Prongs, so much money for something so little

[YadaYadaYada]

Let me just say that I never considered putting a line item in my budget for jewelry until now, and this isn't about buying but maintenance.

So I bought my lovely curved diamond band this weekend for $130 and I love it but it was filthy and while I was cleaning it, I knocked one of the diamonds loose. I figured a tightening of the prongs would be simple enough. No said The Universe, you must pay!

Jeweler called me today and said she could tighten the prongs but they need to be replaced soon and because there are 16 prongs that will be........$450. Um $450 for a ring I paid $130 for? No thanks.

At this point I'm just going to get the prongs tightened and wear it until I can't anymore because that's the only scenario that makes sense. Now I also have my three row band and the prongs also need replacing on that and there are A LOT of stones, I shudder to think of the cost for that one. Thing is I read online that even when prongs are retipped they are never as strong as the original prongs. So then what to do? Send the ring to someone to replicate the setting and reset the stones in a brand new setting? That's the only reasonable solution I can come up with.

Sorry, I'm doing a lot of thinking out loud but I also wanted to put out there that as fun as it is to find the bargains, one always has to consider the real cost after resizing or stone replacement or prongs, it may not be the best buy in the end.

 

[stracci2000]

Don't fall for it! Tell her that you only want the one re-tipped.
She's trying to up-sell you. Go around to as many jewelry shops as you can. You're bound to find a lower price.
I think that some jewelers will just ask for as much as they can get.
When I went out looking for 6 new prongs on my .53 OEC, I got a first price of $150 at a local jewelry store. And then another price, at a jewelry repair shop, at $75. I opted for the lower price, and in the end the bill was around $65. Now-why the big price difference for the same work?
Because the first guy figured I didn't know anything about jewelry, and that I would just agree. Most people don't know much. It's kinda scary.
Uneducated folks are their bread and butter.
I have a friend who inherited a 1.5 OEC, and she wanted to have it set into a solitaire pendant. I went with her to a shop of her choosing, and I knew more than the jeweler did. I told her to ask for 6 prongs. When she went to pick up the pendant, it was in a 4 prong basket. She accepted it anyway! Gaaah!

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Geesh, I mean I'm trying to support a local business but these prices are ridiculous!

You know I thought that maybe since I just did business with her she would tighten the prongs free of charge, the larger jewelry store down the street would but they were closed today. Nope $35, I mean throw me a bone so I want to come back you know? Even more sad is I don't think $150 is unreasonable for six prongs, maybe because the prices are so inflated here but then if you compare that to what you ended up paying, I agree it's a big difference.

I'm not having her retip that prong, I'm just going to have her tighten them for now and then I'm going to shop around. Maybe I should have left the gunk in the ring, now it makes sense when you hear people say sometimes the gunk is holding the stone in lol!

Omg four prongs on a 1 1/2 carat?! Yikes, well hopefully she is careful with it, what a shame it would be to lose that stone.

 

[stracci2000]

"Omg four prongs on a 1 1/2 carat?! Yikes, well hopefully she is careful with it, what a shame it would be to lose that stone."


@StephanieLynn , yes only 4 prongs. I wasn't with her when she picked it up, or I would have protested. But she was OK with the jeweler not giving her what the order clearly stated!
When we took the stone in initially, it was still set into a solitaire ring setting. I had previously measured it and used an online calculator to get an estimate of 1.5 ct. Not rocket science, I know, but I felt it was a good estimate.
The "jeweler" pulled out a piece of paper with circles on it and held the diamond next to one circle and proclaimed it to be 1.25! I nearly fell over!
If it were my diamond, I would've walked out right then and there. I said to him, "But I measured it and it's bigger than that, don't you have calipers?", and he brushed me off.
Sorry to derail your thread, but I'm still mad about it!

 

[MeowMeow]

Jeez. I paid 100ish (although that was with a mil discount) for 8 prongs on the garnet we found in my grandmothers jewellery box. They were basically all worn away so it had to be done. My regular jeweller would've charged even more they said because they send things off to a guy with a laser which is better for it.This jeweller I used exploded my stone but they gave me a much nicer one in return for killing it so I wasn't too upset in the end.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@stracci2000, you didn't derail, this is all totally pertinent and connected. How crazy is that though with the circles, and btw the big jewelry store in our city uses them and they are terribly inaccurate, they used them on some rings I brought in and were way off!

