New ring prongs issues...

[OneKuhlChic]

Hi All.
I need some PS advice. Last week I received my new ring and noticed issues with the compass style prongs. For instance, the East/ West prongs hug the stone pavilion, but the North/ South prongs do not (see pics). In addition, one of the prongs is shaped kind of like a button prong, whereas the other three are similar to baby claw prongs, the way they should be.

I reached out to the jeweler who advised that "...the East/ West prongs are shaped differently because they are a part of the ring..." as well as, "...the prongs are not supposed to be the same, they need to differ to support the stone securely..."

After looking at the design of my ring I see that all four prongs are an extension of the ring shank. The shank was designed with 3-grooves that encircle the band. The East/ West prongs are derived from the middle groove. The North/ South prongs are derived from the two outer grooves.

I couldn't wait for feedback Saturday si I sent the jeweler a message. For all I know, the jeweler is correct and I'm way off base. I'd appreciate some input on this.

Thank you!!

 

[Autumn in New England]

So sorry for the poor experience... we've all been there! I am not seeing any photos in your OP. Perhaps try uploading them again? Also, I think the last part of your post may have been cut off. I'm really interested to see what you're referring to now.

 

[OneKuhlChic]

So sorry for the poor experience... we've all been there! I am not seeing any photos in your OP. Perhaps try uploading them again? Also, I think the last part of your post may have been cut off. I'm really interested to see what you're referring to now.

East/ West Prongs: Prongs hug the pavilion. I checked I the prong tips more closely and they are good.




North/ South Prongs: A gap is visible between the prongs and pavilion.

 

[yssie]

the prongs are not supposed to be the same, they need to differ to support the stone securely..."

Lol. No. They’re feeding you BS and hoping you bite. No reason the four prongs on this ring shouldn’t all be the same.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Echo!
Yeah, no. There is no structural reason they couldn't form the prongs for matching aspect while seating your stone. It looks like they didn't finish the detail.
It may be able to be adjusted as is by a decent smith, somewhat. Hopefully, enough that they don't have to un/remount. You might want to take it another bench and have them look at it.

 

[OneKuhlChic]

the prongs are not supposed to be the same, they need to differ to support the stone securely..."

Lol. No. They’re feeding you BS and hoping you bite. No reason the four prongs on this ring shouldn’t all be the same.

So I'm not going nuts!! I think the jeweler is a little upset with me...

Vendor response:
"...the East/ West prongs and North/ South prongs are slightly different (meaning they don't bend inwards) and that their design is intentional and not a result of a mistake or neglect of the setter. He has been making this ring for nearly 10 years, with prongs made that way and we have never had any problems with it.

Needless to say, they sent a return shipping label so I can return it for correcting.

 

[CSpan]

I hope they resolve this. I have yet to receive a piece (from a variety of vendors) where all the prongs are perfect. I feel like it must be me. My vintage stuff has perfect prongs, they are seated and lay flat no snagging. Everything else custom has some snagging and lately at least one prong has been noticeably lifted (I tore a hole in a shirt because of one). I just don't bring it up any longer because every vendor seems to act like I am crazy or insists it is fine. I ask before shipping to please check, run a cloth, loupe them and am told they are fine or that that was done and the moment I open the box....disappointment as pokey, sharp, or stabby appears. I'm not convinced anyone can execute prongs, that or I have unreasonable expectations. Either way. No more prongs

Sorry for the rant. I hope they are able to reshape, it is a beautiful ring and that stone is gorgeous

 

[OneKuhlChic]

Echo!
Yeah, no. There is no structural reason they couldn't form the prongs for matching aspect while seating your stone. It looks like they didn't finish the detail.
It may be able to be adjusted as is by a decent smith, somewhat. Hopefully, enough that they don't have to un/remount. You might want to take it another bench and have them look at it.

What I'd like is for my ring to look the way it's supposed to and not have to deal with returning, waiting for corrections, and waiting again for delivery.

I'm sure the stone needs to be removed for them to fix the prongs.

I hate the idea of paying another bench to correct this mistake.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

What I'd like is for my ring to look the way it's supposed to and not have to deal with returning, waiting for corrections, and waiting again for delivery.

I'm sure the stone needs to be removed for them to fix the prongs.

I hate the idea of paying another bench to correct this mistake.

I understand, it's an entirely reasonably expectation.
Not necessarily, they may be able to just carefully squeeze adjust the prongs to shape them a bit to match and fully seat the notch. If they feel they need heat for it then they'll have to remove the stone...I find it hard to believe that in ten years no one has noticed prong work like this. I get not wanting to take it to another bench, I'd be bitter about it myself. It'll depend on how well they can fix their work.

 

[OneKuhlChic]

I understand, it's an entirely reasonably expectation.
Not necessarily, they may be able to just carefully squeeze adjust the prongs to shape them a bit to match and fully seat the notch. If they feel they need heat for it then they'll have to remove the stone...I find it hard to believe that in ten years no one has noticed prong work like this. I get not wanting to take it to another bench, I'd be bitter about it myself. It'll depend on how well they can fix their work.

