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Should I try a new setting? Chances of diamond damage?

shihtzulover

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 30, 2010
Messages
717
My fiance and I upgraded our diamond a little over a month ago, and we are very pleased with the diamond and with the customer service that we received with our jeweler (always wonderful!), but we are a bit unhappy with the setting.

My last diamond was a princess cut diamond set in a simple, platinum, solitaire setting. We chose the same setting for this diamond - the only change we made was that we decided to have standard prongs, as opposed to the v-prongs that we had before.

When I first got the ring, the store had forgotten to re-size it (from a 6 to a 4.5). They apologized profusely, and fixed it. The ring then fit well, but I noticed that something was a bit ‘off’ with it within a few hours. At first, I thought that maybe the stone was crooked in the prongs, but when I looked at it more closely, that didn’t seem to be true. After looking at it from all angles, I realized that the head of the ring was slightly tilted one way. It looked especially bad when I balanced the ring on my desk with the diamond facing downward - it seemed crooked in the band.

I pointed it out to my mom, who agreed that it was wonky, and she also told me that the head was slightly twisted. Upon closer inspection, I realized that she was right. I asked my fiance to look at it and explained what I saw, and he could see it too. It was honestly pretty obvious.

We brought it back to our jeweler, and he said that he couldn’t see it, but he brought it to a bench person, who apparently could see it. We left it for them to work on for four hours or so, and then we picked it up. It looked a lot better, but not perfect. I don’t think that it’s really obvious now or anything, but since I’m looking for it now, I can still see it a bit.

They said that since the rings are set by hand, they aren’t always going to be perfect. They offered to try again, but said that they couldn’t guarantee a different outcome. They said that they really couldn't see the imperfection anymore. Since we couldn't really see the issues nearly as much, we decided to just take it home.

A month later, it is still bothering me just a little bit - because I can still see the problems if I'm really looking for them. The store that we bought it from is not really a chain, but there is another one in a different part of our state (there are a handful in the country). We decided to bring it there, because we wanted their opinion, and also because we wanted to look at other settings, because I am considering a whole new type of design.

We spoke with the manager at the second store, and he didn’t really see what we saw in the beginning. He talked to us and explained how a diamond is set, and how the bench people go about the process. It made sense, and he actually pointed out that he thought that one of the prongs was thicker than the others, which is something that we never even noticed before. He also agreed that he could see the other issues a bit, after we pointed them out, and after he looked for awhile.

He went back and talked to his bench person about how to fix our ring, and he said that he thought it would be best to start with a whole new setting (it’s a stock setting, so they just have to order the pieces). They aren’t sure what happened with it, but think that it may have been cast crookedly or something. Rather than just trying to work on this one again, they agreed that it would be easier to start fresh.

They offered to give us a whole new setting for free, and he took the measurements of our diamond and my ring size. He said that he will have it all ready to go in about a week, and then he will call - we can bring our old ring in, and they will be able to do it in one day, because they will have already sized the ring and put the pieces together.

So far, I like this guy. I asked him about the possibility of chipping, and he didn’t deny that it does happen. He told us that their store had set about 7500 diamonds in the past year or so, and only about 2 had chipped. I like that he was honest with us, because at the other store (owned by the same people), we were just told that it ‘never’ happens. On the other hand, the other store assured us that if it did happen, they would replace the diamond at their cost. This manager said that we would talk about it, because my fiance and I have insurance, but so do they. When we asked again about it though, he said that since it was bought at one of their stores, he would take care of it if something went wrong.

I was all set to do this - but I am a worrier, and I would hate to see anything bad happen to my diamond, since I love it so much. Then, we asked the jeweler to clean it. When he brought it back, he told us that it is such a beautiful stone, and that he is really impressed with the cut. He said that it’s rare, and that he wishes he saw more diamonds like this, and that it could take him months to find one like it if we wanted to upgrade even just a little bit in size. I said again that I was so afraid of it being chipped during the setting process, and he said that of course they would never, ever purposely do anything to hurt the diamond. I totally know that, but I just worry about the accidents, even though I know that they are pretty rare.