I'm just totally turned off now, like that Jeff Cooper ring...I told DH forget about it because if I buy it and need to put more money into it for resale I'm not going to be happy plus it's too close to Christmas to have to make an investment and wait for it to sell.

@MeowMeow, so sorry they killed your garnet but at least they did right by you and gave you a stone you are happy with! To me at least that amount for eight prongs doesn't sound bad but we pay such ridiculous prices for everything here, you can't go by me!

 

[MeowMeow]

@stracci2000, you didn't derail, this is all totally pertinent and connected. How crazy is that though with the circles, and btw the big jewelry store in our city uses them and they are terribly inaccurate, they used them on some rings I brought in and were way off!

I'm just totally turned off now, like that Jeff Cooper ring...I told DH forget about it because if I buy it and need to put more money into it for resale I'm not going to be happy plus it's too close to Christmas to have to make an investment and wait for it to sell.

@MeowMeow, so sorry they killed your garnet but at least they did right by you and gave you a stone you are happy with! To me at least that amount for eight prongs doesn't sound bad but we pay such ridiculous prices for everything here, you can't go by me!

Haha oh I know. I live 45 minutes or so from a city and the expertise levels, repair methods, and price levels are very different between local people and the ones in the city. Usually we make the trek and pay the higher repair prices because we adore my jeweller and we know they do sturdy work that usually stands up to me. Even if prongs are not PS pretty. I have bashed my engagement ring into walls over and over and not one thing has ever budged except once and it was completely my fault. I still think if you LOVE a piece then it's worth the repairs or a reset lmao!

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Speaking of prongs, take a look at this ring I found on Ruby Lane. Now the asking price on this is over $2,000 which to me is a lot, if someone is asking that kind of money the piece should be ready to wear or at least any issues disclosed.

Just look at the prongs on this, the bottom left (from this view) prong isn't even touching the diamond and the others aren't much better. There is no mention of the prongs in the description either.

I know we are a hyper aware bunch here with jewelry, so for the average Joe they are not going to think that the $2,000 ring they just bought is going to need an immediate additional investment just to make it wearable. This is just one example, I look at a lot of jewelry online and 8/10 times the prongs are shot and there is no disclosure either.

 

[caf]

Speaking of prongs, take a look at this ring I found on Ruby Lane. Now the asking price on this is over $2,000 which to me is a lot, if someone is asking that kind of money the piece should be ready to wear or at least any issues disclosed.

Just look at the prongs on this, the bottom left (from this view) prong isn't even touching the diamond and the others aren't much better. There is no mention of the prongs in the description either.

I know we are a hyper aware bunch here with jewelry, so for the average Joe they are not going to think that the $2,000 ring they just bought is going to need an immediate additional investment just to make it wearable. This is just one example, I look at a lot of jewelry online and 8/10 times the prongs are shot and there is no disclosure either.

Wow that is one diamond ready to fall out. This is a good reminder to examine prongs carefully on preloved items.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Yeesh! That's expensive! My whole 5 stone setting only cost twice as much, and that included the CAD, the ring, and setting the diamonds. Is it expensive because it's delicate pave work?

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@MakingTheGrade, no it doesn't have delicate pave but it does have sixteen prongs holding the diamonds so to retip they charge per prong

It's just insane. I'm just being extra careful while wearing it I can't justify paying that much for prongs when the ring didn't even cost that much lol!

 

[pammbw]

Repair work is the bread and butter of most jewelry stores, and what keeps them in business. Just like the service department at the local car dealer carries the whole business. Shopping around and negotiating are your best bet to save money and get quality work.

 

[lambskin]

I never cared about prongs until PS. Only one ring that was made for me I complained about the prongs. It was on a sapphire emerald cut and the prongs were more envelopes rather than prongs. Hard to describe but too much metal so the jeweler pinched it back a bit. I love the Harry Winston claw prongs.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I'm with you @lambskin, never thought about prongs but now that I mainly buy vintage jewelry I see so many rings with almost no prongs on the main stone. Or pancake prongs which are just as bad, where they are flat like a pancake against the stone.