Checking prongs yourself?

[MissyBeaucoup]

Hi, y’all! I found a really nice and competent jeweler in the town near me. He set my beautiful blue sapphire from Gene. He told me to bring the ring back every 3 months, I think it was, to let him check the prongs.

I am just wondering...do you do this with every ring you own? Or do you get out the loupe and check them yourself? And if you do that, is there anything special to keep an eye out for? I think it might be rude to carry in all my lucky Internet finds to be checked by my local B & M person.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I only wear each ring for a few hours at a time so I've never had their prongs checked to be honest.

I might look at them once in a while myself but have never thought to get them properly checked! Sounds like a good idea for frequent wearers though!

 

[foxinsox]

I just look at mine after cleaning. I look for cracks, contact with the stone, wear etc.

 

[Jopdrop]

It only takes one knock to knock a prong loose. A pretty simple way to check is to hold your ring up to your ear and tap it after it has been cleaned. You can usually clearly hear when a stone is loose that way.

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

Thanks so much for the advice! I wouldn’t have thought about listening for rattling. I switch up what ring I wear, and take them off when I get home and start doing chores, so they do get tender care.

 

[Luce]

Hi MissyB, I use my loupe and gently push on the stones to check for loose prongs. I also do the shake method like mw. I do this when I clean my jewelry!

 

[justpeachy]

The biggest indicator of a loose prong for me is noticing that it caught my hair or fuzz off of clothing more often than I'm comfortable with. I can understand once or twice, but if its happening all the time it usually tells me that there is room for tightening. I also listen for rattling by tapping the ring with my finger while it's upside down.