Exposed girdle in 4 prong setting - how risky for cracking?

[Cosmo gal]

Hi all,
I''ve recently gotten engaged and my setting is a beautiful 4 prong pave setting (basket + cathedral). I will post pictures later.

Unfortunately, my stone (2.65ct) is exposed. What I mean is, the prongs are too thin, and the basket is too low so the stone girdle is exposed and therefore the stone will get hit, not the setting, when my ring comes in any contact (with wall, table etc).

My question is how high is the risk of stone hitting something and cracking? Is this a legitimate concern? I went to a pretty good setter here in HK and I was thinking maybe the risk is low if the setter set it such a way.

Please share your experience and thoughts. I will upload pictures later to get more opinion. Thanks.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/1/2009 3:18:00 AM
Author:Cosmo gal
Hi all,
I've recently gotten engaged and my setting is a beautiful 4 prong pave setting (basket + cathedral). I will post pictures later.

Unfortunately, my stone (2.65ct) is exposed. What I mean is, the prongs are too thin, and the basket is too low so the stone girdle is exposed and therefore the stone will get hit, not the setting, when my ring comes in any contact (with wall, table etc).

My question is how high is the risk of stone hitting something and cracking? Is this a legitimate concern? I went to a pretty good setter here in HK and I was thinking maybe the risk is low if the setter set it such a way.

Please share your experience and thoughts. I will upload pictures later to get more opinion. Thanks.

Its hard to say without seeing the actual ring so if you could post some photos later that would help. Make sure you have insurance and wear with care.

 

[Cosmo gal]

Here is the picture of my ring. You can see that diamond girdle is really exposed as the prongs are too thin. Please give me your opinion. Thank you!

 

[Cosmo gal]

Here is another shot! Unfortunately I live in HK and there are no appraisals here and no one buys insurance... So I really need to figure out whether this is risky or not! Thanks everyone~

 

[Cosmo gal]

Profile shot

 

[oldminer]

This looks like a nicely set diamond and not a particularly dangerous situation. If the girdle is very thin or extremely thin, or if the crown angle is unusually shallow, the risk increases, but it does not look like this is the case with your diamond. It is not sticking out in some dangerous way.

When you do things which have potential to break a diamond by a sharp blow to the stone, removing the ring would be the smartest approach.