Loose prong?

[sherryberrybear]

Hi everyone, hoping for some advice. I have a CvB Casablanca setting and over the last 2-3 days have noticed that it catches on things- blankets, shirts, towels etc. I’m worried that the prongs have loosened because this has never been an issue before. I got the setting secondhand and had the stone set by Caysie 2 years ago. Should I send it back to her? Go to a local jeweler? Does anyone have any trusted jewelers in the Boston area? Thanks in advance!

 

[distracts]

Prong tightening is very simple unless you have a fragile gemstone. I would just take it to a local jeweler.

 

[SimoneDi]

Long’s, LuxBond & Green, Shreve Crump & Low and Descenza for example will all be able to tighten the prongs. I wouldn’t send your ring across the country.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Are there other issues with the ring in general?

 

[Bron357]

Feel it with your fingernail, see is the diamond will move in the setting either up / down or side to side.
You may have slightly lifted the prong or perhaps you have created a wee nick into the metal work which is what is catching.
If the diamond isn’t rock solid in the setting, don’t wear it until you’ve had a jeweller look at it / tighten the prong.
I nicked a prong in one of my rings and I just used an emery board to smooth it down myself.

 

[sherryberrybear]

Thank you! No other issues with the ring that I can see. I tried to move the diamond and don’t seem to be able to, but will stop wearing it until I have it checked out. Thanks for the reassurance that I don’t need to send it all the way to California for a little tuneup

 

[Karl_K]

Having someone else work on it may negate any warranty or guarantee.
Being second hand that is not usually in play but I would talk to the original maker.

 

[SimoneDi]

@Karl_K respectfully, I disagree. As someone who personally had to deal with said vendor over loose prongs, shipping my ring and diamonds across country to get prongs tightened every couple of months would have been completely unfeasible, not to mention unnecessarily risky and frustrating. I live in MA and we have perfectly fine jewelers that can tighten a loose prong. As long as the ring is insured, I wouldn’t worry about having other jewelers work on it.

P.S. the “warranty” that this “jeweler” provides is called: “contact your insurance”.

 

[distracts]

@Karl_K respectfully, I disagree. As someone who personally had to deal with said vendor over loose prongs, shipping my ring and diamonds across country to get prongs tightened every couple of months would have been completely unfeasible, not to mention unnecessarily risky and frustrating. I live in MA and we have perfectly fine jewelers that can tighten a loose prong. As long as the ring is insured, I wouldn’t worry about having other jewelers work on it.

P.S. the “warranty” that this “jeweler” provides is called: “contact your insurance”.

You seem to have some opinions... as someone potentially looking to get a ring made with CVB, please share?

 

[sherryberrybear]

@Karl_K great point. Unfortunately I don’t have a warranty since I bought the setting used.

@SimoneDi - thank you for the specific jeweler recommendations! I’m a little relieved to know that I don’t need to send it back and that my prongs loosening doesn’t mean I’m unnecessarily hard on my rings!

 

[SimoneDi]

@Karl_K great point. Unfortunately I don’t have a warranty since I bought the setting used.

@SimoneDi - thank you for the specific jeweler recommendations! I’m a little relieved to know that I don’t need to send it back and that my prongs loosening doesn’t mean I’m unnecessarily hard on my rings!

Np and no, it’s definitely not you. If you go to Long’s - Betsy is lovely, LB&G - Jack Winer is the manager and super kind & helpful, so is Steve one of the CS folks, Descenza - John and Paul are the owners and both are helpful, SCL are a bit snooty so they might not want to work on your ring, but if you want to browse pretty jewels, I’d definitely go in!

 

[Ally T]

Having someone else work on it may negate any warranty or guarantee.
Being second hand that is not usually in play but I would talk to the original maker.

This. Check first. I had a local jeweller reshape my full eternity many years ago, as it went off round a few times. Eventually sent it back to the jeweller who made it to be x-rayed, where it was discovered the platinum had porosity issues, hence the problems. But because I had a third party straighten it out, my warranty was void & they wouldn't touch it. I had to have it remade at my own expense.

 

[denverappraiser]

Mostly snaggyy prongs are an easy repair but sometimes it’s a symptom of an underlying problem. Make sure to use someone who will carefully inspect it FIRST so they’re fixing the right problem. It’s not as easy a job as it first appears.

 

[sherryberrybear]

Thanks again.
@denverappraiser - how do I know if someone will do what you suggested? I don’t feel very well educated in picking jewelers so generally just follow recommendations here.

Does anyone know how to get in touch with CvB? Based on the responses I just wanted to get in touch and check with her and have tried texting and the “contact us” page on her website without a response for a few days. I’ve purchased some other things from her (wedding band and earrings) but have always been in touch via text

 

[denverappraiser]

Try this. I think it's a one-woman shop and one of the effects of that is if she's on vacation or sick or something, there's no one there to pick up the slack. Try again.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/CVBinspiredDesign

How to pick a jeweler is tricky. Referrals are good. You learn a lot by asking them. I think you learn a lot just from the 'look' of the operation. If the person inspecting the piece is on the sales floor, that's a bad sign. If they have dirty fingers, that's a good sign. Neither is conclusive, I just give those as examples. They should explain to you what the problem is. A thorough inspection takes a little bit of time. If they only look for a few seconds and without magnification, they haven't done a complete job.