4-prong setting - becoming loose?

[dantm]

Hi,

I got engaged to my fiancee ~6 months ago and bought her the Michael M. Europa R396-2 ring as shown here:

http://www.michaelmcollection.com/image ... R396-2.jpg

This has a 4-prong setting in platinum, with a ~2.5 ct. center stone.

Recently I noticed that the center stone is sitting very slightly loose (i.e. not in a perfect tight grip) inside the prongs. Is this normal? I don't recall shaking or tapping the stone with my finger when I bought the ring to see whether it was like that from the beginning.

Note that this is extremely slight and there'd be no way for the stone to come out at this stage but is this a problem?

Many thanks for your feedback.

 

[stone-cold11]

Yap, it is a problem, get it tighten. A loose stone will act like a saw and cuts the prongs.

 

[dantm]

Yap, it is a problem, get it tighten. A loose stone will act like a saw and cuts the prongs.

Thanks, will do!

In general, what does it take to get this tightened, is it a complex procedure or is it just a matter of a jewlers' pliers/etc.

 

[stone-cold11]

simple procedure.

 

[oldminer]

If the prongs are not breaking away from their soldered connections to the ring below the diamond's girdle, the jeweler pulls the prongs together a bit from pair to pair and this brings them closer to the center of the diamond and therefore makes them tighter. The top tips of the prongs may also need to be pushed down sometimes. If there has been some weakening of the connection of the prongs to the ring the diamond may need to be removed so that the prongs can be soldered properly to the ring. The the stone will be reset. After what ever of the above has been done, the jeweler inspects the tightness and then sees if the prongs have been marred or scuffed by any repair and tightening previous procedures. If they have, then some light burnishing and polishing may be needed. Sometimes a further rhodium plating might be applied, too. It isn't a big deal, but it requires some skill and knowledge to do it correctly.

 

[Todd Gray]

Great explanation David!

Once the diamond has been re-tightened, be sure not to "check it" by twisting the diamond to see whether it is loose because doing so will loosen the diamond! Simply tap the side of the ring with the pad of your index finger while holding the ring close to your ear, if you hear a clicking sound, then the diamond is loose...