Moms -- Prongs or Bezel?

[cookiebuttermonster]

Moms, please weigh in! I have a young toddler, and we will hopefully be adding 1 or 2 more in the future. I stay at home with her and plan to stay home with future kiddos as well. Although I'm hopeful to return back to school for a semester or two in between kids, for the most part I will be momming it up full-time with babies and toddlers for the next 5ish years.

I've been wanting a prong setting for my upgrade ring, but am wondering if it will be more practical to have a bezel during the baby and toddler years, and then reset if I still want a prong setting at that point.

If you have prongs, do they ever accidentally hurt your little ones? I think this is my biggest concern with a prong setting. I'm currently wearing a plain band and eternity ring (both cheapie gold-fill as they were intended to be temporary) so it hasn't been an issue. My wedding set hasn't fit since my pregnancy blessed me with permanently larger knuckles. My knuckles were big to begin with, but now 16 months post-partum I have lost all my baby weight, and my knuckles are still a full size bigger than they used to be. Grr.

Oops bit of a tangent there. Anyway, tell me your experiences with your prongs/bezels fellow moms-in-arms.

 

[susief]

I stopped wearing my prong set solitaire when DS was a baby. Things like dressing him worried me, eg poking his eye while wiggling a top over his head, plus dealing with nappies, weaning etc. Bezel is definitely more practical for constant wear around babies and toddlers IF you love the look. But DS is now 3 and prongs are fine again. They grow up fast so on balance I'd say just go with what you like best.

 

[Snowdrop13]

My ER is prong set but it's a 3 stone with small-ish stones, not a single large one. It's been pretty robust and I have worn it regularly throughout my kids' childhood. There has never been any need to repair or tighten anything or any injury to anyone. I'd agree that you should just pick what you love best, saves money on resets later!

 

[nojs]

My e-ring is only 0.556 ct and it is set with custom 6-prong platinum setting. The prongs are very delicate, and have never been an issue with my 18 month old. But for the large part I remove my rings while at home anyway

 

[sassy_pants]

I'm doing a bezel reset now. I love bezels, but also think it will be more practical since I have two little ones. I have scratched my boys before with my ER, not with the prongs but actually from the exposed girdle. I have a 4 prong setting. Maybe with a delicate 6 or 8 prong solitaire, a girdle scratch wouldn't be as likely to happen. I do notice that my youngest gets scratches on his thighs from diaper changes when Grandma or our nanny changes him. They both have settings with a lot of smaller stones and prongs everywhere.

 

[acaw2015]

Hi!
I have never had any problems with my 1 ct cushion four prong solitaire re hurting my baby or anything. I have worn it all the time, but take it off when cleaning/bathing/putting cream on the baby etc. I think there could be problems with some types of diamond cuts or very sharp settings, or with a much larger stone.
As other posters have said, choose the style you love. The babies grow so fast! I think jewelry is only something to be concerned about during the first 8-10 months... A short time really!

 

[m-2-b]

I have a 6 prong solitaire setting now (no pave) and have not had any problems taking care of the kiddos with them. However, I do take off my rings when I get home.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would say I have never known a single mom that had a bezel setting aside from maybe a few on PS. Millions of children have been raised by moms with prong set diamond rings. I can think of zero reason not to have a diamond prong set. What I can say is regardless of having children or not, it is not a good idea to set a diamond really high, because you have a greater likelihood of hitting it on things. So low to medium height is best for the preservation of the diamond.

 

[tyty333]

I say get what you want...if you get prongs make sure it is someone who can do them nicely. I raised 3 kids with 4 prongs and I
don't remember it ever being an issue.

I think I do recall a few folks posting about prongs scratching their kids. In that case I think they need to have their prongs checked
and maybe redone because I dont think prongs done right should be pokey/scratchy.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I have always had prongs and never had an issue either. I never normally wore my rings around the house just doing everyday chores though and still don't. I have two grandchildren now and it has never been an issue for me with them either. I wouldn't bezel set a diamond for that reason alone but if you love a bezel set, then go for it!

 

[cookiebuttermonster]

Aca, That's good to hear, a 1ct cushion is exactly what I'm looking at getting.

Diamondseeker, I'll definitely be getting something very low set. I'd want a low setting regardless of whether I had kids anyway!

 

[SylviaF]

I have a bezel and I love it! But I had a prong setting when my kids were babies and never scratched them. The prongs were delicate and the stone set low. I say get what you love, let them know you prefer delicate prongs. I've seen prongs that have a roundness to the profile and I think that style is less prone to scratching the little ones.

 

[msop04]

I have a 6 month old, and I recently switched from a very paved halo to a six prong solitaire. I can see not wanting loads of pave, but I've never had any trouble with my prongs at all. (and I'm even wearing a not-so-great temp setting...)

 

[Laila619]

My kids are 5, 3, 1, 1 and I just wear plain bands around them. So easy and I don't have to worry about losing stones or scratching them. I would definitely go for a bezel setting over prongs. I love bezel settings, they are such a nice, clean look.

 

[poshmommy]

I say get what you want. I have a 2 carat asscher in an antique pave setting with claw prongs. I have 3 small children. I have never scratched any of the kids with my ring. I have also never lost a pave stone.

 

[cookiebuttermonster]

Thanks for weighing in ladies. I think the prongs on my original e-ring are badly done because they were always catching/snagging on things. And I remember I once clocked DH in my sleep and it scratched him. Sounds like with good quality craftsmanship that won't be a problem!

 

[NICHLO]

I have three children and I'm the baby years, a lot of times I would not wear my engagement ring during the day. I was breastfeeding, changing diapers and going to mommy play groups--I never really thought about it...justbdidnt put it on. I should have though. Leaving that beauty in a box hidden away was such a shame! It was set in prongs but I just didn't wear it because I was home so much. I think it would have been fine to wear though. I would not get it set too high because as DS said, you could chip it etc. if you like the bezel though, go for it! My cousin has an ideal .60 round set in a tension setting and it is so beautiful. You can see it sparkling from across the room. I toyed with the idea of that, but I decided not to. I think I may have worn it more when the kids were younger if so. But, I also think it depends on the size. Too big may not look right in that type of setting, I am currently hoping to switch from a halo that I'm afraid to wear because it is so decked out with paves, to a simple solitaire. I hope to set another stone in the pave someday for special occasions.

 

[Laila619]

By the way, I wanted to tell you I can totally relate to knuckle size changing after pregnancy. My finger permanently went from a 5.5 to a 7, even though I lost all baby weight. It sucks, but it's fairly common.

 

[FightGravity]

I say get what you want. I have a 2 carat asscher in an antique pave setting with claw prongs. I have 3 small children. I have never scratched any of the kids with my ring. I have also never lost a pave stone.

Poshmommy, that sounds beautiful! I'd love to see it!

Agree that the bigger risk for scratches is exposed girdle, not the prongs. And only get a bezel if you love bezels!

 

[cookiebuttermonster]

By the way, I wanted to tell you I can totally relate to knuckle size changing after pregnancy. My finger permanently went from a 5.5 to a 7, even though I lost all baby weight. It sucks, but it's fairly common.

The things nobody tells you about pregnancy lol. I went from a 6 to a 7. So annoying. I did have some fairly bad arthritis in my hands during the 2nd and 3rd trimester, so maybe that had something to do with it.

At least my feet and ribcage went back to my old sizes. My ribcage had gone from a 34 to a 38. My feet from a 8W to a 10W.