Claw Prongs bad workmanship?

[xxxxxx]

Hi,

I have been wearing my newly set diamond in an eight prong setting for almost two weeks. Once or twice a day a hair or a piece of my cashmere sweaters gets caught in the prongs. Is this to be expexted of claw prongs or is this a sign that I should have the setting checked? I really hope it's not a sign of bad workmanship - I did pay 4900 USD for the setting just to have peace of mind (:

 

[bps413]

Do you have any photos to share that show the set diamond with the prongs? May be helpful for people to see how pointed they are, etc. and provide you with a more accurate answer.

 

[elle_71125]

I second the request for a picture. If you can zoom in, you may be able to see if you have any gaps between the prongs and the stone.

I want to add that I have claw prongs on rings from a few different vendors and every one of them will catch lint / fuzzies on the prongs. Nothing crazy but I do occasionally pick off a fuzzy. I’ve seen some people say that it shouldn’t happen, but that hasn’t been my personal experience.

 

[xxxxxx]

I second the request for a picture. If you can zoom in, you may be able to see if you have any gaps between the prongs and the stone.

I want to add that I have claw prongs on rings from a few different vendors and every one of them will catch lint / fuzzies on the prongs. Nothing crazy but I do occasionally pick off a fuzzy. I’ve seen some people say that it shouldn’t happen, but that hasn’t been my personal experience.

That is reassuring to hear that you also experience fuzzies sometimes on your prongs.

Do you have any photos to share that show the set diamond with the prongs? May be helpful for people to see how pointed they are, etc. and provide you with a more accurate answer.

I will try to take some pictures tomorrow during daylight.

 

[K98]

That is reassuring to hear that you also experience fuzzies sometimes on your prongs.



I will try to take some pictures tomorrow during daylight.

I have gotten extremely thin micro fibers under the claw tips, just because of how sharp and pointed they are, but not anything as thick as a hair. If a hair or a thread can get caught, those are a lot stronger than a tiny wisp of microfiber, and can pull your prong.

 

[Vogue]

Shoot, really? I got a ring with claw prongs at Christmas, and I'm constantly getting fluff and hair under them. I expected that, so it hasn't really bothered me, but it's another matter if it affects the structural integrity of the prongs.

 

[Slickk]

Claw prongs will catch IMO. They’re literally points. Sorry to hear that it’s bothering you...it’s a fabulous setting.
Just to make sure take a good look to make sure the stone is seated properly and the prongs are folded over the stone.

 

[K98]

Shoot, really? I got a ring with claw prongs at Christmas, and I'm constantly getting fluff and hair under them. I expected that, so it hasn't really bothered me, but it's another matter if it affects the structural integrity of the prongs.

I guess I’m not so concerned about the actual hair being strong enough to pull at it, but more that if a hair can get caught, so can a thread, which may be stronger. It also depends how thick the prong is to begin with, I’m sure. Some claw prongs are thicker than others (at the bend). But I have a friend whose prongs were lifted enough to get stuck on a towel thread, and the diamond came out that way (fortunately she saw right when it happened). If the hairs getting caught are thick, I would be concerned it was a big enough gap for a thread to get traction as well.

 

[Rfisher]

Sorry to hear this @Lessics but I get your frustration. If it’s truly an issue that’s fixable - I hope it does get fixed for you.
I, too, am amazed when I see people here say their claw prongs never catch anything.
I am not that lucky, or don’t have fine enough craftsmanship as they must have.
I have also been told that lint free prongs is not the same thing as snag free.
Looking at prongs under a loupe is anxiety inducing for me and feeds insecurities about my pieces not being finished ‘as nice’ as what I see pictured here and elsewhere.

 

[Rfisher]

Claw prongs will catch IMO. They’re literally points.

I remember a thread here years ago. The poster was told this by the vendor.
The vendor was shamed by others here for actually saying something like that to their client, but never came on here to defend themselves nor clarify the situation.
It would be nice to ‘see’ examples of what’s acceptable and what’s not and hear so from vendors that post here, themselves.

 

[K98]

Sorry to hear this @Lessics but I get your frustration. If it’s truly an issue that’s fixable - I hope it does get fixed for you.
I, too, am amazed when I see people here say their claw prongs never catch anything.
I am not that lucky, or don’t have fine enough craftsmanship as they must have.
I have also been told that lint free prongs is not the same thing as snag free.
Looking at prongs under a loupe is anxiety inducing for me and feeds insecurities about my pieces not being finished ‘as nice’ as what I see pictured here and elsewhere.

I definitely see what you’re saying about lint-free and snag-free being different. That seems like a really good way to differentiate it. Just speaking from experience going from normal prongs to claw prongs, I would say that my claw prongs collect more tiny fuzzy microfiber lint than my traditional prongs did, for sure. Thus far, they don’t snag.

