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Eternity ring scratching solitaire setting

mrs k

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 28, 2009
Messages
84
Hi everyone
I recently purchased a half eternity ring in a claw setting. After 2 days i've already noticed scratching. Will this get worse? Does it put my solitaire setting at risk?
 

ValentinesJewelryDesign

Rough_Rock
Trade
Joined
Aug 1, 2010
Messages
77
If your band and your eng ring are rubbing against each other, especially if the edges of a prong setting are contacting another ring, then it will affect the ring it's rubbing against. The best thing to do is have a local jeweler solder them together to prevent movement. I wish you all the best!

Matt
 

lovemybling

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
624
If you don't want to do that I have seen many other PSers get a very thin spacer between the two. You know a metal only band that is 1.5mm or so.

8)
 

mrs k

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 28, 2009
Messages
84
oh bugger...i was hoping to avoid soldering so that I have the option of wearing them separate if i ever wanted to...
If i keep as is, will it really damage my engagement ring?

If i solder it, can it ever be unsoldered?

Not wanting to use a spacer either...

Thanks for your responses
 

luv2sparkle

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
Messages
7,950
My eternity ring has scratched every setting I have ever had. When I got a setting made by Leon I had him make a spacer band.
I have also purchased a 2mm spacer from Blue Nile and I know you can get a 1 mm band from Etsy for just a couple hundred
bucks in platinum. I wouldn't want my rings soldered personally, so you might check out these options if that is not what you
would like to do either.
 

Dreamer_D

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
25,612
Yup it scratches. But it would take decades to toally eat throug hthe gold. Depending on how important the solitaire is and how much you like wearing them together, I might suggest you just wear the rings in the same orientation each day (like look for the makers mark inside and always wear the e-ring the same way each day so the damage is only on one side) and live with it. *shrug* it is not the end of the world in my opinion. I do not like soldered rings or spacers personally, so if I have to replace my solitaire at some point waaaay down the road, so be it.

If I had a very nice setting like a Leon or something I would just not wear a half eternity band with it, or would do what luvs2sparkle did.
 

swingirl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 6, 2006
Messages
5,667
I really dislike bands soldered together and know several people that really regretted doing that so think hard before you made such a permanent decision. The spacer idea is the best but I have 2 rings that scrape and I just prefer to wear one at a time. Or I wear them together on special occasions but not as a regular everyday thing.
 

mrs k

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 28, 2009
Messages
84
If it's going to take decades then I am ok with that :) as long as it does not eat the prong and my solitaire falls out! Do u know if I can get the metal shaved under neath the diamonds making it sit lower than get it resized or does this affect the support of the diamonds? Maybe I can get it shaved on the bottom instead?
 

stone-cold11

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
14,083
Is it cutting the prongs? If it is, what is cutting the prongs? The diamond or the metal of the eternity ring?
 

mrs k

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 28, 2009
Messages
84
Stonecold I think it's the edge if the diamond cutting into the prong. Will try post pics later. I love the ring and how it looks with my solitaire.
 

Love Street

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 29, 2003
Messages
422
II don't know if it would take decades - my shared prong eternity band has done quite a number on the prongs of my e-ring in just 6 years of wearing them together. The e-ring prongs holding the center stone used to be the same rounded shape as the prongs holding the side stones. After 6 years they have been whittled away such that the very thinnest point it is almost paper thin. See the photos below, including the dcotored photo where I tried to paint in the original lines of the prongs. I took them to Tiffany yesterday and the staffperon said while it's ok at the moment, ultimately it will have to be repaired or re-set. So perhaps I can get another few years - but that means they've lasted maybe one decade... :(sad But I haven't soldered them and don't wear a spacer, so this is option 3: wear it and live with it. It does bug me though.

prong damage1.JPG

Copy of prong damage1.JPG
 

mrs k

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 28, 2009
Messages
84
Thanks for the pics.. I'm going to take it to a jeweller today and see what they say about shaving down the insides as that would Make it lower and not come into contact with the diamonds on the eternity ring. Hope they can help me! I only just got the ring 3 days ago and am loving my new set
 

Dreamer_D

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
25,612
Love Street said:
II don't know if it would take decades - my shared prong eternity band has done quite a number on the prongs of my e-ring in just 6 years of wearing them together. The e-ring prongs holding the center stone used to be the same rounded shape as the prongs holding the side stones. After 6 years they have been whittled away such that the very thinnest point it is almost paper thin. See the photos below, including the dcotored photo where I tried to paint in the original lines of the prongs. I took them to Tiffany yesterday and the staffperon said while it's ok at the moment, ultimately it will have to be repaired or re-set. So perhaps I can get another few years - but that means they've lasted maybe one decade... :(sad But I haven't soldered them and don't wear a spacer, so this is option 3: wear it and live with it. It does bug me though.

