4 Or 6 prong?

[Nick Toseland]

I am going to be purchasing a platinum ring, but dont know whether to go for a 4 or 6 prong setting.

Advice appreciated

Thanks In Advance

 

[Morticia]

I''ve seen tons of both and they are both beautiful. Personally, I prefer 4 prong. The six looks like too much prong (to me). My best friend has a 6 prong and she loves it b/c she feel as though her diamond is safe. She said no way she''d have a 4 prong. It''s just a matter of personal taste but I like the 4 prong. Good luck!

 

[lenhejo]

4 prong all the way

 

[Nick Toseland]

can some point me in the direction of a few online vendors for the ring, please

 

[lmurden]

If you just want to see settings that are 4 or 6 prongs go to Show Me Your Ring /Eye Candy on this site. You can go to White Flash.com I think that their settings are really gorgeous. I got my from Blue Nile.com and Stuller settings are also really pretty too.

 

[NYCbride]

I say four, mine is set in a four prong. Personally I think 6 prongs makes the diamond look to crowded, but there are some beautiful rings that have 6 prongs. Also my stone has never been loose w/ just four prongs.

 

[Morticia]

 

[lmurden]

I''ll take 6 prongs any day.

 

[cambo]

I've looked at a lot of 4 and 6 prong settings lately as I'm currently in the process of buying an ering for my GF. I personally decided to go with a 6 prong setting. To me, 6 prong settings appear to accentuate the roundness of a RB diamond more whereas 4 prong settings tend to give a RB just a hint of squareishness (no offense intended to 4 prong owners). Plus, you can argue that a diamond is protected more by a 6 prong setting since losing a single prong in a 4 prong setting would potentially allow it to fall out.

 

[Nicrez]

have you seen the octet? I suppose I favor it as it looks more SQUARISH...

Stuller has one from http://www.stuller.com

 

[Nicrez]

 

[heart prongs]

I love my 6 prong Mark Morrell ring...here''s a link to what it looks like...

http://www.mwmjewelry.com/Leo-cp-a-sm.jpg

I love many 4 prong rings as well...and thought I''d get one. But when I tried mine on I realized 6 prongs looked best on me. Check out the other rings on his site. There are some great close ups...Any way to find out what she likes? Friends, playing dumb, etc...?
Have fun shopping...

...klr

 

[Patty]

This is such a tough decision. I recently switched from a 6 prong head to a 4 prong head. I LOVE that I can now see more of the diamond, but I miss the roundness of the 6 prongs. I guess you can''t have it all!

As for security, yes, 6 prongs are better as far as one prong getting broken and the diamond still being secure. However, our appraiser pointed out that diamonds are most likely to chip from you banging a prong on something. So fewer prongs means less possibility of hitting it and chipping the stone.

 

[Patty]

Sorry about the size of that first one. Here it is smaller:

 

[sciencegeek]

It depends on the shape you''re going for

My own personal preference is 6 prongs for rounds because I prefer to accentuate the round shape. For squares I like 4 (or 8 like my split prongs) to emphasize the squareness.

I also prefer heads with more going on than just prongs, like Royal Crown for 6 prong and baskets or x-prong for 4 prongs. I wouldn''t really worry about a 4 prong, seems to me that you would notice a loose prong long before it could completely fall out and you lose the diamond.

 

[alexah]

I''m partial to the look of a 4 prong, as you can see more of the beautiful stone.
When I designed a setting for my mom''s RB, I asked that the prongs be situated N-S-W-E instead of at the corners so it wouldn''t look square-ish... just an idea

 

[Patty]

Alexa, do you have pics of your mom''s ring? I''d love to see the prongs in the N, S, E, W position.

 

[alexah]

Here''s the link Patty - tho (so as not to disappoint you) I should warn you there''s only two photos & they''re fuzzy...

