Stupid prongs!
- Thread starter ame
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Can you post a picture of the ring? Especially a side view of the stone in question. There are a couple of resons that this might be happening and most are pretty easy to fix:
What is your ring made of?
What shape and size is the stone?
Is the snagging always the same prongs?
Neil Beaty GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver
www.gemlab.us
What is your ring made of?
What shape and size is the stone?
Is the snagging always the same prongs?
Neil Beaty GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver
www.gemlab.us
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2004
- Messages
- 9,150
Ame,
In PM you said that your stone is Round, 0.86cts mounted in a 6 prong platinum solstice head. I'm answering in the public forum because other people might have a similar set of issues where this may be useful.
There are several things that could be happening here. If you knock a diamond directly on the table, it drives the stone deeper into the setting. The pavillion acts as a kind of wedge that spreads the prongs out and the stone consequently loosens up. This is hard to do in your sleep. Check your husbands head for damage caused by the impact. It's possible that you are doing something during the day that loosens it up that you are unaware of until the ring shreds your blankets at night but, again, it takes quite a bit of force to do this and people are usually aware when it happens. Does your work involve using a jackhammer or similar piece of equipment? If so, you might consider not wearing you good jewelry to work. Failing this, I'll move on.
There are possible problems involving the 'seat'. When the stone is set, the jeweler cuts a little notch near the tip called a seat. This is where the edge of your stone is sitting. The thinnest portion of the prong is the edge of the seat, right next to the girdle of the stone. When the prong lifts up, it is usually bending right at this point. The seat should be cut so that 1/2 - 2/3 of the original metal remains. If it's cut to much, the prong gets weak at this point and the tips tend to bend up fairly easily. Repair requires either replacing the head or rebuilding each of the prongs individually and then resetting the stone. This is why I wanted a picture.
Another issue on seats is the shaping. The tool used to cut a seat is called a burr and most of them have a fairly sharp cutting edge. If your stone has a heavy girdle and they cut the seat with a knife edge burr then it might not be fitting into the notch very well. This can cause problems of stones getting loose. Repair isn't all that difficult and involves removing the stone, recutting the seat and resetting.
Lastly, check out the shaping on the part of the prong that is above the stone, called the tip. It should be a nice smooth rounded ball unless there is a specific design reason to go otherwise. No extra metal to snag on anything should be around the edges and the tip should be resting firmly on the top of the stone. Repair involves a bit of finish work on the prongs that they should have done in the first place. It's not too hard.
I should also point out that it's worth your trouble to fix this quickly. Repeatedly lifting and pushing down the prongs causes a kind of damage called 'metal fatigue' that will lead to the prongs breaking.
Let us know how it goes.
Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver
www.gemlab.us
In PM you said that your stone is Round, 0.86cts mounted in a 6 prong platinum solstice head. I'm answering in the public forum because other people might have a similar set of issues where this may be useful.
There are several things that could be happening here. If you knock a diamond directly on the table, it drives the stone deeper into the setting. The pavillion acts as a kind of wedge that spreads the prongs out and the stone consequently loosens up. This is hard to do in your sleep. Check your husbands head for damage caused by the impact. It's possible that you are doing something during the day that loosens it up that you are unaware of until the ring shreds your blankets at night but, again, it takes quite a bit of force to do this and people are usually aware when it happens. Does your work involve using a jackhammer or similar piece of equipment? If so, you might consider not wearing you good jewelry to work. Failing this, I'll move on.
There are possible problems involving the 'seat'. When the stone is set, the jeweler cuts a little notch near the tip called a seat. This is where the edge of your stone is sitting. The thinnest portion of the prong is the edge of the seat, right next to the girdle of the stone. When the prong lifts up, it is usually bending right at this point. The seat should be cut so that 1/2 - 2/3 of the original metal remains. If it's cut to much, the prong gets weak at this point and the tips tend to bend up fairly easily. Repair requires either replacing the head or rebuilding each of the prongs individually and then resetting the stone. This is why I wanted a picture.
Another issue on seats is the shaping. The tool used to cut a seat is called a burr and most of them have a fairly sharp cutting edge. If your stone has a heavy girdle and they cut the seat with a knife edge burr then it might not be fitting into the notch very well. This can cause problems of stones getting loose. Repair isn't all that difficult and involves removing the stone, recutting the seat and resetting.
Lastly, check out the shaping on the part of the prong that is above the stone, called the tip. It should be a nice smooth rounded ball unless there is a specific design reason to go otherwise. No extra metal to snag on anything should be around the edges and the tip should be resting firmly on the top of the stone. Repair involves a bit of finish work on the prongs that they should have done in the first place. It's not too hard.
I should also point out that it's worth your trouble to fix this quickly. Repeatedly lifting and pushing down the prongs causes a kind of damage called 'metal fatigue' that will lead to the prongs breaking.
Let us know how it goes.
Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver
www.gemlab.us
ame
Super_Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2004
- Messages
- 10,869
hahaha we aren't married yet and don't stay at the same house every night (at parents till we buy a house because I don't want to move twice) But I have considered that I am smacking the wall as well. Also a very possible option. Im a very wild sleeper.
I pick it up at noon and I can try to take side photos tonight, though I can't say how great theyll be with the crazy flash. Ill look at that and maybe that's the problem--that theres not enough metal there. I have no idea but I am damn sick of this being done so often already and if it takes a new head then it takes a new head.
When I hit it on anyting its generally not hard at all. But I still check it obsessively.. I work at a desk all day, and thats whats sad is I really don't do anything much and yet I st ill beat the crap out of jewelry.
I pick it up at noon and I can try to take side photos tonight, though I can't say how great theyll be with the crazy flash. Ill look at that and maybe that's the problem--that theres not enough metal there. I have no idea but I am damn sick of this being done so often already and if it takes a new head then it takes a new head.
When I hit it on anyting its generally not hard at all. But I still check it obsessively.. I work at a desk all day, and thats whats sad is I really don't do anything much and yet I st ill beat the crap out of jewelry.
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