Loose, rattling engagement ring stone! :(

[Mara]

So last nite after a rousing evening of celebration in SF for my best friend''s 31st bday(highly suggest trying this yummy drink called the LemonGrass)...we were heading home and I was playing with my stone in my e-ring and realized that it actually felt as though I was moving it. By the time we got home...I could hold it up to my ear, shake it and hear it rattle! We were both shocked. I''ve only had it a month back from WhiteFlash...how could it have become loose so quickly?




We are going into WG Jewelers today to have them check the size of Greg''s ring...I am hoping they can check out my ring too and see what needs to be done and if they can do it quickly. How disappointing though! And ODD. I have seen people on here post about loose stones or rattling and thought that was so bizarre....since I''d never had that problem. But now...eh!? UGH!

 

[fire&ice]

I could be totally offbase here - but I wonder if your prongs aren't experiencing "memory".

Either way. It seems like it would be an easy fix. AT leased I hope so. Good luck!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Ah, this sucks. Good thing you noticed this right away!

Michelle

 

[niceice]

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On 4/17/2004 1:27:56 PM Mara wrote:


...we were heading home and I was playing with my stone in my e-ring and realized that it actually felt as though I was moving it. By the time we got home...I could hold it up to my ear, shake it and hear it rattle!
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One quick thought for people to realize along the lines of "playing with" your ring... If by chance, you happen to be grabbing your diamond and twisting it, you will loosen it in the setting to the point where it will rattle and there is nothing that a jeweler can do about it except for tighten the prongs and wait for you to do it again... If that's not what you were doing while "playing with" your ring, then perhaps the seat was not cut properly for the stone... Consider this a Jeweler FYI and nothing more

 

[sumi]

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On 4/17/2004 1:57:12 PM fire&ice wrote:

I could be totally offbase here - but I wonder if your prongs aren't experiencing 'memory'.

Either way. It seems like it would be an easy fix. AT leased I hope so. Good luck!----------------

Can you explain what 'memory' is? Is this a problem that comes up after work has been done of the ring?

 

[heart prongs]

That happened to my ring about three days after I received it in September. We took it back to the jewelers, they fixed it in like five minutes right in front of us, no problem since.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 4/17/2004 4:25:51 PM sumi wrote:

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On 4/17/2004 1:57:12 PM fire&ice wrote:


Can you explain what 'memory' is? Is this a problem that comes up after work has been done of the ring?
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When a ring becomes out of round, say, and you try to get it back in round, it seems to want to go back to the old way it was. I was wondering whether Mara's prongs still want to be around a slightly larger surface area. Might be a nutty idea. Since she went to the jeweler today, hopefully we will know something.

 

[Mara]

Well I took it in and they tightened the prongs and 'hammered' them in slightly. It seems to be good as new though my paranoid eyes is looking for some evidence of the 'hammering'....making sure the prongs look symmetrical. Hehe.




I asked how it could have come loose in a month and she just shrugged her shoulders. She said we shouldn't have another problem with it, but we can always bring it back. They didn't even charge us, we love Willow Glen jewelers!

We also had them look at Greg's ring and it's closer to 11 than 10.75 but we also determined he's more of a 10.5 than 10.75. Soooo now we will have to figure out what to do, they cannot put sizing beads on the inside of titanium, so there is no alternative but to get a new ring.

Oh and R/T ..thanks for the warning. When I say playing with it, I mean I tend to put my finger pad directly on the diamond and slide it back and forth in distracted thought. Not twisting or anything quite so harsh but now I am a bit paranoid, definitely!

 

[luckyhonu]

Glad to hear that WG fixed your prong!

 

[heart prongs]

I'm glad to hear that's it's fixed Mara! That is an annoying sound, plus it's scary! When I first got my ring, everyone wanted to touch it for some reason. My mom still does! I'm like, it's not a puppy -- no touching the rock! I thought that was why it came loose. The owner of the jewelry store where the ring came from said that the cause was probably due to sizing. It was set when Dana bought it, and it was smaller. She also said, if I remember correctly, that it is fairly common for diamonds set in platinum to come loose...I didn't ask any more questions though so I have no idea if that's true or not.
On a side note, I have to leave my beautiful ring at home with fi for a week as I am heading off to sunny Sarasota, Fla. for April vacation. I know, you'd take it w/ you, that's what insurance is for, but I just can't...I'm one of the most ditzy people I've ever met lately! I'm literally going to be spending the next 7 days saying, "Can you pass me the SPF 4" and "Is their a wedding magazine we haven't read yet?" to my girlfriend who's also getting married this year, and the beach is no place for a diamond -- but man, I'm going to miss it!!! I bought a 3-stone "replacement" for $5.95, it's actually quite nice.
Sorry to babble...enjoy the last few weeks of your engagement!!! We'll all be thinking of you on your big day!!!

 

[caratgirl]

Sigh, mine started rattling a bit after I dropped in on the floor recently...I guess I will have to get it tightened as well. I always worry that someone will smush the prongs, though. That is how my long-time setting (that I sold) fell out of favor - a setter 'butchered' my channel setting that had a loose tiny stone. I'm happy that your tightening went well.

 

[Mara]

Heart...don't leave the ring at home...noooooooo. Sand and sunscreen belong on the ring!

CG...can you even manage to wear it with a small rattle? I was WAY too freaked out to wear it knowing it was loose, even if it was not going to fall out. It completely bothered me. This new ring is not insured yet (stone) so I am super paranoid. We had an appraisal appt for next week for all the new stuff (wedding rings and new stone) so we could modify the insurance policy, but it may have to wait until we get Greg's ring finalized! UGH!

 

[Stephan]

happy end

 

[wallace]

Mara - I am glad your stone is safe again! I agree, I couldn't bear to wear a rattler - I'd be so nervous, insurance or not.

I was wondering about the beach thing...is it ok to swim with rings on? It might be safer for us big knuckle people... but still, swimming isn't like showering! Any advice?

Maybe one of those round rubber pieces, like a gasket, like from the eighties - would that help?

Good luck with Greg's ring. I hope it works out as easily as this did.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 4/18/2004 5:42:20 AM wallace wrote:

I was wondering about the beach thing...is it ok to swim with rings on? It might be safer for us big knuckle people... but still, swimming isn't like showering! Any advice?

----

Hey, what happened to the striped cat? Hubby does not swim w/ his band on. It is the only time that it comes off because it will come off. I swim w/ mine; but, I have a tight guard band. My puppy isn't going anywhere.

 

[boonerings]

I've had a lot of customers lose their ring in the ocean. The combination of fingers shrinking in cold water, the lubrication of the water and/or sunscreen, and the thrashing about of the hand in the water seems to do the trick. Surfing seems to be an especially harsh environment for ring losing.

 

[caratgirl]

LOL, okay, it doesn't rattle THAT much...plus, have you seen the size of my prongs? No way is that diamond going to just slip out. That said, I did take it in today to get tightened, mainly cause the looser prong was snagging my hair as I would blow it dry - very annoying!