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Question about spacers - what is supposed to touch?

LLJsmom

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Hi everyone,

Just wondering in what situation spacers are used.

I've seen them worn between two diamond bands to prevent the diamonds from rubbing against each other. But doesn't then the diamonds just rub against the spacer? Or is that the point?

And is it ok for the diamonds to rub against the spacer? Won't it mess up the diamonds?

I'm asking b/c I am thinking about wearing my plain platinum band with my ring temporarily until I can get a notched band made. But I think the diamonds on the prongs rubs against the platinum? I'm not worried about the band getting scratched. This thing is beat up anyway. I just don't want to wear away at the diamonds. Could that happen?

Sorry if this is a stupid and obvious question. Gotta ask.
 

Dancing Fire

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My wife's 5 stone girdle was chewing up one of her Ering prong ,so by using a 2mm PT spacer ring sitting between and below both rings it solved the problem.
 

Logan Sapphire

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My platinum pipe cut wedding ring ate into my platinum prongs on my old ering. Getting a spacer separated the two very slightly. I have a .8mm spacer.
 

ame

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I wear/wore a 2mm band to keep my diamond bands away from the wire work on the Vatche. My previous band was more open and that spacer was needed. I like the three band look.
 

cflutist

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For me the most important thing is to protect the prongs (or basket) of your e-ring.

Previously I did not wear a spacer because my various channel set eternity bands (.01s, .03s, .04s, .05s) had the diamond girdles
enclosed in the channels, so it was just metal against metal (my e-ring has a peg head that is set rather high). However when I got my shared prong bands, the diamond girdles were chewing up the prongs of my e-ring. This required a spacer to preserve the prongs on my e-ring. I wanted it to be unobtrusive so I chose a 1 mm spacer.
 

LLJsmom

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ame|1419198742|3805398 said:
I wear/wore a 2mm band to keep my diamond bands away from the wire work on the Vatche. My previous band was more open and that spacer was needed. I like the three band look.

ame, so did the diamonds on your diamond band have contact with the metal of the spacer? If it did, is that bad for the diamonds? I assume it's ok for the spacer to get scratched up, cause that would be the point, right?
 

LLJsmom

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cflutist|1419201933|3805414 said:
For me the most important thing is to protect the prongs (or basket) of your e-ring.

Previously I did not wear a spacer because my various channel set eternity bands (.01s, .03s, .04s, .05s) had the diamond girdles
enclosed in the channels, so it was just metal against metal (my e-ring has a peg head that is set rather high). However when I got my shared prong bands, the diamond girdles were chewing up the prongs of my e-ring. This required a spacer to preserve the prongs on my e-ring. I wanted it to be unobtrusive so I chose a 1 mm spacer.

cflustist, I want to wear my old platinum wedding band with my new setting. But the prongs would hit the platinum band. I don't think I would mind the platinum of my prongs hitting the platinum of my band. But I think the diamond melee on my prongs is hitting the platinum band. Would that be bad for the melee on the prongs?
 

ame

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LLJsmom|1419224013|3805537 said:
ame|1419198742|3805398 said:
I wear/wore a 2mm band to keep my diamond bands away from the wire work on the Vatche. My previous band was more open and that spacer was needed. I like the three band look.

ame, so did the diamonds on your diamond band have contact with the metal of the spacer? If it did, is that bad for the diamonds? I assume it's ok for the spacer to get scratched up, cause that would be the point, right?
The diamonds on my old shared prong didn't hit my spacer. But they were slicing the prongs on my setting. I am going to see if I can find photos of the old set on here. I know there's at least one on here. It was a Raphael band from Facet's Collection and it was way more open on the sides than their Shared Prong band. But the prongs came out enough that against a flat band it was fine. But on that Vatche, the gap came right against the wirework and it was like "cut cut cut" on the wire.

I will look at home for a side view tonight if I remember but a couple posts down in each:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-me-your-1-8mm-2mm-2-5mm-etc.163739/#post-3443394?hilit=raphael#p3443394']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-me-your-1-8mm-2mm-2-5mm-etc.163739/#post-3443394?hilit=raphael#p3443394[/URL]

This is pre Vatche setting without the 2mm band:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-me-your-4-or-5-pt-eternity-bands.186711/#post-3401951?hilit=raphael#p3401951']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-me-your-4-or-5-pt-eternity-bands.186711/#post-3401951?hilit=raphael#p3401951[/URL]
 

Niel

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I was always under the impression was that metal touching metal is fine, metal touching diamond or diamond touching diamond is not. so if you have to rings with metal touching metal, you don't need one, otherwise you buy a spacer to act as a sacrifice to the jewelry gods. lol
 

