Stone almost fell out of ring! Mass panic!

[distracts]

Two days ago, I noticed that my sweater seemed to be catching on my prongs pretty severely and said next week I'd go in to have it checked. I should have stopped wearing it but I didn't and today I accidentally bashed my hand on a sink while washing my hands at a bar and when I looked down at my hand my sapphire was crooked in the setting! Thank god my bulbous prongs are so huge even at an angle with the corners sticking out it couldn't escape, otherwise I could have lost it!

Anyway. I was recently thinking about having the prongs redone to double claw prongs because I heard double prongs are safer for cushions. I guess now that my stone has unset itself would be the time to get it done. Any advice on this or what I should ask the jeweler? If the original store is going to charge to repair it I may send it to a PS vendor to see if they can laser on extruded wire prongs or something. I dunno.

I'll post pics later - I'm still at the bar.

 

[Enerchi]

Lucky you - noticing before it was too late!!

HAve you seen double prong work of the jeweler who set your stone? I'd only go with a known entity for double prongs, if it were me. Its almost like the ring was 'asking' for the double prongs!

 

[distracts]

No I haven't - I am going to grill them about it tomorrow though and ask for examples. If they are open tomorrow.

 

[Enerchi]

My OEC setting was one from IDJ and he was able to split the single prong into 2 very fine claw prongs and I love the workmanship! Not sure if you'd put them in the running of PS vendors you'd check into, but I do like how mine turned out!

 

[distracts]

I am just so upset! I have a THREE SIDED PAVE RING, I did NOT expect the CENTER STONE to fall out! I was fully prepared for melee problems, but the CENTER STONE???? I am not hard on my ring - I ONLY wear it when I am going out or have people over AND if I'm not doing anything weird/potentially damaging with my hands, AND I wear it to work probably less than a quarter of the time.

After all our friends had gone, I fell into big screamy sobs. My fiance was freaked out and didn't know how to make it stop so he pulled the wedding band from wherever he'd been hiding it and was all "HERE'S ANOTHER RING TO WEAR! QUICK PUT THIS ON, IT'S SPARKLY AND I BOUGHT IT AT THE SAME TIME SO IT'S LIKE YOUR ENGAGEMENT RING OH MY GOD ARE YOU OKAY!?" Which actually worked to stop me from crying.

Ugggggggggh.

I am thinking since I was never satisfied with the center stone prongs in the first place, and after two years of only light wear it has had this happen, maybe I should go with someone else to redo the prongs. I am worried about having the same prongs still because, well, this happened, and even more worried about having them shaved down because of the same reason. I am not even sure if they could laser extruded wire prongs onto my setting but I'll be emailing people and collecting quotes and stuff. I've heard that single prongs aren't that safe for cushions anyway because if they come loose rather than just turning in the setting it does what mine did - fortunately the sides of mine couldn't fit past the prongs so it's just rattling around in there.

Here are some pics... you can see that the corners are sticking out like it's been kite-set. It has not been kite-set, it is just broken.





Does anyone think I should get an appraisal to see what the deal is? I mean, I think it wasn't porosity or anything weakening the structure but just a good hard whack in the right place spun the stone just enough for the whole thing to come loose.

Again, anyone with any advice, please share! Also commiseration. I need emotional support from people who understand how traumatic this is, even if it will get fixed! I am so scared that even after fixing I will lose the sapphire!

 

[justginger]

Oh distracts, I am so sorry this has happened to you. I do think your FI is a great guy though, what a good idea to, well, distract you from one ring with a second!

I think you should enlist whoever necessary to get this fixed properly so you can rest easy and not stress in the future. It's worth the extra cash to use a top grade bench. I am unfamiliar as to who will do repairs on rings they have not made themselves, so I am sorry that I cannot recommend anyone specifically. I would work my way through the regulars that we all know and trust - WF, GOG, BGD, even Singlestone, who we know does spectacular work and are used to working with other people's products.

In fact, now that I've said it, that would be my first recommendation. Singlestone has a fabulous bench and are obviously very talented at repairing/renovating/restoring rings.

Good luck. I have no doubt it will be fixed up tighter than a drum and you can go back to loving it without fear.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am so sorry! Your sapphire is really beautiful! I am glad to get a close up shot of it! I am not sure who all does repairs. I think I might call Steven Kirsch as I think he renovated a setting for someone one time. Tell him you are on PS and maybe he'll agree to do it!