I do love my diamond so much, and I don’t know what I would do if it were chipped. Having the insurance helps a little bit, but even with it, I would still be devastated - especially since I do think it would be hard to find a good replacement. I am again tempted to just leave it like it is, because I hate to even risk the damage a little bit. On the other hand, the manager really recommends that we try a new setting, because he thinks that if I am concerned enough to be pointing out the issues to him, they will always bother me - and he’s probably right.

The other thing is that I am still considering the possibility of getting a designer setting, possibly in the near future. I am just not sure what I want long-term, and I love the look of my current ring, but I think I might want something a bit different for my forever setting. I hate to keep risking harming my diamond by playing with the settings, especially if we decide to just change settings soon anyway. The only reason that I’m somewhat against the designer setting route is because they like to send the loose diamond away to the designer for the settings, and I am a bit uncomfortable with that.

I also am a bit worried because I mentioned that both the diamonds (my old one and my current one) had been loose in their settings, and that I had finally gotten my current one tight now. I would hate to have another ring, and they have to deal with the stone being loose. He said that he agrees that it's not acceptable, but that it tends to happen with princess cuts, because setters are worried about chipping the corners. He explained that they might be more comfortable squeezing just a bit more tightly with a round, but that they might back off sooner in a princess cut. He said that his own daughter has a princess cut, and that hers was loose several times, but that they kept tightening it and once they got the platinum to kind of retain the memory, they had no more problems with it. It's just that since the store is so far, I would hate to deal with the stress of not being able to wear my ring for awhile until I could get there.

Also, he mentioned that it might be easier to get the v-prongs to grip the diamond more tightly, since the setters squeeze them from the outside - as opposed to the more standard prongs with the rounded tops, since they have to push down to tighten them. I thought about it, but I still really like the look of the standard prongs, so I want to keep that look. He also said that since I want standard prongs, they actually only make a setting that was originally made for a round diamond - so when they order it, they take the measurements differently in order to prepare for a princess cut. We asked if there was another ring head that was made only for princess cuts, but he said that only the ones with the v-prongs are originally made only for princesses, but that they can easily set a princess cut in the standard four-prong setting originally made for rounds. Does this sound right?

I like that this manager was so willing to talk with us for a long time and answer our questions, and he assured us that he would work very hard to get this right. He told us that if they didn't get it right the first time, he wants us to let him know, because he absolutely wants to get it perfect for us. I am just so afraid of something going wrong, and I just have a feeling that it will, but maybe I'm just being really paranoid.

What would you do?

I have added some photos, to see if anyone sees the problem. One of the prongs looks odd in the first picture, like it hangs up higher over the diamond, but it doesn't look like that in real life.

ring1.jpg

ring2.jpg

ring3.jpg

ring4.jpg
 

shihtzulover

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 30, 2010
Messages
717
Yikes - I can see that my diamond is super dirty in this pic!

ring5.jpg
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
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58,547
It is a beautiful stone and I do like the way the prongs look, but I agree that setting it like that may be endangering the 4 corners. I'd be curious to see what some of the appraisers or jewelers here would say about this.
 

Dreamer_D

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
25,238
I would insure myy ring and then get a setting I am happy with 100%. And stop worrying 8)
 

yssie

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Aug 14, 2009
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I would *definitely* go with V prongs - all pointed ends belong in Vprongs IMO, esp. for rings, where prongs and stones do get regularly abused.

