Setting a stone

[Patty]

Since I''ve been reading here, I''ve been surprised to hear how easily diamonds chip (in all situations) and how they can crack when being set.

How is a diamond set into a ring and why is it so dangerous? Are the prongs heated? Lesley said something earlier about how a diamond set into a head that was made for a smaller diamond would cause the prongs to "thin out." Do they heat and stretch the prongs to make them fit the stone? And what would crack or chip a diamond when it''s being set?

 

[oldminer]

Settings fit a range of sizes, but when you attempt to force a too large stone into a setting you must bend the prongs out to go over the edge of the stone. The result is that the prongs are splayed wide, the prongs harden with bending, they need to be bent more to go from under the diamond to over the girdle and onto the crown in order to hold the stone.

Just the overworking of the prongs creates durability issues.

Sometimes a setter will thin the prongs to make a too small setting work. WHatever is done improperly eventually comes back as a problem job.

Diamonds do chip and using an incorrect size setting adds to the difficulty of not damaging a stone needlessly.

 

[Patty]

Thanks oldminer. So, the prongs are heated and bent to fit over the girdle...and I mean that this is how they do it when the setting is the correct size, right?

What would chip the diamond during setting? The prongs being pulled too tight? Isn't the metal flexible when it's heated?