Cleaning pave - NEVER use Sonic Cleaner!

[Todd07]

We bought a wonderful pave ering from White Flash View here. A couple weeks ago one of the pave stones fell out while a jeweler was cleaning it.

WF has told me they recommend never to clean pave stones in a sonic cleaner.

I had not seen this advice on PS. Ring owners should beware and only let jewelers use a steam cleaner on their pave settings.

Is there any advice from other jewelers?


WF is providing great customer service and repairing the pave

 

[Patty]

Thanks Todd. I have heard of pave stones coming out in the ultrasonic machine, but I thought that maybe they were not set safely. With Whiteflash''s reputation, I''d be surprised if that were the case.

And wow, what a beautiful ring!

 

[ame]

I use the good old-fashioned connesiurs (crap I don''t know how to spell that) jar and the little brush in it to scrub and then soak for a little while, then rinse with hot tap water and soak in hot water til it cools. I have never had a problem with any of my jewelry and Im betting my prong set eternity band will be no different to clean.

But then Im neurotic and saw that post about the spray cleaner and might get that.

 

[RockDoc]

Like Steve my experience with CAREFULLY cleaning pave set rings is no problem.

I take a small dental probe and touch each stone before immersing it to make sure they are tight, and don''t move when touched.

However, the advantage to a stone set pave style, that does fall out when ultrasonic cleaned usually falls in the cleaner, and it can be recovered without losing the stone.

With steam, it can fly in any direction, and will be difficult to find.

If a stone is loose it is certainly better to fall into the ultrasonic, than falling out on the street.

Rockdoc

 

[RockDoc]

However if you want to steam the ring.... get a "tea ball" screen thingy, and put the ring in that when it is either in ultrasonic or steam cleaned. These are commonly used by watchmakers when cleaning the small delicate parts of a watch.

Stuller sells them, but not directly to consumers, they aren''t expensive just a few dollars. They come in various sizes.

They also sell long vinyl tip covered tweezers, a good thing to have if you''re using a steam cleaner.

Rockdoc

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

That is it in a nutshell.

Pave' being so amall with tiny grains (beads I think you say) leaves you with only one option, that is to test for security. It is very hard to tell if all the stones are secure, especially when dealing with castings that were cast with the grains already raised. Hope this makes sense.

I am thinking through my days work, mostly pave'. I'd say most of the pave' I did would pass the Ultra-sonic test before the grains were raised as 1.5mm, down to .5mm stones are so small, by drilling the right size holes you push them in and on that miniscule scale, the metal is soft enough (given micromillimeters is a lot of metal in that size) to hold the stone by itself. I'd never really test that - some will pop out, some won't and I have a big cleaner that involves emptying to retrieve stones, but in order to set the stones it helps to have them firmly in place - even rub them over first in fragile pieces and then raise the grains. Right now I am rising grains so small I need a loup to see them. In this case, it is all important they are secure before you raise the grains.

If a stone comes out I want it to happen in my Ultra-sonic. Putting is back in is childs play. You meerly push it back through the grains and rubbed edges and tweek the grains (not the same with 1.5mm+ stones - you need to re-drill. None should ever come out but if one did the one put back in would be the last one to ever come out.

Back to the point. On pave' Ultra Sonic cleaning is really the best method for really getting the dirt out. There is no better way to agitate the dirt from under the stone (if it is at all possible). If dirt can get under the stone then only the ultrasonic can get it out.

I wouldn't hold it against WF that their ring didn't pass the test - assuming they already sonic'd it back at base. I can't imagine they wouldn't! They would have repeat work all week and a lot of unhappy customers. These things can slip through especially with casting that have the grains already raised.

Sorry to burden you guys with the other stuff. I am just unwinding. I am microsetting a 4 prong setting that is already set and I am mindfull that if the centre stone loosens I have all but ruined a full weeks work (on the 3 sided melee) as the piece is platinum and I'd need a new setting which for those of you who know (because of heat), you know it means I have to make an entirely new ring and repeat the process - albeit with a bigger setting head.

Enjoying a beer - nerves coming back down. Walked past a free 'stress test' on the way home and kept walking, thinking I would break the thing...

Me

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

If any stones fall out in the US cleaner they were not set properly.
Full stop

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Its safe to say that goes for AUS cleaners too

 

[fortheloveofdiamonds]

US = Ultra Sonic not just United States!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Opinions on our office vary from person to person.

I know Brian doesn’t have a problem with it. As a matter of fact every ring we sell is put into an ultrasonic cleaner in our process of quality control.

We tend to err on the side of caution when advising consumers:

Normal wear and tear is a fact of life. The metal holding stones gets worn down. A setting with many fine, delicate pieces is logically at greater risk. Sonic uses vibrations and can tend to loosen stones, so use of ultrasonic along with normal wear and tear can result in what happened.

Maybe we should have an FAQ on US.

Todd, thank you for the compliments.

...By the way, we all agree on the method of using a top-quality jewelry cleaner that loosens dirt, or dishwashing liquid along with a soft brush (like a soft toothbrush).

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

I still err with Cranky Dave.

It is best to put it through hell and live with the results. By our typical bench-workers thinking, we put too much heart-felt effort into our work, to have to know that what we deliver is solid and viable as an airloom.