Mom''s Upgrade Ring

 

[headlight]

I have had both the 6 prong and the "4" (I say "4" because I have split/double prongs thus really having TWO prongs at each of four prong sites giving you the security of 8 prongs holding in the diamond -- and 8 is better than 6, right? Hah, hah.)

With the 6 prong, it just seemed like too much "prong" -- I wanted to see the diamond! Also, I had been through a bevy of Stuller 6 prong mountings and personally they are not my cup of tea because they just have too much extra metal interfering with the look, as well as the fact that all that metal forces the diamond to sit up so much higher and I hate that.

I love my very low basket mounting with the double/split prongs as all I see is diamond yet it is so comfortable to wear -- nothing banging or spinning.

Personally, I like the look that four prong sites creates with a round stone -- it most definitely isn''t square or even cushion and still round, but different.

If you are going for the 6 prong, "rounded" look, I would suggest either the Vatche Royal Crown or the Tiffany replica by Nice Ice or Supercert.

 

[Patty]

Thank you alexa, that''s beautiful! I love the way the 4 prongs are set on that.

Headlight, did you feel that the low 6-prong Stuller solstice still sat up too high?

 

[cera5alive]

I love the 6, it feels secure and helps to make my grandmothers ring look a little more round...

 

[headlight]

Date: 11/2/2004 9:28:27 PM
Author: Patty
Thank you alexa, that''s beautiful! I love the way the 4 prongs are set on that.

Headlight, did you feel that the low 6-prong Stuller solstice still sat up too high?

Patty, yes, for me it still was too high. Maybe because my stone is 9.51 in depth, I don''t know.
I love how my basket has the stone set all the way down short of the culet touching my skin. For me that works best, although I know others like their stones set higher.
Also, I hate having that prong right there in the wearer''s sight when viewed from the side.

 

[Patty]

Wow, headlight, 9.51 depth?

That''s a honker of a stone so I can understand you feeling like any height was too much. I do adore your current setting. You made a great choice!

 

[headlight]

Thanks, Patty!

 

[headlight]

Oops -- perhaps I should hit the pillow early...
I believe the depth is 5.85 mm and not 9.51!
The measurements on my certificate are:
9.59 - 9.51 x 5.85, thus I believe the 5.85 would be the depth. (That is what a quick glance at the end of the day with no reading glasses will do to you!)
Anyway, the stone is 3.29 ct so it is obviously deeper than a stone of 1 or 2 carats which might "work" better in a higher setting. I had considered the Royal Crown, as although it is 6 prongs, the prongs are not obtrusive to me and it is very "airy" and not a lot of extra metal, but it would''ve been so high up off the finger! Both the jeweler and a rep at Vatche told me it would be too high for this stone.

 

[Patty]

Ah, okay, 5.85 is still a lot of depth. I agree that the Royal Crown would have been very high. My original solitaire was set up fairly high and I liked it but that was in 1979. My sister had her 3/4c solitaire set extra high back in the 70s. At the time I loved it, but she has since had it reset and I don''t blame her. Super high solitaires look odd to me now, although I really like the height of that Stuller medium height.

 

[Deputy74]

I used to like 4 prongs but after seeing a D''Vatche Royal Crown Setting which is a 6 prong, that is my favorite now.

 

[rosy]

I vote for the six prong. Makes the ring look a bit larger & rounder. The four prong makes the ring look more square. You hardly notice that it covers more of the diamond. A diamond sparkles from the top not the sides.

 

[newenglandgemlab]

Personnally I prefer a four prong. Less metal around the stone and easier to keep clean. Usually a well made four prong will have a little heavier prong than the six and just as strong. A big concern should be how well a band will fit next to it. Many of the six prong heads are set so they don''t allow a band to fit snug. Jabel makes their six prongs so they allow a band to fit. Not many are made this way. Cindy

 

[sciencegeek]

Alexah- I really like the rotated prongs! I was originally thinking of rotating my square stone to that orientation because it''s unique but still simple and classic.

Here are a few more ideas for prongs that are just a little prettier than plain old prongs, IMHO

Tulip prongs: