Uneven Prong?!

[shihtzulover]

Hi Everyone,

My fiance and I just got engaged last night, and the ring is absolutely beautiful. It is a 1.53 carat princess cut diamond solitaire in a platinum Tiffany setting, and the diamond is F in color and SI1 in clarity (eye-clean), and it has absolutely beautiful sparkle. I did notice, however, that one of the v prongs is a bit uneven - the shape is slightly different, and it sticks out a bit more than the other three. It's not blatantly obvious - my fiance didn't notice it, and neither did my mom when I first showed her the ring. I thought that maybe I was crazy, so I handed the ring to her and asked if she could see it - she looked for about 20 seconds and then picked the right one.

I am mostly worried that my diamond isn't secure. It doesn't seem loose, and when I hold it up to my ear and shake it, I don't hear anything - but I'm not really sure how to test it correctly. I will bring it in to have it looked at (and possibly fixed), but the jewelry store where we purchased it is a couple of hours away. I also don't know how long it would take for them to fix it, and I don't want to be without my ring.

Is this a common problem? Is it a reason for concern? If it is a problem, is it an easy fix? I thought that the prong might be shaped a little differently because it was the last one that they put on or something, and that maybe it's difficult to get them totally perfect.

Thank you so much for your advice. I can't wait to marry the love of my life!

 

[Circe]

It happens sometimes - it's not a big deal, or a necessary component. It's probably just a little bit of carelessness. Reshaping a prong shouldn't take more than an hour - at MOST. My jeweler thinned out *all* of mine in less than two. The important thing is that the stone is secure, which it sounds like it is (I usually check by holding the ring level and applying my thumbnail to the girdle - a loose stone will move, even if fractionally, and by trying to "rotate" the stone, which shouldn't be a problem with a princess). So, next time you're up in that neck of the woods, call ahead and see if you can schedule an appointment to have it done while you have lunch, or something. Congratulations on your engagement!

 

[slg47]

sorry to threadjack...Circe what do you mean by 'thinned out' the prongs? Made them smaller/more delicate? Is this always an option? I am wondering if this could be done to the V prongs on my ring

 

[MarkBroumand]

All the prongs should be exactly the same, unless it was handmade, where there can be a little variation. It would be good to bring it back to the jeweler where you got it and have them check it for safety, but either way it should be an easy fix.

 

[shihtzulover]

I'm so fed up with this jewelry store. They have wonderful reviews and I love the diamond, but they just can't seem to get this setting right.

I have to work every day, but my fiance was off yesterday and today. He took it in yesterday, and when I got it back, ALL of the prongs had been altered - the stone was secure, but none of the prongs looked alike (different shapes, and some sticking out more), and it really looked bad. He brought it in again today, and now the prongs are all even, but the stone is loose! When I held it up to my ear and shook it, I could hear the stone clicking. Now my fiance is on his way back to get it tightened, but they close at 8 pm, and this store is 2 hours away. I had to stay home because I have to be in bed early to get up early, and he starts a new job tomorrow, too. This is just so ridiculous.

This is just not acceptable to me. They are supposed to be professionals, and this is a simple four v-prong solitaire. I don't know what I'll do if they return it and it is still messed up. I am thinking of taking it to a different jewelry store and having them fix it, but I'm not sure if that will void my upgrade policy or not. The purchase came with free sizing, polishing, and tightening for life, along with the upgrade policy (no minimum amount on the upgrade, and they will buy the diamond back for the full purchase price),

Any advice or thoughts? Will they be able to tell if I have someone else tighten it or change the prongs just slightly? Will it void their upgrade policy?

Thanks so much!

 

[LGK]

Unfortunately, you'd have to ask the jewelry store about how it affects the warranty to let someone else work on it. I would guess that it shouldn't affect the upgrade policy on the diamond, but it may affect the warranty on the setting. But definitely ask the store before letting someone else touch it.

I'd be tempted to find someone else to fix it too. Some benches just aren't that good even with simple things, unfortunately. I see a ton of estate jewelry at work, and I cannot tell you how often I see terrible, terrible sizing jobs and other simple things that some bench just mucked up like you wouldn't believe. (Yesterday I saw this beautiful antique filigree setting with a gorgeous OEC, that some idiot had decided to size up a *lot* by stretching rather than adding some metal, and there were actual *holes* straight through the shank, it looked like rotten wood! Painful.)

For some reason it seems like princess stones are a bit tougher to set properly, as any asymmetry is super evident, more so than with a round- at least from what I've heard... so that could be contributing to the issues.

If your setting doesn't have pave or other small stones that could be an issue eventually, I might be OK with voiding a warranty on a simple setting if the stone's upgrade policy wasn't affected.

 

[shihtzulover]

Do you think they would be able to tell if someone else just fixed it for me? No major alterations, just making the prongs symmetrical and making sure the stone is secure. When I saw it today, the prongs were mostly symmetrical, but I'm not sure how it will look after they tighten it again.

I am just mostly concerned about the upgrade policy. I'm not even sure that we will ever upgrade, but I would like to have that option.

It is a platinum Tiffany-style setting, with no other diamonds. I would rather not void the setting warranty, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I had to void it.

 

[LGK]

Do you think they would be able to tell if someone else just fixed it for me? No major alterations, just making the prongs symmetrical and making sure the stone is secure. When I saw it today, the prongs were mostly symmetrical, but I'm not sure how it will look after they tighten it again.

I am just mostly concerned about the upgrade policy. I'm not even sure that we will ever upgrade, but I would like to have that option.

It is a platinum Tiffany-style setting, with no other diamonds. I would rather not void the setting warranty, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I had to void it.

Honestly, I'd seriously doubt they could tell. Bench people see zillions of settings and without a major change, I really would be shocked if they even had the slightest idea.

 

[shihtzulover]

My fiance got home with the ring, and I'm happy with the setting now. The prongs all look more alike (I can only notice minor differences when I look really hard, which I think is normal, since I've noticed the same thing in other people's ring pictures, now that I'm specifically looking for it), and I don't hear the diamond clicking anymore when I hold the ring up to my ear and shake it. My fiance said that the manager was very apologetic, and he gave us a $100 gift card to a nice restaurant for our trouble.

I still have one question. How can I effectively clean my ring? Is it true that I can soak it in Windex? I don't want to get one of those vibrating cleaners, because I am obsessive and I would constantly worry about my stone coming loose.

Thanks for the help!