question for pear owners

[md74]

My pear solitaire is slightly loose in the setting... again. I posted before I had it tightened last, in August. At the time, I was not thrilled because I felt the stone looked slightly tilted in the setting. However, when I went and got the ring checked, they said it was the front prong, tightened it, and the stone also looked a lot more level. Now it appears to be a little loose again. I think it is the front prong again, and it looks a little more tipped again in the setting.

I have been told and have heard that pears are difficult to set and can come loose easily in the setting. I am not unusually rough, but I certainly bang my hands around normally, and my setting is pretty delicate. For anyone that has experience with pears, would you say this seem to be happening often enough that I should question the front prong, or is it normal maintenance tightening I should expect with a delicate setting and normal wear and tear?

I got my stone reset in 2006. I got it in May, and had to take it to be tightened in August. Now it is loose again. I have always felt that the stone was a bit set off to the side of the basket. It is a custom setting.

I''d appreciate any input!

 

[Sparkle17]

I am so sorry to hear you are having issues with your ring! I have had my pear now for almost 2 yrs and it has never come loose. I don''t think I am extremely careful with it. I wear it daily and I have never had a problem. I did have to have it reset a few months after I got it simply because the prongs looked horrible and like you, I thought it looked crooked in the setting. It drove me CRAZY!

Hopefully others will have some insight for you as well but I definately think that it should not be coming loose! Good luck and I really hope they can fix it properly for you. I can imagine how frustrated you must be

 

[gemgirl]

The stability of any setting has more to do with how accurately the prongs are cut than anything else.

The head on my ring is platinum. I''ve never had any problems with my setting.

 

[md74]

Thanks, Sparkle17! It is a little frustrating, but that''s ok. I still get to wear a pretty ring! We had to have this reset done because the original setting was NOT GOOD. It was done by the people he got the stone from, and it just was poorly done. it squashed after a year and a half. I am just glad I didn''t lose the stone.

The people who did this setting used to work for one of the 5th ave. biggies, so I think they should know what they are doing... but, the number of times it is coming loose makes me wonder a little. I always thought I could see some slight asymmetry in the setting, and I thought the whole stone looked like it is slightly offset from the bottom of the basket, but after our first headache, I didn''t want to aggravate the jeweler and my husband - I know I can pick out things no one else think are a problem. But this is now making me wonder about the whole setting.

 

[md74]

Thanks gemgirl. My setting is platinum. But I am wondering about the stability of the way the prongs are working in combination with the rest of it (if the basket is a little off are the prongs then off and this is making it come loose, or maybe the front is too tiny). I know it is hard for you guys to tell much without photos, but I do appreciate your experience and input, thanks.

 

[somethingshiny]

I have a small pear that I wore for years with no problem. (platinum head), then one day I looked down while I was riding with my husband and the light looked funny on my ring. I looked at it closer and it was all tilted and weird in the setting. I actually tightened it myself (we were on a road trip), and when I took it in to be looked at, they said it was fine and I haven''t had a problem since.

I don''t know what you can get out of that. But, that''s my experience.

 

[motownmama]

Is there another highly rec''d jeweler in your area you could just take it to and get a 2nd opinion on the setting and what could be done ?

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I have been wearing my pear for 12 years now and, with the exception of the prongs not being tightened enough when it was originally set, I have never had a problem with it. Mine is a 14K YG solitaire setting with WG head.

 

[md74]

Thank you all for your replies. I have been closely inspecting my ring all evening, and just discovered I can put a piece of paper under the two prongs on the right side of my stone. So I squinted (I don''t own a loop!) and can see a teeny tiny space. The weird thing is that this is on the side that looks like it is tilted up NOT the side that looks like it is tilted down.

Anyone else that wants to give me any info - doesn''t just have to be pear owners; I just thought those people would know of any pear idiosyncrasies.

I think I am going to go to the jeweler from the biggie B & M who recommended the people who did my ering reset and ask what she thinks of what is going on, and then go back to the people who did the reset for any adjustments or tweaking that needs to be done.

I''d still take any input in the interim.

Thanks, all.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

None of my pears have ever come loose. Would you consider taking it to a different jeweler to have it re-set?

 

[md74]

I would consider it, but that would be the second reset since I got engaged in 2004. This was a reset done in 2006. I think I am going to have it looked at by the person at the B & M biggie on 5th ave. and see what she thinks. Hopefully I can get this tweaked, but if not, then I will get it reset... again

.

This all makes my husband feel really bad.

 

[gemgirl]

md74, I know it''s bothersome, but it''s best to bring it to the highest quality jeweler you can find at this point. You don''t want to lose your diamond!

Don''t feel badly about not being able to post pictures. I can''t seem to take a decent clear picture of any of my jewelry, at least not with either of the two cameras we own (both HPs). It took me probably 50 or 60 tries to get my ring into the avatar box!

 

[md74]

Thanks. The people who did this setting used to work at one of the 5th ave biggies (not Tiffany), and still do settings for another of the 5th ave. biggies, so I would think they should be good

.

I guess I will see what the jeweler at the biggie says.

 

[Sparkle17]

I totally know what you mean about being able to pick out things nobody else can see! You shouldn''t feel bad about that at all! You are the one wearing the ring everyday and you will always notice things that other people can''t say or that they think is normal. I know if you are anything like me it will drive you crazy! You should not have to worry that you may lose the diamond or damage it because they setting is not great. I hope the jeweler you are going to can fix the problem for you and then you can get back to enjoying your beautiful ring!

 

[FireGoddess]

I haven''t had a problem with my pear coming loose either - perhaps it is time for someone else to set the stone??

 

[md74]

Okay, so I went to HW today, which is where I got my wedding rings (but not my engagement ring). I saw the jeweler through whom we got the wedding rings, who has always been really nice about checking prongs and cleaning all my rings (including the ering).

I asked her if she would take a look at my ering, as an outside observer I felt I could trust. She was very nice about it. She looked at it and said that, yes, I was right that the stone is loose and that it is not sitting straight in the setting.

She had her bench jeweler look at it, and he said the front prong is not supporting the stone underneath enough and coming up on top enough, which is why it comes loose in the front, giving it the play to then wiggle in the back. She and the bench jeweler did not seem to think a new basket needed to be done, that the existing setting can be salvaged.

So I have to go back to the jeweler that did the work and ask them to look at it and adjust the front.

The whole thing makes me feel horrible. Having everyone point out why your stone is difficult to set and talk about how it makes doing a setting more difficult is really annoying, since it is such a personal and treasured possession that my husband picked out, I love, and I never even want to upgrade! It is a D vs1 for goodness sake! It is just a little shallow and not a perfect girdle so not the easiest thing to set apparently. But it has a beautiful outline and NO bowtie, and I love it. I think it is obnoxious for people to tell me why it is hard to set pears and mine in particular. You have to have a stone to put in a setting and since the stone came first, people, I think, should just do the setting without criticizing the stone!

She also suggested I do sidestones, like the HW setting, to hold it all together. This would totally change the look of my ring, and is not what I want. I want my ring fixed - not a completely different look of ring from what my husband picked out! She also put my ring half on her finger to show me how the front could possibly be knocked around, which was a little unnecessary and offensive to me, having her put it on her finger without asking.

ARGH!

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I am sorry that your inspection did not go as well as you would have hoped, but at least it has put some things into perspective. If you love your ring as is, then I would not alter it with sidestones at all...just have the jeweler correct the setting issue and keep your precious ring as is!