Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Loose diamond in bezel setting! Multiple fixes! Needing adv

jschwick1

jschwick1

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 10, 2015
Messages
25
Hi there! I have a custom, handmade, three stone bezel ring featuring 3 antique omc diamonds. I have been having problems with the two side stones being loose. The ring setting is only a few months old, about a week after getting it I noticed the two smaller side stones were loose, I let the original ring maker know of the issue and she reimbursed me money to go get the stones tightened, she is non local and I shipped my stones to her when the setting was being made. I went to a nice local jewelry store and paid to have the bezels fixed and about a week later I noticed the stones were loose again. I went back to my local jeweler but they told me the stones would not fall out, that they may have slight movement because they are old diamonds and irregularly shaped. I then went to a second local jeweler for another opinion...had them tightened for a second time, it's been about two weeks since the second fix and I have again noticed one of the side stones loose and rattling around when I tap it. I don't understand how this is possible, the bezels were custom made for these stones, and I've now taken the ring to two different jewelers to have the bezels tightened! The bezels look completely closed and I don't think the stones are in danger of falling out, I don't see how they could, but I'm not too familiar with this situation. Should I take it back to the jeweler again? Have it looked at or fixed for a third time? Should I contact the original maker again? Does anyone have any advice or similar situation they've gone through??? Please help if you can! Thanks!!

Ps. I added a pic so you can see the bezels

_30877.jpg
 
Re: Loose diamond in bezel setting! Multiple fixes! Needing

Hi jschwick1, I really don't have any great answers for you but I just thought I'd give your thread a bump! The only thing I can think of is that there was some inherent flaw in the original making of the ring that just can't be rectified after the fact. It sounds reasonable that the issue might be the irregular shaped stones though, too. Hopefully others will be along to offer some thoughts. Sorry about this, it's a lovely ring and this must be frustrating for you.
 
Re: Loose diamond in bezel setting! Multiple fixes! Needing

I am betting it has to do with the irregular shape of the stones, but you probably need to contact the ring maker.
 
Re: Loose diamond in bezel setting! Multiple fixes! Needing

I have a transitional/OEC that is off-round and bezeled and it has never been loose in its setting even once for the past 10 years or so.
 
Re: Loose diamond in bezel setting! Multiple fixes! Needing

JS1 - you sort of alluded to the fact that that any irregularity in the stones' shapes shouldn't play into the loose bezels, since the bezels were hand-made for each stone. I agree with this, and in fact it seems to me that an irregular stone should sit more securely in its bezel than a "perfectly" round stone, since the inside of the bezel should trace the stone's irregularities, and thus prevent any lateral movement. (Not that round stones are supposed to spin in their bezels either, or course.) Is it just one stone that is causing the problems, or all three?

Was your setting made by a reputable jeweler? Is it possible that this setting was above her skill level? If not, there's the possibility that she was having a bad day...

Personally, at this point I'd contact the jeweler again and ask her to examine and if necessary to replace the bezel.

ETA - I just saw that your ring was made by Heart of Water, so I'm guessing it would require a trip across a pond or two to get it fixed. EEK... I guess if I were in your shoes I'd contact Sally and discuss with her how to proceed. Obviously she's in the best position to fix the work correctly (and I'm sure that's within her skill set) but that will be an expensive fix for someone, once the back-and-forth shipping is factored in.


Chrono - thanks for that link! I've been wondering whether I need to be concerned about potential "bezel failure" on my 3-stone... it looks like it's possible, but since there are no problems evident at this point, it's likely that I need to be concerned mainly about wear problems, quite a ways down the road. (My ring is still fairly new, hasn't been re-sized significantly, and was made and serviced by top-notch jewelers.)
 
Re: Loose diamond in bezel setting! Multiple fixes! Needing

Thank you all for your input and help! It is just the two side stones I've been having issues with....the larger center stone has never been loose. Since I've had the bezels closed tighter two times now I am thinking it may be more how the stones were set, or bezels were made. I do know Sally's work always received rave reviews so I'm very surprised I've had this continuing issue. I wish I could send it back to Sally and have her take a look at it but shipping my ring out of the country is both costly and nerve racking. She was so kind and great to work with, I almost hate to bother her again with another problem...I think that might be what it comes down to though. Thanks again for all the help, everyone!
 
Re: Loose diamond in bezel setting! Multiple fixes! Needing

jschwick1|1433598064|3885945 said:
Thank you all for your input and help! It is just the two side stones I've been having issues with....the larger center stone has never been loose. Since I've had the bezels closed tighter two times now I am thinking it may be more how the stones were set, or bezels were made. I do know Sally's work always received rave reviews so I'm very surprised I've had this continuing issue. I wish I could send it back to Sally and have her take a look at it but shipping my ring out of the country is both costly and nerve racking. She was so kind and great to work with, I almost hate to bother her again with another problem...I think that might be what it comes down to though. Thanks again for all the help, everyone!
Click to expand...

Can you have it fixed locally and request compensation for the alterations instead of shipping it out to Thailand? Unfortunately bezels are difficult to "fix" in general, and often require more "remaking" than "fixing" (than prongs) :(sad

The stone should not be loose in the bezel, irregularly shaped or not. There is some urgency to addressing this properly: diamonds are tough, hard stones, and as the diamond moves within the bezel it will eat away at the metal it rubs against, exacerbating the problem and making it looser and looser as time goes on.
 
Re: Loose diamond in bezel setting! Multiple fixes! Needing

Thanks for the advice! I feel so bad having to contact her with another issue. The first time the stones were loose she did give me $40 to get them tightened....they were still loose about a week later and I took it to a different jeweler for round two of tightening. I don't think she will reimburse me to get the bezels redone, which seems to be what the ring needs, I think I will have to get in touch with her again though. It looks like that is what everyone is advising. I was just really hoping it would be an easy fix :(
 
Re: Loose diamond in bezel setting! Multiple fixes! Needing

Please get in touch with Sally ASAP. I've read of a case of the bezel falling out of the bangle, which was done by her shop!
 
Re: Loose diamond in bezel setting! Multiple fixes! Needing

Well I did get in touch with Sally, and explained the multiple fixes and continuing loose diamond issue. She said that she is confident the bezels are well closed around the stones and very sturdily made and, especially since I've had them tightened, a stone will not fall out, and it moves because of its irregular shape. I did ask her if it would be better to have the bezels changed out for prong settings but she said I would have to pay for the labor but that they could reuses the gold. I'd rather not ship the ring over seas, especially if I'm going to have to pay more than I already have. I will most likely take it back to one of the jeweler I've used here and see if they can do anything else to fix the problem. It is a bit disappointing since I've already invested so much money into the ring, this is my one expensive piece of jewelry, and is my wedding ring, so I want it to be really secure. Unfortunately my confusion continues. Thanks for all of the advice and help :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top