Uh-Oh! Will E-Ring EAT W-Ring???

[Demelza]

Hi all,

Another thread on the SMTR forum got me concerned about the long-term viability of my wedding set. I have a shared-prong wedding set from Signed Pieces. Before I ordered the rings, I asked whether there is any problem with the girdles of the diamonds rubbing against one another. They said it shouldn't be a problem. But I've never been entirely convinced. Tell me what you guys think. There is a small space between e-ring and w-ring at the top, but there is no space at the bottom. This means that the girdles of the diamonds are rubbing against each other on the bottom, and at the top, they are rubbing against the platinum head. I'm worried that over time the diamonds will be seriously damaged and/or they will eat into the prongs of my center stone. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Demelza]

Here is a view from the top. I don''t know why my hands look so red in the above photo. They don''t really look like that in real life

 

[Maxine]

Demelza, what thread was that? I posted my (similar) rings on ''wedding/eternity band" thread yesterday...had asked jeweler the same question....he said they''d be ok....but I''m curious, too....can''t they hurt each other????

 

[Demelza]

Hi Maxine,

Ooops, wrong forum. It was in the Diamond Hangout forum. Here's the link.

Michael B Settings

Do the girdles of the stones in your wedding set "spill over" the setting a little bit? Mine do and that's what has me worried. I've noticed that in Mara's rings, for instance, the diamonds do not seem to "hang over". I'm not sure whether that is because she has 4 prongs instead of a shared prong, but I can't see how that wouldn't make a difference.

Edited to add: Beautiful rings, Maxine! Just stunning!!

 

[Maxine]

I don''t have both with me right now, but they are meant to "line up" with each other,and I think they touch - girdle to girdle...I know I DON'' t want them soldered together, which would probably help prevent wear from rubbing together....I''ve thought the same thing...maybe an expert jeweler will chime in!!!

 

[Demelza]

I DON''T want to solder mine either. Yes, let''s hope an expert comes along soon to assuage our anxiety...

 

[niceice]

It''s difficult to provide you with an absolute answer without seeing the rings, however it is generally not a good idea to allow diamonds to rub against each other because they can bruise and chip one another... Despite diamonds being the hardest mineral substance (not the hardest substance) they can still damage one another when the right combination of pressure and friction are present. Most of the ring styles similar to yours are intended to be soldered together to prevent the diamonds in the settings from rubbing against each other. We recommend having a local jeweler or a qualified appraiser evaluate the wedding set with the understanding that you do not wish to solder the two rings together for a determination as to the risk of potential damage.

 

[fountainfairfax]

Regarding CrankyDave''s expert advice, as a newbie I have no idea how to link a previous thread, but if you search by user Fuffi you can see someone who used what appear to be 1mm spacers with her stacking bands.

I have no idea if she used the spacers for aesthetics or practicality...I liked the look of them

 

[AndyRosse]

Date: 2/26/2005 10:19:19 AM
Author: fountainfairfax
Regarding CrankyDave''s expert advice, as a newbie I have no idea how to link a previous thread, but if you search by user Fuffi you can see someone who used what appear to be 1mm spacers with her stacking bands.

I have no idea if she used the spacers for aesthetics or practicality...I liked the look of them

Here you go: LINK

 

[Demelza]

Yikes! Not the answers I was hoping for. I really don't like the idea of soldering them together. I don't particularly like the way it looks and it means I can't wear the rings separately if necessary. The spacer idea isn't ideal either. It kind of ruins the "all diamond" look. I'm wondering if I should just get another set altogther? Oh goodness! I wish the manufacturer had told me that this might be a problem. Or, better yet, I wished I had listened to my own gut instinct. I guess the sparklies blinded my better judgement. I will bring my set to a jeweler and see what he/she says. Just to clarify, what kind of damage might I expect? Scratched girdles? Chipped diamonds? Broken diamonds? Thanks for all your help!

 

[Maxine]

But hey, what''s the worst thing that can happen???? We''ll have to get NEW ones sooner than we expected.........!!! My jeweler said he did not see a big concern, though....but then again, mine is not a full eternity band....I would imagine that the bands on the UNDERSIDE abd SIDES of the band would get more "stress." (I actually have six stones on the e-ring and seven on the band....so they probably don''t rub together as much...) Hope you figure it out! Meanwhile, don''t worry about it!

 

[Addlepated]

Date: 2/26/2005 4:13

0 PM
As for wearing them seperatly, do you really see this as a real issue where you would wear one but not the other?? I know I''m a guy and all, but it doesn''t make much sense to me to take just ''one'' off..

There are times, like when I''m camping, at the gym, in a bad part of town, traveling, etc. when I take off my e-ring but leave on my wedding ring.

 

[Lynn B]

Steve! You''re such a... GUY!!!!

There are LOTS of times that a girl only wants to wear the w-ring!

Demelza,
Are you planning to have your rings insured? I would think that this would cover any type of damage, and hopefully put your mind to rest so you can get the set you really love.

Lynn

 

[Maxine]

To me they are two separate ring, and I like that...i know someone who does have rings soldered together, and she really like that...and they look really nice....but she has a curved band, and it probably actually looks better the way it is soldered on....they are smaller, too, but the TOTAL effect is verynice.

What do you do with your ering when you don''t wear it? Someone told me not to take it off unless it is safely stored at home, but to turn it to the inside if I am out somewhere and don''t want people to notice it...Much safer than in a pocket, purse, gym bag or gym locker!!

 

[Maxine]

We need to have a word with her................