W/ V prongs, the cutouts (prong seats, cutouts into the prongs where the stone actually sits) are shaped so that the entirety of the corner is cradled inside the prong. W/ straight prongs made for RBs (where the seats are cut straight across) either the prongs must be squished tightly onto the diamond so that the pointed corner tip is poking the back of the cutout, or the prongs must be loosely squished so that the pointed corner doesn't touch - which also means that less of the diamond is held in the seat. Neither of which are ideal - a loose prong doesn't secure the stone, but pressuring the prong onto the pinpoint corner (during tightening, or when you bang your ring against the door by mistake...) may just be too much localised stress for that tiny amount of stone to handle, as your jeweller said.

Get the Vprongs, insure it, and don't worry any more!


Here's what I mean - in the prongs you have now, the cutouts are straight across the prong - which is fine for RBs, where the girdle is straight across, but not so much for the pointed portions of a princess.. unless the prongs are designed for pointed corners, w/ pointed cutouts, and are just rounded in shape on top, which is obviously also fine -

straightprong.jpg


Vs. Vprongs - where the cutout would follow the prong outline and so naturally conform to the sharp corner -

Vprong%20to%20be%20notched.jpg
 

shihtzulover

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 30, 2010
Messages
717
Hmmmm - I wasn't even considering that the diamond could be harmed during normal wear - I was just thinking about the chances of it being harmed during a possible re-set.

My first diamond had v-prongs, but they were never perfectly symmetrical, which drove me insane. They were also a bit thick for my taste, because I really like the delicate look.

Do you think that I should call and ask them to order a v-prong head instead? I really prefer the look of the standard prongs, but I definitely don't want to endanger my stone, either.

For some reason, I am extremely concerned about harming it during the setting process. Also, the whole reason that we started thinking about re-setting it was because of the way that the head seems slightly uneven, like it is very slightly tilted or twisted. Does anyone else see this? I am just afraid that I'm being too picky.
 

slg47

Ideal_Rock
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Apr 4, 2010
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9,667
if it is insured I would not worry too much about harm during setting. see if you can get more delicate v prongs maybe?
 

shihtzulover

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 30, 2010
Messages
717
I am scared about the standard prong thing now, so my fiance is going to email him and ask him to order a v-prong setting instead. Hopefully, he hasn't already ordered the other head yet, because I would hate to cause problems because I already asked him to order the other type.

I guess I am especially worried about something happening to it during the setting process because I really love this diamond, and I'm not sure how easily my jeweler could find one like it. Also, it is a SI2, but totally eye-clean to both me and my fiance - which I know is rare, especially in the larger sizes. We actually set out to find a VS2 or SI1 diamond, but we fell in love with this one, and preferred it over the higher-clarity diamonds that they called in.

I'm not really sure how insurance works. If the unthinkable happened, and this diamond were chipped, could we upgrade a bit and just pay the difference? Like, we would get the amount to replace a diamond with the specs of our current one, but then we could pay the difference for a higher clarity?
 

yssie

Super_Ideal_Rock
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shihtzulover|1304315183|2909791 said:
I'm not really sure how insurance works. If the unthinkable happened, and this diamond were chipped, could we upgrade a bit and just pay the difference? Like, we would get the amount to replace a diamond with the specs of our current one, but then we could pay the difference for a higher clarity?


That's how my policy w/ Jeweler's Mutual works, but I guess it depends on your policy specifics and your company - best to call and ask! With regard to what's covered and what's not, and how it works - I've found that I generally get more helpful answers if I ask specific "what happens if" scenarios - what happens if I damage the setting but the stone is fine? What happens if I drop my ring down the drain when I'm washing my hands one day (ie. it's my fault it's damaged/lost)? What happens if my ring is stolen on vacation in India? What happens if I ship my stone for repairs and it's lost? ...
 

shihtzulover

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 30, 2010
Messages
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Thanks for your help! We have Jewelers Mutual too, but I'm not sure what the specifics of our policy are. We are going to call tomorrow anyway, just to make sure that it covers re-setting the diamond, so we can ask about whether or not we could pay to upgrade a bit if something did happen to this diamond, and we found no comparable SI2s.

The manager told us that the store would cover it if something bad does happen, but I would still like that extra protection of also ensuring that this will be covered by our insurance company, just in case.