 

[Cerulean]

I had this issue with my claw prongs once upon a time. I had them adjusted, even re-tipped. It drove me so bonkers I switched to a bezel setting. However, I think I am ultra-sensitive and every time the prongs snagged / brushed / scraped against something it was like nails on a chalkboard to me. After they were re-tipped they still got fuzzies, but didn't snag as much.

 

[K98]

Shoot, really? I got a ring with claw prongs at Christmas, and I'm constantly getting fluff and hair under them. I expected that, so it hasn't really bothered me, but it's another matter if it affects the structural integrity of the prongs.

This is an example of the thickness of the kind of stuff that’s gotten caught so far. When I’ve looked at it with a loupe, it’s just baaaarely under the end of the sharp tip, but the fibers are so thin that I feel like there’s no danger of them pulling anything. They’d break long before they’d exert any real tension on a prong. If this typifies what gets stuck under yours, I don’t think you should be worried! Actual threads getting hooked under makes it more of a concern, IMO.

 

[LLJsmom]

Yes, occasionally I've seen lint under the prongs of my VC setting back when I had claw prongs. Nothing to worry about. But never has it actually snagged anything like a sweater or hair or thread. Not sure if that helps.

 

[Karl_K]

Sweaters are a huge enemy of rings. Even well done prongs can catch and bend a prong and eventualy pop goes the diamond accross the room.
They will also sometimes pop a head right off.
Be careful and make it a habit of doing a ring check after putting one on or off.

 

[Dmndsr4evr11]

This is an example of the thickness of the kind of stuff that’s gotten caught so far. When I’ve looked at it with a loupe, it’s just baaaarely under the end of the sharp tip, but the fibers are so thin that I feel like there’s no danger of them pulling anything. They’d break long before they’d exert any real tension on a prong. If this typifies what gets stuck under yours, I don’t think you should be worried! Actual threads getting hooked under makes it more of a concern, IMO.

I had a legato sleek solitaire. It doesn’t have clear prongs but once in a while I would get stuff like that too. I had a jeweler check all the prongs and was told that all the prongs look good. As Karl_K has said, sweaters are “huge enemy of rings”. But alas, I live in the Northeast so sweaters are a must. Just be careful and wear your rings after putting a sweater on and avoid crossing your arms when you have a sweater on.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Your photo is not much help. I am sure if you try harder you can do better unless your phone is +10 years old.
The back ground is well lit and the ring is in the dark!
It is not a big deal to push prongs down a bit or file a rough edge off.
Some alloys have a residual spring in the metal and can raise up a little over a week or so.
Talk to the maker.

 

[K98]

Your photo is not much help. I am sure if you try harder you can do better unless your phone is +10 years old.
The back ground is well lit and the ring is in the dark!
It is not a big deal to push prongs down a bit or file a rough edge off.
Some alloys have a residual spring in the metal and can raise up a little over a week or so.
Talk to the maker.

Oh, I was trying to take a backlit picture of the fiber, not the prong, ha! My prongs have been checked and are secure; I was just attempting to illustrate the thinness of the types of fiber I meant. Often the best way is to catch it with the light glinting off of it from behind, otherwise the autofocus tends to choose either the background or the stone, and the near-invisible light-colored microfiber disappears.

Interesting fact about the springy-ness of the metals. I have heard that prongs should be rechecked after the first month post-setting, but I didn’t understand the reason behind that interval—even more of a reason to do it before too much time has passed!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Oh, I was trying to take a backlit picture of the fiber, not the prong, ha! My prongs have been checked and are secure; I was just attempting to illustrate the thinness of the types of fiber I meant. Often the best way is to catch it with the light glinting off of it from behind, otherwise the autofocus tends to choose either the background or the stone, and the near-invisible light-colored microfiber disappears.

Interesting fact about the springy-ness of the metals. I have heard that prongs should be rechecked after the first month post-setting, and this sounds like a great reason to do it before too much time has passed.

OK, Sorree!
Your photo does indicate the diamond is securely held.
A phone camera is as good as a loupe and you should be able to see if a prong is raised

 

[TripEx]

This is an example of the thickness of the kind of stuff that’s gotten caught so far. When I’ve looked at it with a loupe, it’s just baaaarely under the end of the sharp tip, but the fibers are so thin that I feel like there’s no danger of them pulling anything. They’d break long before they’d exert any real tension on a prong. If this typifies what gets stuck under yours, I don’t think you should be worried! Actual threads getting hooked under makes it more of a concern, IMO.