 

[distracts]

I am so sorry! Your sapphire is really beautiful! I am glad to get a close up shot of it! I am not sure who all does repairs. I think I might call Steven Kirsch as I think he renovated a setting for someone one time. Tell him you are on PS and maybe he'll agree to do it!

I actually just wrote and sent Steven Kirsch an email. He redid Gypsy's halo (reusing her original shank but thinning it down) and that one person's Tacori setting recently. I know Wink at HPD does repairs, and I thiiiiiink his bench actually does the JbEG settings (though I am not 100% sure on that, but some comment in either one of their emails or on his website gave me that idea recently). I hadn't even thought of Singlestone, so Justginger thank you for that rec! I agree that it's right to do the thing that gives me most peace of mind even if I have to spend more to do it (and probably be without my ring longer too).

Also much, much prettier close up shots of my stone are on the second page of my STMB thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/sapphire-engagement-ring.166865/page-2']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/sapphire-engagement-ring.166865/page-2[/URL] I'm almost embarrassed at this one, the lighting was so bad for it!

I do think your FI is a great guy though, what a good idea to, well, distract you from one ring with a second!

Heee, yes! It was a clever thought. They ARE the only two rings in the house that have feely-feels having to do with him.

Thanks guys, I am starting to feel less freaked out now.

 

[orbaya]

Yikes! I'm so glad that you didn't lose that gorgeous stone!!

 

[Polished]

There was something rather romantic your fiance's quick thinking response! On the practical side I just hope you find a jeweler that can give you prongs that take their responsbility of safe-guarding that precious stone seriously.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I don't think I ever saw your additional pictures on the second page of your original thread. They are gorgeous!!! But I agree, the prongs did not do justice to the ring at the outset. Consider this a blessing that you can now get them done right and it will make your ring even more beautiful than it already is!!!

(I do want to tell you that I have a setting sooo similar to this except it is not three sided pave and the center stone is oval! I really love this style setting for a colored stone!)

 

[Enerchi]

I think going with the masters of prongs is the way to go = email them all! VC/LM/SK, even BGD and would you try DBL? Both have beautiful claw prongs on their web pages as well.

I agree with DS, as unfortunate (AND TERRIFYING) as this was for you, maybe we can look at the 'blessing in disguise' aspect of it and now you can get safer and more delicate double prongs which will really 'lighten up' the look of your centre stone. Your ring is gorgeous and IMHO, double claw prongs would really bring out the beauty of it that much more.

If it were me, I'd sent pics of the before and after shots, detailing samples of what the prongs are you are looking for and see what ALL of them have to say. No commitment at this point, but its just research and you want to get a sense of how each responds to you and who you'd be more comfortable with.

Good luck - hope it all goes smoothly!

(and love your FI - QUICK, put on the wedding band!! LOL!! What a guy!! )

 

[Christina...]

I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I know that startled, gonna vomit, feeling first hand.! Thankfully you caught it in time and have to opportunity to correct the prongs. I think that your ring would look killer with double claws!

 

[distracts]

I am going in to the original jeweler on Monday. Today they closed early and I would have had to leave right then to get there but I didn't have all my questions written down and I'm the kind of person who will totally forget the most important questions if I don't write them down. The person on the phone, who was the same person we originally worked with on our ring, seemed amenable to redoing the prongs entirely, so I think it's worth it to at least talk to them especially since I have a few other questions anyway (and wanted to go in to look at plain wedding bands!).

I tried calling Steven Kirsch but the voicemail said I couldn't leave a message??? I'm going to sit down tonight and email a few other vendors. (Exciting Friday night, I know - my fiance is out with friends but I have just been partied out over the past month and wanted to stay home!)

 

[Niel]

oh thank goodness you noticed in time!!

you dont just want to leave it that way? Isnt that how all the kids a wearing it these days

I cant WAIT to see it with double claw prongs. I think that would be fantastic. That was just your stones letting you know it wanted a change

 

[vishke8]

Pheeew..that was close. Lucky you.

 

[milton333]

While your setting is lovely, I'm not in love with the original prongs, and IMO, if the original jeweler could have executed more refined prongs, they would not look, as you put it, so "bulbous." I would not personally have the original jeweler take another crack at the prongs. I understand wanting to have it fixed ASAP (and maybe for free), but if you're looking for a very fine finish and double prongs, my opinion is that your original jeweler does not seem able to execute that design.