 

[NyssaLynne]

Is there anywhere onine that you can buy 1mm bands to use as spacer bands? I can only find 2mm bands. This might solve my problem of finding a band to sit flush with my e-ring.

 

[Maxine]

I had that exact same question.......

 

[Demelza]

I currently only have the ering insured, but, as per Lynn''s suggestion, I think I might check into getting them appraised and insured as a set.

Lynn,

Do you have any concerns about your set in this regard? It seems like those of you who have sets from Whiteflash don''t have this concern. I''ve noticed that the diamonds on your sets don''t seem to hang over nearly as much as they do in my set. Hmmmm...wonder what to make of that.

I''m starting to wonder whether I should actually get married with a plain platinum band rather than the eternity ring. I guess I''m concerned that the eternity band won''t last forever the way a platinum band would. I could wear the platinum band on my right hand and then see how long this set lasts without girdles scratching and diamonds chipping. Is that silly? Am I worrying about this too much?

 

[NyssaLynne]

Date: 2/26/2005 6:45:19 PM
Author: NyssaLynne
Is there anywhere online that you can buy 1mm bands to use as spacer bands? I can only find 2mm bands. This might solve my problem of finding a band to sit flush with my e-ring.

I tried a 2mm band and it might just work if I could find a 1mm band. Anyone - please help!

 

[jellybean]

Demelza --

I have a 5 diamond shared prong set wedding band and a plain white gold contour solitaire. I have only had the solitaire for about a month (the diamond was in another setting) but there are a ton of scratches on it from my diamond band! I purposely had my diamond set into a solitaire so I could wear it with the diamond band. The girdles on the diamonds on my band do spill over the sides. I was kind of upset at the jeweler that I bought the solitaire setting from as I showed her the diamond band I would wear it with and she never mentioned anything about the diamond band wearing down the solitaire setting. Kind of ticks me off because I never would have bought the solitaire had I known that!

I brought the solitaire back to the jewler that I got it from and spoke with another sales associate. He said he personally would have pointed out that the band might scratch the solitaire (sure!) but the only thing I could do now is solder the rings together (which I don''t want to do because I don''t like the look) or reset the diamonds from the wedding band into a channel set band so there would be gold against gold. I really didn''t care for either option.

I am now going having the solitaire reset into a 3 stone ring, for other reasons as well, but the scratching has something to do with it. I will continue to wear the diamond band by itself, as I have for the last 5 1/2 years. I will also say I would not recommend a shared prong set band for everyday wear as I have loosened the diamonds several times on it.

I don''t know why jewelers don''t tell their customers this when they are looking at wedding rings/sets. I would have felt much better if she had said "these rings should be soldered together".

Anyway, that''s my experience. Good luck!

 

[Maxine]

bump..

 

[Demelza]

FYI: I''m having my wedding set appraised tomorrow by a very trustworthy GG. I''ll let you know what she says about the girdle- rubbing issue and anything else of interest. Crossing my fingers that it''s good news!

 

[Maxine]

I had bumped that up for Bertrand...had similar question on Diamond Hangout...Let me know...mine are not full eternity...

 

[bar01]

Date: 3/3/2005 8:22:28 PM
Author: Maxine
I had bumped that up for Bertrand...had similar question on Diamond Hangout...Let me know...mine are not full eternity...

Thanks ! Can''t believe I missed this thread !

 

[Demelza]

Update: For those of you who have similar concerns, I thought I would let you know what the appraiser said today regarding the durability of my set. Unfortunately, she was not able to say definitively one way or the other whether I would encounter problems wearing them unsoldered. She said that there is definitely the possibility that diamond girdles might get scratched or possibly even chipped, but that it most likely won't be quite as dramatic as I've been envisioning. Maybe a diamond will have to be replaced down the line, but maybe not. She said that the prongs on my center stone will likely get scratched -- how much that bothers me is entirely personal. She did say that doing a soft solder would be the safest way to go, but suggested that, before doing so, I should see what, if any, damage occurs wearing them separately. If I start to see damage or find myself worrying about it too much, I'll just march on down to the goldsmith and get them soldered. She also suggested I contact the vendor (who, on 2 separate occasions, said that there will be no problem with girdles rubbing against each other) and find out whether they will stand behind their product should I encounter problems with diamonds chipping due to constant friction. Any thoughts on that? Should the vendor be held responsible (not even sure what I mean by responsible) if problems do occur??

The good news is that the appraiser said that the diamonds are exactly as they were advertised: F-G in color, mostly ideal cut (a few premiums mixed in there) and mostly VVS clarity (a few VS). I was very happy to hear that indeed! She said the wholesale cost of the set would be about $2,200. I paid $3k which confirms that SP has excellent prices. That's not even a 50% markup whereas a lot of places double if not triple key their merchandise. Happy news there too!

Hopes this helps others who might be in the same situation with their shared prong eternity (or semi-eternity) wedding sets!

 

[Patty]

Demelza, I think that I would wear the rings as they are and get them checked regularly. If you find damage within a short amount of time, then you will have to decide what to do.

Do you have the rings insured? That should help if you end up with a chip, right?

I hate the idea of having to solder rings together. To me, the fun part is being able to mix it up and wear just one or both or other combinations depending on what you have.

I LOVE your rings! I adore how they fit into each other on the underside. Now they just need to behave themselves and not scratch each other.

 

[Maxine]

Glad to hear this Demelza!!! I think you should relax and enjpy them...just keep and eye on them, and take it from ther!!! Hope you feel better about things now.....