I'm just really hoping that nothing bad happens!
 

Ickeymouse

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
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Just to further complicate things... What about a Tulip Head setting for a princess, or those really tiny Tiffany looking V prongs?

Beautiful stone, BTW!
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Jan 11, 2006
Messages
58,547
Don't worry about whether they have already ordered the other head. Those are usually things jewelers keep on hand anyway, or they can just return it. I agree with Yssie that it is best for the stone to put it in a head that is designed for a princess cut.
 

shihtzulover

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 30, 2010
Messages
717
We called the store today, and they said that they would order the v-prong head for us.

We also called Jewelers' Mutual, because we realized that it has been almost 1.5 months now, and we have not yet received our policy paperwork in the mail. They assured us that we are already covered, and that it sometimes takes longer to receive the paperwork. Does this sound right? Should we wait for the paperwork before having it re-set? Or is there any way to confirm our coverage through their website? The store is projecting that they should be ready to re-set our diamond in about a week, and I'm not sure if the policy information will come in time.

Also, we asked if they cover damage done by a jeweler, and they said yes. Do we need to call back and specifically ask if they will cover the re-set process? Or is that assumed?

I just want to make sure that we have all of our bases covered.

Thanks for the help! :)
 

stargurl78

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 19, 2010
Messages
3,296
Glad to hear that you are going with the v-prongs, they are safer for a princess-cut and I really think they look better on this type of stone.

Also glad to hear that you're going with the new setting. I had a very similar issue with my ring. The head sits very high and I didn't think I liked it at first. The setting was purchased out of state (in Missouri and I live in Michigan) and I didn't want to deal with shipping it back and forth so I took it to my local jeweler to have them set it in a lower head. Well after I got it back, I regretted my decision and realized I liked it better before (plus I felt guilty about changing the ring that my fiance picked out). So I took it back and had them put my old head back on. It was so crooked and wonky-looking, I waited while they tried to fix it 3 times and they kept insisting it was perfectly straight. I was upset so I took it to another local jeweler to try to straighten it out. A few hours and $100 later it was better but not perfect and it still bugged me. Later that year, my fiance and I took a trip to St. Louis and went back to the jeweler where he purchased the setting from. He replaced the head and now its perfect again. That whole mess cost me almost $300 when all was said and done.

Sorry for the long story, but my point is, if it bugs you now, its not going stop bugging you. Definitely replace it.
 

upgradehunt

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 14, 2010
Messages
16
I am looking to upgrade to a 2 ct princess also. I am a size 4.75, so your ring gives me a good idea of what mine would look like. I was wondering what the dimensions are on your diamond. Thanks :))
 

Laila619

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Glad you are getting V prongs. They are just so much safer for a princess.
 

centralsquare

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Jan 18, 2009
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2,216
Dreamer_D|1304312597|2909768 said:
I would insure myy ring and then get a setting I am happy with 100%. And stop worrying 8)

+1 You have to enjoy the ring...no point in having it otherwise.
 

asscherisme

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Messages
2,950
I agree with the v prongs. And since its insured, just enjoy wearing your beautiful diamond and don't worry about it.

I would have your policy resent. I recently purchased a policy with JM and it was sent with a week or two.
 

pregcurious

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
6,724
I have JMI and recently reset my diamond two times. Both times, I emailed my agent/underwriter. The first time was for an entirely new setting, and I informed my underwriter of my plans before, and afterwards sent information on the cost of the new setting from the vendor to increase the insured value of the new ring appropriately. The second time was to fix an aesthetic issue by replacing the existing head with a new custom one, done by a different jeweler. For this second time, I just had to notify my agent of the new vendor and change, and when it was done, I chose not to have the ring appraised to increase the insured value.

JMI has been very easy to work with for resets, so I don't think you will have any problems. Just keep the emails and make sure that your policy insures your ring for the correct value.
 
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