Pointed prongs: A menace?

[AFOGD]

[Also posted on another board; I hope that''s OK.]

Hi,

I''ve seen a lot of praise here for the look of split/clawlike prongs, like those Leon Mege uses. But aren''t they also dangerous to the stone and to clothing? Isn''t it easy for them to snag on clothing (or whatever) and then get pried up, making stone loss and damage more likely?

Here are some examples of what I''m talking about :

http://www.artofplatinum.com/R016.htm

http://www.artofplatinum.com/R018.htm

http://www.artofplatinum.com/R020.htm

I hope I''m wrong, because I really like the look, but what do you all think?

Thanks!

 

[DavidEmslie]

I always advize people to say away from prongs in general, however most people cant becuase they dont have a jeweler capable of setting a stone low or flush or in a protected mounting. Pressure set ect. There are very few of us that know how sadly, most jewelers dont make there own mountings or lines of jewelry, So there are alot of prongs out there in prefab settings. The worst case I have seen is when a woman came to me with a basic tiffany setting and wanted someting smooth and low profile. the ring was ok before she had her baby...but her ring kept scratching her baby and making the poor little guy bleed...thats not the kind of ring a new mother should have!!! Nor is it the kind of ring anyone should give to someone if they are planing on having kids or if that person lives an active lifestyle!

Of course its personal preference as too what you want to do, what does your gut, and common sence tell you about it?

 

[valeria101]

True enough... badly treated prongs make the ring hard to wear in various circumstances. However, they can be secure and safe enough, if well made. At the limit, it may be that a bezel setting is the safest and easiest to wear, but prongas can come close.

I would not say that "claw" prongs are signifficantly worse than others, if at all. The pointed tip must sit flush with the diamond surface, so it would not snatch anything. Also, the prongs are be polished so materials would not get caught in them. No part of a prong setting should feel 'scratchy' once the ring is done. I would venture saying that the rings you saw at Artofplatinum are carefully made as secure as possible - quality makes them wearable. There is a huge distance between a carefuly crafted prong setting and those 'ring heads' used in cheap rings, as griffin points out.

It takes quite some rough wear to dislocate those prongs and make them snag things - when this happens, the setting needs to be retouched. Quite a few rings never need it though.

I guess any jeweler making custom settings can produce such "claw prongs". It may take some extra care to make them hug the stone tight enough and leave no tip pointing out to scratch anything, but why not ?

At least one ring posted here (on 'Show me the Ring') was made with claw prongs (eight of them!)... you may ask (PM) about this, I guess.

 

[winyan]

I have a largish stone set in fishtail style prongs, and have never caught anything with it or scratched anyone with it. I would find it hard to believe that this 'split' style prong in any worse than any other prong style.

win

 

[Mara]

You should have your prongs checked anyway about every 6 months, so I would get the one you love and forget about worrying.

Settings can always be changed later but I have not heard any stories about someone's prongs coming up to catch or scratch on things and I have an eternity style e-ring with 24 small diamonds with 4 prongs each on them and it hasn't snagged a thing.

 

[Nicrez]

David, what are some simpler types of setting that you do recommend? I was thinking of prongs, but an hoping for the lightest, simplest and most delicate setting I can get without the "prong problem".




I wear sweaters, stockings, and am quite active, so I like low set easy and simple bands. Probalem is, I have a radiant, and I couldn't bear a thick bezel around it...and the band thickness for a tension setting would be a turn off for me...any thinner ideas?