The agitation won''t harm the setting but dislodge a stone that is beckoning to come loose one day. Nothing is more abhorent in my mind.

Back to a previous post. I thought that when you made your post, Garry, (depending on your angle) you wre suggesting that stones coming out at the m''facture level in US cleaners is a mark of bad setting?. I don''t know at what level your statement ''full stop'' applies, but the test is never fail safe regardless of the individuasls setting skills - that is if I am rightly assessing your comment.

I have just done some work on a tight pave'' setting job. I can suspect a stone might come out and not feel any shame. I do what I can to avoid that possibility but only because I my US is huge and I have to fish around and take the extra time to find the stone etc, but in another case (where I had a tea strainer and a smaller US cleaner, I would go ahead and use it for that purpose, and do it again and again as I go, rather then louping eaching stone and going over it add-nausiem to see where the .05mm of metal is not doing it''s job. That is what US''s are good for us guys and a well used tool at that. I am sure your bench-woprkers do the same.

For an example - allbeit extreme, see the PS thread here
I have yet to do the other sides. I will be pushing grains that are already set in place and re-pushing them once again (I expect a very sound result). Supposedly none should come out and I hope so, but I stand by the theory that US cleaners are a good test, and if stones do come out, then if that''s the case, all is good.

I simply state that for those with the know-how, using this test where stones will probably come out is a good means to assess the setting work and it is not in anyway a point-blank admission of bad setting but a good use of a US to aid in what is a good jewellery making techinque.

I am reacting to the term ''full stop'', I am stating this is not true for the manufacturing process.

As far as things go in after sales care, I would wholehartedy agree with anyboidy who says it is bad form to have stones fall out after the fact. All rings should pass this test, and in fact by the size of my cleaner (I am very proud of it), I imagine I could agitate a stone out of a setting that was secure in a smaller model.

Phillip

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

If a client comes in with ours or anyones jewels we offer to clean them every visit. If a stone falls out i simply say:

"Mrs Jones you are so lucky - your diamond fell out in the cleaner - the dirt was the only thing holding it in! If it is our ring> "WE WILL SET IT FOR YOU WHILE YOU WAIT"
If it is not our ring> "Would you like to take it back to whoever made it, or leave it with us to set for a few dollars?"

 

[jadeleaves]

Date: 3/7/2005 5:58:59 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
If a client comes in with ours or anyones jewels we offer to clean them every visit. If a stone falls out i simply say:

''Mrs Jones you are so lucky - your diamond fell out in the cleaner - the dirt was the only thing holding it in! If it is our ring> ''WE WILL SET IT FOR YOU WHILE YOU WAIT''
If it is not our ring> ''Would you like to take it back to whoever made it, or leave it with us to set for a few dollars?''

Might have to take you up on that - a few of the stones in my eternity ring looks like they are coming loose

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I do not consider my ring to have pave but I do have a row of bead set melees. I put it in my new ultrasonic cleaner twice. Once on medium and was so impressed by how clean my ring and EC was. (My EC is extremely hard to clean. I feel like you can see everything since its a step-cut) second time I thought why not try high, big mistake. I lost a melee! My jeweler was very cool about it and didn''t even care that I still have the stone. He said they replace them free of charge because they are likely to fall out over time (??!??) What makes me said if that now I am afraid to use my US on my e-ring and that was the only way it looked brand new....

Just wanted to warn others. It is great on my diamond studs however. It even got the groves on the posts sparkling clean.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 10/1/2005 4:44:31 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
I do not consider my ring to have pave but I do have a row of bead set melees. I put it in my new ultrasonic cleaner twice. Once on medium and was so impressed by how clean my ring and EC was. (My EC is extremely hard to clean. I feel like you can see everything since its a step-cut) second time I thought why not try high, big mistake. I lost a melee! My jeweler was very cool about it and didn''t even care that I still have the stone. He said they replace them free of charge because they are likely to fall out over time (??!??) What makes me said if that now I am afraid to use my US on my e-ring and that was the only way it looked brand new....

Just wanted to warn others. It is great on my diamond studs however. It even got the groves on the posts sparkling clean.

seriously.....I wouldn''t avoid using it. Bottom line.....the jeweler can/will replace the stones, and it makes your ring look clean, so why not use it? It''s not an unresolvable problem if you lose a melee. As pointed out, it can/will happen over time anyway.

My halo pendant lost a melee shortly after I got it, too....and I''m sure it happened in local jeweler''s U/sonic machine. I phoned Brian - he said "well, it should be able to be cleaned in the u/sonic."

They replaced the melee, and it''s fine. I just cleaned it today in u/sonic - no worries.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Thanks Al that is good to know b/c the US REALLY DOES WORK WELL! It is so impressive and the only way I have ever got my ring so clean. I guess if one falls out it is not a big deal. I have only had the ring for four months so it probably was loose to begin with.

 

[Mara]

Personally if a stone falls out in the ultrasonic I feel like it may not have been set entirely properly or was already loose, but that's just my consumer opinion. I'd still use it and just get them replaced if you have a jeweler who will do it as no big deal. I'd rather have a super clean ring than worry about it all the time. Well that's part of the reason why I *didn't* get pave way back when and now I am very happy I didn't personally. It seems like it's a bit more hassle sometimes. It looks stunning but I think I'd be too rough on it!