Here's cropped pics from the vendor, the prongs curve inward.

The pic of my ring the N/ S prongs curve slightly outward. If you look closely to the cropped pics of my ring you can see a gap below the girdle.

Then I decided to loupe the prongs. I noticed the tip of the 'button prong' is lifted and there is a gap below the girdle where the stone is 'seated'.

I knew something weird was going on, I couldn't put my finger on it until I used a loupe.

I watched a video on prong setting faceted stones. The guy drew a pic to illustrate where prongs should hold the stone.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Here's cropped pics from the vendor, the prongs curve inward.

The pic of my ring the N/ S prongs curve slightly outward. If you look closely to the cropped pics of my ring you can see a gap below the girdle.

Then I decided to loupe the prongs. I noticed the tip of the 'button prong' is lifted and there is a gap below the girdle where the stone is 'seated'.

I knew something weird was going on, I couldn't put my finger on it until I used a loupe.

I watched a video on prong setting faceted stones. The guy drew a pic to illustrate where prongs should hold the stone.

It's just not good work. It should never have made it past visual QC to ship.

*What I really don't like about this situation is the trying to convince you to accept something that is clearly not correct and following that no one else was bothered by our shoddy work, so it must be you.*

It isn't a debate.
It's not you.
This is what made me question their competence and reticent to trust them at all. A good jeweler with professional integrity would see the obvious issue immediately and want to rectify it, not resort to emotionally manipulating you into acceptance.

 

[OneKuhlChic]

It's just not good work. It should never have made it past visual QC to ship.

*What I really don't like about this situation is the trying to convince you to accept something that is clearly not correct and following that no one else was bothered by our shoddy work, so it must be you.*

It isn't a debate.
It's not you.
This is what made me question their competence and reticent to trust them at all. A good jeweler with professional integrity would see the obvious issue immediately and want to rectify it, not resort to emotionally manipulating you into acceptance.

Here's the reason my ring got past QC - there wasn't any!!

I sent the vendor a message, via Etsy, asking them to send my ring as soon as possible.

When I noticed issues with the prongs I messaged the vendor... The response was to advise me that in order to expedite they bypassed the visual inspection.

BTW: Here's CAD drawings of my ring showing the N/S and E/W prongs were designed exactly the same!!

 

[yssie]

in order to expedite they bypassed the visual inspection.

Please tell us who this is.

 

[OneKuhlChic]

The Etsy shop is OroSpot in NYC. I bought a custom ring setting from them in 2018 -- no problems.

As soon as I sent the CAD drawings with a side view picture of my ring, they immediately wrote back to apologize. They also indicated, "We will make it right."

OroSpot is remaking the ring rather than adjust the prongs and following the CAD design.

One problem was the prongs were curved outward instead of hugging the pavilion, like the CAD.

The setter didn't notch the seat big enough, resulting in one of the prongs not holding onto the stone above and below the girdle. Also that same prong tip was lifted, as well as the prongs are not uniform in shape.

As far as I'm concerned, so long as the finished product looks like the CAD, I'll be pleased.

 

[yssie]

Great that they’ve now taken responsibility for the issues and are remaking it, and I hope this new iteration is perfect!

 

[OneKuhlChic]

Great that they’ve now taken responsibility for the issues and are remaking it, and I hope this new iteration is perfect!

Me too, I hate to be a pain in the butt... However, I do expect quality work!!

 

[CSpan]

Me too, I hate to be a pain in the butt... However, I do expect quality work!!

I don’t think you are a pain for wanting what was agreed upon and executed properly. I still think the initial response was really poor form.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Good, as they should. It's not about being a pain, it's about paying for an expected product and receiving said product. I'm glad they are honoring their mistake.

 

[Autumn in New England]

East/ West Prongs: Prongs hug the pavilion. I checked I the prong tips more closely and they are good.




North/ South Prongs: A gap is visible between the prongs and pavilion.

Ahh I see what you mean! So my opinion is that they should all hug the stone. However, the girdle does appear to be sitting nicely in the prong notch on all 4. So you definitely won't have a stability issue if all are tight at present. I don't blame you for returning it to be corrected though.

 

[Autumn in New England]

in order to expedite they bypassed the visual inspection.

Please tell us who this is.

Yah, not what you want to hear! So he set the stone blindfolded and just dropped it in the mail.

 

[OneKuhlChic]

Ahh I see what you mean! So my opinion is that they should all hug the stone. However, the girdle does appear to be sitting nicely in the prong notch on all 4. So you definitely won't have a stability issue if all are tight at present. I don't blame you for returning it to be corrected though.

When I louped the prongs, the stone sat in each notch, but one prong wasn't flush to either the crown or below the girdle. This resulted in gaps above and below the girdle.

 

[Autumn in New England]

When I louped the prongs, the stone sat in each notch, but one prong wasn't flush to either the crown or below the girdle. This resulted in gaps above and below the girdle.

I'm glad he came around and offered to remedy the issue! You're never wrong to speak up when you're paying for professional workmanship, and the result is less than.