Wow thats like 15 carats or something nice

 

[Vogue]

No threads, but caught hair happens all the time, if I tuck it back behind my ear or something. Doesn't help that it's a three stone ring, so there are three times as many claw prongs to grab stuff. I'm looking at it with maximum magnification on my phone and don't see any big gaps between claw and stone...but I also see that one of the side stones is set a bit wonkily, so that's not fun either. Dang.

 

[xxxxxx]

I can’t really believe it after paying almost 5000 USD for this setting that one prong isn’t as tight as the others. But maybe I’m also being dramatic. Looking forward to your opinions. I’m sorry for the bad quality of the pictures. But maybe you see what I mean?
Here is an example of the tight prongs.

.





Here are pictures of the prong that doesn’t hug the diamond correctly. The tip of that prong shows air between diamond and tip.

The problem is it was a pain to get my ring shipped from the US to Europe (and the vendor didn’t even offer it I had to do it over a third party). And I don’t trust any shop (which are all closed In Europe anyway) to do it in Europe. Well at least I didn’t write my review on the setting yet.

 

[LLJsmom]

Have you contacted Erika? What does she say?

 

[xxxxxx]

Have you contacted Erika? What does she say?

I haven’t as I will only contact her if this really is a problem. She isn’t very chatty and I don’t want to disturb her unnecessarily (:

 

[yssie]

The claw looks lifted a bit. It’s a really really easy fix that any jewellery store should be able to deal with. I would most definitely not ship to the US for this.

Are you confident the ring came that way? It’s possible the prong was lifted during wear over the past couple of weeks - all it takes is one bad knock or tug. Bad luck. Like chipping a diamond - sometimes, if they land just wrong, they’ll chip the very first time they’re dropped. The fact that only one prong has this airspace, along with Erika’s usual standard of quality control, makes me think this may be what happened here.

 

[xxxxxx]

The claw looks lifted a bit. It’s a really really easy fix that any jewellery store should be able to deal with. I would most definitely not ship to the US for this.

Are you confident the ring came that way? It’s possible the prong was lifted during wear over the past couple of weeks - all it takes is one bad knock or tug. Bad luck. Like chipping a diamond - sometimes, if they land just wrong, they’ll chip the very first time they’re dropped. The fact that only one prong has this airspace, along with Erika’s usual standard of quality control, makes me think this may be what happened here.

I’ve only worn the ring for a week! At my desk. Maybe I need to be even more careful.
Would it be stupid to keep wearing the ring till I can have it fixed (in the worst case two months)?

And would it still be okay to put this ring into an ultrasonic?

 

[yssie]

I’ve only worn the ring for a week! At my desk. Maybe I need to be even more careful.
Would it be stupid to keep wearing the ring till I can have it fixed (in the worst case two months)?

If it didn’t come to you that way but happened over the past week - it’s probably just really bad luck. Claw prongs do like to catch on knits, just because even the top of the tip has a point.

The #Right answer is definitely “put it away until it’s fixed”. Worst case scenario for that prong is pulling it entirely and also warping the chassis (which would be a much more expensive and invasive repair). That outcome becomes more likely the more you wear it.

But I know you’ve had hesitations about your stone and hesitations about your setting, and I also know that you can’t fall in love with something until you experience it, and if you put it away for perhaps two months then that’s weeks and weeks of time away from it (and building resentment about not being able to wear it).

My opinion: Don’t wait months. Definitely reach out to Erika and ask what she recommends - she may recommend having it sent back to her, but given that you’re an international client, that’s extremely inconvenient and expensive. If she doesn’t, take it to your local jeweller. Ask to see samples of their prong work first - you don’t need them to be especially well shaped, just for the tops to make contact with the stone. For real, this is such a super quick and easy fix, and it will probably happen again if you wear your ring regularly and aren’t hyper careful with it so it’ll be good to know where you can go!

 

[Bonfire]

Outside of having louped your prongs very carefully when you first received your ring, there is no way to know if it came that way or if it was damaged in your care. Either way, I would reach out to Erika and explain the situation. There is no need to feel intimidated in doing so. She can advise you on the best way to fix this. Really, any competent jeweler can resolve this Prong issue. See what Erika advises. You need to be able to wear your gorgeous ring and enjoy it, not put it away for a few months! (Unless there is no other solution)

 

[xxxxxx]

I wrote Erika an E-Mail. I love the setting it’s so fluid and it just shows of the diamond beautifully and even makes my not model like hands feel pretty.
I just wish this didn’t happen. But obviously a first world problem

I’m thankful to have my ring.

The only claw prongs or nice prongs I have seen in my city are from Hemmerle ( a jeweler who would never work on outside settings/ stones). Any other jeweler has such primitive designs.

 

[yssie]

Please let us know what she recommends?

I’m really hoping for a quick fix on this so you can enjoy your ring!!