Thanks for the visuals! I wonder how long it would be though before it became a hazard for the stones rather than an esthetic problem?
 

Rae~

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 23, 2005
Messages
291
Along these lines, I have another question, so I hope this isn't too much of a thread-jack.

I would like some diamonds in the bands of my ering and wring and prefer prongset over other options such as channel set. Is there a way to have prongset stones that will mean the girdles do not rub on the ring beside? For example, rather than doing shared prong, if each stone has four small prongs, would that avoid this issue?

I'm really hoping to avoid channel set as the "walls" of metal on either side of the diamonds are often too chunky/thick for my liking. :(
 

Fly Girl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 9, 2007
Messages
7,312
Rae~ said:
Along these lines, I have another question, so I hope this isn't too much of a thread-jack.

I would like some diamonds in the bands of my ering and wring and prefer prongset over other options such as channel set. Is there a way to have prongset stones that will mean the girdles do not rub on the ring beside? For example, rather than doing shared prong, if each stone has four small prongs, would that avoid this issue?

I'm really hoping to avoid channel set as the "walls" of metal on either side of the diamonds are often too chunky/thick for my liking. :(
Of course, the diamonds can be set so they won't rub directly on another ring. Here is a green diamond half-eternity stacker that I purchased recently. The ring is quite sturdy, and the diamond edges do not rub when I wear it next to another ring.

GreenDiamondBand0406.jpg
 

Rae~

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 23, 2005
Messages
291
Fly Girl, thank you very much for posting an example - that really helps. I hope you don't mind if I print that to show my jeweller when the time comes, to explain what I am talking about?

Cheers
 

ValentinesJewelryDesign

Rough_Rock
Trade
Joined
Aug 1, 2010
Messages
77
Soldering your rings together is by no means permanent. Any competent jeweler should be able to separate them without harming the original look. If your diamonds are rubbing against the prongs then it will take no time at all for your prongs to become unstable. A 50% reduction in prong width would create a 75% reduction in that prongs strength and tensile resistance. Even gold rubbing against gold can quickly wear a ring thin.....much more quickly than you may think. Remember, diamonds are cut using saws coated with diamond. Metals with the same hardness can wear each other out very quickly as well. You may not like the visual aesthetic or the inability to wear the band by itself, but soldering the rings together is the only way to prevent wearing out detail on the side of your ring and causing structural damage to your prongs. Even spacers will still cause friction. The time table for wear is different for every person. As a bench jeweler I have seen 14k gold prong tips last 20-30 years without the need for a retipping. On the opposite end, I've seen prong tips last 4 years and the diamond is nearly falling out. The difference was the frequency of wear and the activity being performed while the ring was worn.....and no one can answer that question but you! :) I wish you all the best!

Matt
 

luv2sparkle

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
Messages
7,950
My last setting was a semi-bezel in palladum and the platinum eternity made huge dents where it rubbed very quickly. I only had
the setting for a year but it is now unusable. I wouldn't mess with it-get a spacer asap!
 

mrs k

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 28, 2009
Messages
84
Quick update.. I left my ring with jeweller who is going to make the setting lower - I hope that fixes the problem. In actual fact when u sit the rings together the diamonds in my eternity don't touch the prongs however it's from my hand movement. So u move my hand and the eternity moves up and scratches my prongs. Picking it up tonight so I hope it's solved! I not I might solder it... But would prefer not too as the eternity is so pretty I'd like to wear it on it's own sometimes plus I have my channel wedding ring that I still wish to wear often with my solitaire.
 

reader

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Apr 28, 2006
Messages
1,195
Any updates on how the changed setting is working out for you?
 
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