Logan Sapphire

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Niel|1419261216|3805696 said:
I was always under the impression was that metal touching metal is fine, metal touching diamond or diamond touching diamond is not. so if you have to rings with metal touching metal, you don't need one, otherwise you buy a spacer to act as a sacrifice to the jewelry gods. lol

I think it depends on the shape of the metal maybe. My wedding ring has a sharp edge bc it's a pipe cut band and it ate right into my platinum prongs on my trellis. No diamonds were involved- just metal eating metal.
 

ame

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They will eventually but usually if they're the same metal It's usually not as quickly
 

ame

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I thought I had a shot of the diamond band right next to the Vatche but I cannot find that anywhere. Here is what I have though for the Vatche and the Raphael that I was easily able to find. Without that 2mm band in the middle, the open sides of that band were literally right on the wirework.

_25483.jpg

_25484.jpg
 

LLJsmom

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Ame thank you for the pics!! I see what you mean about protecting your prongs.

I
I attached a couple of pics. It's really hard for me to see and I have to use a 10x loupe. On one side it seems to touch at times. But I think it is platinum metal of domed band against metal of prong. However that is still not good because the prong has millgrain and platinum rubbing against it may wear out the millgrain right?





I need to take clearer pics

_25495.jpg

_25496.jpg

_25497.jpg
 

distracts

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LLJsmom|1419224013|3805537 said:
ame|1419198742|3805398 said:
I wear/wore a 2mm band to keep my diamond bands away from the wire work on the Vatche. My previous band was more open and that spacer was needed. I like the three band look.

ame, so did the diamonds on your diamond band have contact with the metal of the spacer? If it did, is that bad for the diamonds? I assume it's ok for the spacer to get scratched up, cause that would be the point, right?

It's fine for the diamonds to grind on the metal. Platinum is about 4 on the mohs scale, and even with the alloy it is still MUCH softer than diamond. You just don't want them grinding on other diamonds (which WILL chip them) or on structurally or visually important parts of more expensive settings.

As for the melee on your prongs hitting the band, it's not bad for the melee itself but I would be worried about whatever metal is holding them in place, as metal-to-metal contact could move it (diamond-on-metal contact would be far, far worse though). I have a three-sided pave wedding band and a three-sided pave engagement ring, so I make sure that the band I wear between them doesn't contact the beads on the pave.

eta: looking at your pictures, you look fine. You're not going to get a less obtrusive fit than that. It will slowly work away on the milgrain but there's nothing really you can do about that since any band you get will.
 

ame

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Id get a 1mm spacer, there are a few etsy sellers that make them, I am looking at Jeweler on the Roof for mine, and have spoken with them a few times about them. I think that would come in under your prongs and give you the buffer you need.
 

LLJsmom

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distracts|1419318059|3806323 said:
LLJsmom|1419224013|3805537 said:
ame|1419198742|3805398 said:
I wear/wore a 2mm band to keep my diamond bands away from the wire work on the Vatche. My previous band was more open and that spacer was needed. I like the three band look.

ame, so did the diamonds on your diamond band have contact with the metal of the spacer? If it did, is that bad for the diamonds? I assume it's ok for the spacer to get scratched up, cause that would be the point, right?

It's fine for the diamonds to grind on the metal. Platinum is about 4 on the mohs scale, and even with the alloy it is still MUCH softer than diamond. You just don't want them grinding on other diamonds (which WILL chip them) or on structurally or visually important parts of more expensive settings.

As for the melee on your prongs hitting the band, it's not bad for the melee itself but I would be worried about whatever metal is holding them in place, as metal-to-metal contact could move it (diamond-on-metal contact would be far, far worse though). I have a three-sided pave wedding band and a three-sided pave engagement ring, so I make sure that the band I wear between them doesn't contact the beads on the pave.

eta: looking at your pictures, you look fine. You're not going to get a less obtrusive fit than that. It will slowly work away on the milgrain but there's nothing really you can do about that since any band you get will.

Hi distracts, thank you. I understand what you are saying. Yes, that is true. Any band will wear away at the millgrain. Even a notched band would have contact with the outside edge of each prong. It is likely I will wear it together for a while at least. Maybe Victor can fix the worn millgrain when I send it to him for the matching band. Thank you for your input!!
 

LLJsmom

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ame|1419337994|3806369 said:
Id get a 1mm spacer, there are a few etsy sellers that make them, I am looking at Jeweler on the Roof for mine, and have spoken with them a few times about them. I think that would come in under your prongs and give you the buffer you need.

Hi Ame,
That is not a bad idea. I could just get a white gold band that would be about the same width as the ering. Protection, and nice to have an option instead of a super thick band. I'll go check out the website now. Yeah, cause my band is super thick, 4.08mm. Just measured it. I'll report back.
 
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