Pave care -- worse over time?

[thelittleroo]

I''m considering pave stones halfway around the bands of my set, but starting to worry about the integrity of the prongs over time, and also the dulling effect over time due to tiny surfaces +lots of dirt.

Should I be worried about either of these issues with pave? If 1-2 stones pop out, how much to put them back? And does the nature of pave reduce the shine over time?

Thanks! Before I get too far down the road with pave, I think I better get a grip on the long-term life expectancy of the setting.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

The chances of you loosing a melee over time is great. I would think they would weaken your prongs since instead of a solid metal "pole" it would have drill holes in it. I have lost only one melee in 2.5 years and it was replaced by my jeweler for free.

 

[mrssalvo]

there are different qualities of pave, some is made and crafted better than others and therefore more durable. If you''re buying from a reputable designer or custom craftman''s you shouldn''t have major problems but like tacori said, it is possible that a stone will pop out. prices vary some warranty the rings for life and will replace at no charge, others might chage a fee, the stone''s are not expensive and from what I''ve read others say they paid here to replace a lost melee stone it''s about $20. As for cleaning, a baby toothbrush with some dishwashing liqid will keep your ring sparkling. i''d also buy and ultrasonic and put the setting in it every so often as well.

 

[neatfreak]

I recently lost a pave stone (handmade ring and one stone wasn't set properly) and it would have cost me about $25 to replace here at my local jeweler whom I did not buy it from. My "online" jeweler reimbursed me however for the repair because he said that good quality pave should not lose stones except for on rare occasions. Mine is good quality but one stone just wasn't set as deep as it should have been the first time.

But MrsS is very very right. There is a major difference between good pave and bad. Good pave will last a long time and be pretty durable with maybe a lost stone here or there. Bad pave is just not a good idea.


I don't know what you mean by the long term shine??? Pave are diamonds, as long as you keep them clean, they won't lose their shine ever.

 

[thelittleroo]

Thanks for all the great feedback. I''m not concerned about $25 every year to replace a single pop-out, and it sounds as if a regular cleaning with a brush and solution will keep the diamonds as sparkly as ever. Which is great news! I just recall from my college days (ah, the tulip rings...) that it was tough to keep my diamonds (chips) sparkly, no matter how often I brush cleaned them (weekly). So, I was drawing a conclusion that pave might present the same problem overall.

As for quality, whatever setting I go with, it will be either made by WF or JA (et al) or a designer like Scott Kay, Simon G, etc. so I would hope the quality pave work is there...

I need more options like a whole in the head... just when I think I know what I like... I see something else!

Thanks again!

 

[Pandora II]

I would have gone with pave if I lived in the same country as the maker of my e-ring.

In the end I played safe and went with channel setting - which I do love as it has lovely clean lines which I ''personally'' like slightly more than the beads on pave.

 

[kcoursolle]

Well-crafted pave can last a lifetime or more with proper cleaning and maintenance. Poor quality pave won''t last as long and stone loss will be more frequent.

Losing stones is something you have to accept if you buy pave. I would expect to lose a stone or two every couple of years. I lost one pave stone in one year with my ring. They are very inexpensive to replace. I think it was $30 for the stone and the labor to replace the very small pave stone.