 

[distracts]

So I've talked to a few PS jewelers and their opinions after looking at the sides of the ring are that the prongs can't be replaced easily - the entire head would have to be cut out and replaced and the cost would be in the 1-2k range. And apparently that's like almost half the cost of having the entire ring replaced with a handforged version using the same stones. So, not really cost effective, and at any rate my fiance wouldn't go for it right now, though I'm thinking maybe replacing the setting with a handforged copy would make a rad anniversary present down the line. Most people just said they couldn't do it and that's that; David from DBL just advised me basically to have the stone set back into the same prongs. He was very lovely to talk to - I know his comments on the forum lately have been controversial but he was BY FAR the most helpful person I spoke to and I'm really glad I called him!

I'm still waiting to hear back from Steven Kirsch and I am going to send an email out to HPD because they seem to do weird repairs more often and may have a different opinion. I suppose I'll throw Singlestone and IDJ in there too since I hadn't contacted them yet. I'll call them Wednesday (a lot of places seemed to be closed Mon/Tues because of New Years, and at any rate I'm hosting a party NYE and will probably be, uh, out of action on Tuesday), but Monday I'm going back to the original jeweler to probably have them re-set the sapphire so I at least can wear it - even if I end up hearing different things about the prongs. It's only been three days and I'm tired of not having it. I can't even imagine how someone who had actually lost their stone would feel. If someone else can do stuff with the prongs, having the stone re-set won't prohibit that, and I'll still be able to wear it in the meantime.

Thanks for all the help guys - looks like double claw prongs probably aren't happening but it was a nice dream while it lasted! Maybe for an anniversary the entire thing will get redone to perfection - if my fiance would ever agree to that! He is very sensitive about the ring and if I ever imply I might like something else even a titch more it is practically the apocalypse. Even if the thing I would like more is just a more refined version of what I have - the style is definitely my "one" setting.

you dont just want to leave it that way? Isnt that how all the kids a wearing it these days

Yeah, rattling around, three sides trapped in the prongs and one side slipping out. SO STYLISH.

Still, I'm so glad the sapphire was saved - it COULD have been a lot worse! I keep having nightmares that I lost the ring and/or sapphire in a variety of creative ways. In one, the dog swallowed it and I just had to dig through poop after poop searching in vain for my ring!

 

[Jereni]

I am so glad you caught it! I'm sure after you get it addressed, it will be stronger than ever! I agree with the poster above who said split prongs might be a good idea.

My fiance was freaked out and didn't know how to make it stop so he pulled the wedding band from wherever he'd been hiding it and was all "HERE'S ANOTHER RING TO WEAR! QUICK PUT THIS ON, IT'S SPARKLY AND I BOUGHT IT AT THE SAME TIME SO IT'S LIKE YOUR ENGAGEMENT RING OH MY GOD ARE YOU OKAY!?" Which actually worked to stop me from crying.

Not at all trying to make light of your situation - I know it's very scary. But just had to share that when I read this, I burst out laughing and almost spit my coffee all over the place. Your fiance's reaction is hilarious!

 

[Niel]

My fi is the same way. The concept of changing my ring somehow to him means I dont love him anymore. Haha. And I picked the dang ring out myself and paid for it too ( the reality of having a baby and a house before an engagement )

I'm sorry it sounds like you can't mark a change to it yet. But it's great to have a project to work toward.
So is the local jeweler just resetting it now?

 

[derbygal]

Just wanted to say I love your ring! Hope it is back to normal soon.

 

[CaprineSun]

So I've talked to a few PS jewelers and their opinions after looking at the sides of the ring are that the prongs can't be replaced easily - the entire head would have to be cut out and replaced and the cost would be in the 1-2k range. And apparently that's like almost half the cost of having the entire ring replaced with a handforged version using the same stones. So, not really cost effective, and at any rate my fiance wouldn't go for it right now, though I'm thinking maybe replacing the setting with a handforged copy would make a rad anniversary present down the line. Most people just said they couldn't do it and that's that; David from DBL just advised me basically to have the stone set back into the same prongs. He was very lovely to talk to - I know his comments on the forum lately have been controversial but he was BY FAR the most helpful person I spoke to and I'm really glad I called him!.................

@the bolded. ITA. When I was shopping for quotes on my ring, he was the most helpful, patient, and truly caring & invested in my project! Although he couldn't take on my project for my price range, he still spent a significant amount of time on the phone with me and still offered his expertise on my ring if I ever needed it. He's amazing!

I'm so so sorry about your ring! I would have panicked, too!! Your fiance was just so supportive trying to help! It was also cute!
Btw, your ring is GORGEOUS! wow!! I hope you are able to fix it soon!