to find a mount; but theirs work fine for that.
There are worse companies out there; but I find them too expensive when you have all the licenses and history to buy true wholesale.

But never stop thinking of how you can do things for yourself; it is neat to be able to set your own stones... But like gems or anything else do some research on the subject and a cost analysis to see if it justifies the end...

Most respectfully;
 

rierie26

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
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342
Date: 1/26/2010 2:08:09 PM
Author: mastercutgems
Kitcha;

They may be fun to play with; but I would not try using snap mounts/ easy mounts with nice gems; maybe smooth radius girdles in something like smoky topaz or quartz; but never try a snap mount with a full faceted girdle; you may get more than you are asking for...... Plus there are many things to consider like how deep is the pavilion, is it a true calibrated size and shape??? Many of those mounts have little tolerance for variations of depth and shape/size...I know many mounts even from very good suppliers are designed for the diamond and not the colored gem; so you have to take into consideration depth from culet to girdle on many mounts and not just tripps.

I know I go over-kill sometimes and use radius burrs, etc. cutting seats to eliminate the unseen cracks like in 14k white gold, etc. but like Lisa and other cutters will agree you will go that extra mile to keep from chipping a gem you spent several hours cutting and polishing and days trying to find the rough...

Michael_E ; you are very correct in your statements and sound advise...


Lisa; You make me smile ; I love to see the passion in a cutter :) I am glad there was no one in my office when I read your post as I burst-out laughing... It was a good laugh though... Yes i would not want someone using a snap mount on a gem I spent 4 hours cutting and polishing... oh no; it would make my heart hurt also
28.gif


Michael was right; if you want to learn to set; start slow and IF your area has a visual arts or community college with a metal working class that would be the ticket as you can use their equipment to see if you like it or not.

I like tripps for some things like sterling silver, and also their tourmaline mounts are neat for when you have those long pencil looking tourmalines that are 8mm wide and 35 mm long it is hard to find a mount; but theirs work fine for that.
There are worse companies out there; but I find them too expensive when you have all the licenses and history to buy true wholesale.

But never stop thinking of how you can do things for yourself; it is neat to be able to set your own stones... But like gems or anything else do some research on the subject and a cost analysis to see if it justifies the end...

Most respectfully;
Thanks for the honest opinions! I''ll probably end up just having them set professionally in nicer settings since I do want them to look nice and be able to wear them.

I didn''t think about jewelry making classes. That''ll be a fun thing to look into and probably less expensive than trying to learn by myself! Thanks!
 

DistinctionJewelry

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I have used them quite a bit - here are my thoughts:

1. Do not try to set your stones yourself unless you are trained to do it. There is a lot more to a safe and secure setting than taking a pair of pliers to bend over some prongs. The Tripps settings can be perfectly functional, but a skilled hand is required, or you will mangle the setting, stone, or both. That or you''ll fail to set it securely and lose the stone.

2. Their settings require final polish work which needs tools like a flex shaft and various polishing accessories.

3. I would only use a Tripps setting for sterling silver - if you are paying for gold, the project deserves settings with better finish quality.

3. Pre-notched settings are different from snap-in settings. Pre-notched are fine for calibrated stones. Snap-in settings are worse than junk, can be bent with your fingernail, and don''t deserve the time of day.
 

beaujolais

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2,220
But, Mr./Ms. Distinction: I thought silver prongs were not strong enough, too bendable to be used for prongs? Or would you say o.k. for pendants but not rings, maybe?

Thanks, Sonoma :)
 

DistinctionJewelry

Shiny_Rock
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Ms. :)

Sterling silver works quite nicely for prongs; it''s somewhat softer than 14k gold but not prohibitively so. I wouldn''t set a very expensive stone in it simply because of the slight edge gold has in durability, but I don''t think many people are going to ask to pop a $500 + dollar stone in a sterling premade setting ;-)

There is a lot more to it than just the metal choice too; thickness of prongs, size of the stone, etc. that goes into selecting a safe and secure setting. A solid, well constructed sterling setting will outlast a thin, cheap gold one. All a matter of variables. ;-)
 

beaujolais

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Thanks DJ ! OK, makes sense re the thickness,quality, stone size . . . I appreciate it. I''ve been reading about metals lately.

Do tell us what Distinction Jewelry is, though. I''d love to hear about you.
1.gif
 

DistinctionJewelry

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Am I allowed to? I''m a jeweler, but it looked to me as though the anti-spam rules are fairly strict around here and I don''t want to cross any lines.
 
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