What''s too big?

[Ibiddie]

I know others have asked this before, but I''m in a somewhat different situation. I work in a lab. I wear gloves all day, changing them frequently. I need to have some degree of confidence that my rock won''t rip a hole in my gloves! My BF suggested that I not wear it to work, but my mom never takes hers off- so the idea of not wearing it seems weird to me. I love the Princess cuts, but I know this may make it more likely to rip the gloves. Any input would be helpful!!

 

[dbsdiamonds]

Hi there,

I can''t imagine there is a set rule. Whether you have a 1/2ct or a 3ct, you will still prongs and edges and tightness of glove and durability of glove and all the things associated with how you use your hands at work.

I concur with the beau, don''t wear it at work. And when married you''ll have a nice band to continue to wear. Blaze your own trail.

Marty
CEO/Pres
Diamond Brokerage Service Inc
www.diamondsatcost.com

 

[customcushion]

I''ve seen a 20ct that looked lovely. Never too big

 

[angeline]

Date: 8/9/2008 12:24:08 PM
Author: customcushion
I''ve seen a 20ct that looked lovely. Never too big

I like your style!

Depends on what setting you get and then what size diamond looks good in it. What about a low set bezel or half bezel? the Tiffany Etoile is wonderful imho and looks great with a .5ct to.75ct stone.

 

[angeline]

profile... nice and low set, no sharp edges...

 

[angeline]

duh it just registered that you said you like princesses! sorry!

 

[Ibiddie]

No worries! It''s something to think about. Seems like it wouldn''t be in the way!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/9/2008 12:23:12 PM
Author: dbsdiamonds
Hi there,

I can''t imagine there is a set rule. Whether you have a 1/2ct or a 3ct, you will still prongs and edges and tightness of glove and durability of glove and all the things associated with how you use your hands at work.

I concur with the beau, don''t wear it at work. And when married you''ll have a nice band to continue to wear. Blaze your own trail.

Marty
CEO/Pres
Diamond Brokerage Service Inc
www.diamondsatcost.com

Welcome to Pricescope!

I agree with Marty, there is no set rule really...Things you could do is to have the diamond set as low as possible, or consider a bezel set similar to what Angeline showed you, or as Marty suggests, don''t wear it at work.

 

[Skippy123]

I think the bezeled ring posted above would be nice or just wearing a wedding band when you work and then your set when you aren''t working.

 

[neatfreak]

A bezel is my suggestion too because there would be no sharp prongs or exposed corners. But you could certainly have something custom made with a bezel set princess....my ring is a bezel set cushion, something like mine would work too!

I think the most important thing is having it set low, low, low, with no exposed corners, and no sharp prongs.

 

[Ibiddie]

Was just poking around online and saw this....

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/9/2008 1:17:12 PM
Author: Ibiddie
Was just poking around online and saw this....

Something like that could work!

 

[sonnyjane]

I''m not sure what type of lab you work in, but if it involves a lot of chemicals, I certainly wouldn''t wear the engagement ring. If you want, you may still be able to wear the wedding band underneath, but it''s simply a matter of care. I have worked in labs as well and none of the female scientists wore engagement rings under their gloves.

Now I am a marine biologist so I am constantly in salt water, so I don''t plan on wearing my engagement ring because 1) I don''t want to lose it and 2) I don''t want it to get damaged somehow. For DF''s job, he is not allowed to wear a wedding ring to work either, so we just realize that taking the ring off doesn''t mean anything, it''s just an issue of safety and care!

 

[Ibiddie]

It''s actually a medical laboratory, so mostly blood and body fluids, not so much chemicals.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/9/2008 2:03:24 PM
Author: Ibiddie
It''s actually a medical laboratory, so mostly blood and body fluids, not so much chemicals.

I would tend to not wear the e-ring then in that case, as you say you need a large degree of confidence that the gloves won''t tear, best to be safe.

 

[diamondfan]

I do not know much about taking gloves off and putting them on, but I would think a low profile bezel set stone would be ideal...

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 8/9/2008 2:09:01 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 8/9/2008 2:03:24 PM
Author: Ibiddie
It''s actually a medical laboratory, so mostly blood and body fluids, not so much chemicals.

I would tend to not wear the e-ring then in that case, as you say you need a large degree of confidence that the gloves won''t tear, best to be safe.

I agree with Lorelei, and the one with the corners would probably rip the gloves.

 

[chel180]

How about a tension set like this? Few corners and looks great with a princess imho.

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/tension-setting/ring/item_356-1351_design.asp?module=setting

 

[agc]

Too big occurs when you get to the point you can''t afford that size. It is not reasonable/prudent to wear a diamond ering (regardless of the type of setting) under gloves when dealing with potentially infectious body fluids. I realize your mother didn''t take her ring off but did she have to wear gloves for protection? This is a no brainer....your health and safety come first.

 

[honey22]

Hello! I work in a lab too and wear my gloves on the tight side as I hate the feeling of them being too lose. When I got engaged two weeks ago, I walked into work and declared to my boss that if the gloves don't fit over the new rock, then I quit!!! She did look momentary panicked

I can tell you it's no problem at all (I wear powder free latex gloves, not those nitrile ones). I have a 0.8ct 6 prong setting (set on the low side), and I thought it would shread the gloves, but I havn't even torn a single pair (I must go through 10-20 pairs per day, on and off). I was convinved it wasn't going to work, but I find the problem is my nails that seem to go through the ends of them.

I do however, find that I need to adjust the latex around my ring, as I find it can drag the stone off to the side a bit if I havn't put the gloves on evenly, if that makes sense. It will when you first try it.

So, I was suprised I guess, but you will be fine. I think if you have a larger stone set really high you might encounter problems but I would say anything up to 1ct or so, set low should be fine. I will link to my SMTR thread to show you the profile of my ring *don't mind the hairy hands

)

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/finally-honeys-photoshoot.91404/page-3

ETA, I just reread your posts, and I see that you work with infectious substances. I don't work with infectios human stuff, but a lot of other species tissues and cancer cells etc, however I do work with a whole host of stuff that I shouldn't touch with my bare skin and I honestly don't have a problem. I think you should just give it a go (without the infectious stuff and see how you go). There is a risk in any lab of tearing your gloves on anything, but I don't consider my ring to increase that chance. You are obviously educated about biosafety, so I think you are able to make an informed decision after giving it a trial. BTW, there are so many women with different rings on at work and I honestly havn't seen a problem. I actually did a little trip around the lab a few days after I got my ring and asked about glove breakages, and I couldn't find a single woman who had a problem. Which gloves to you wear? I think the nitrile ones are a big thicker?

 

[SYC]

Maybe a low-profile ring without regular prongs... I don''t know what to call them, but I have seen princess cut diamonds with the corners protected by metal that goes over the corners... but I would think this would help you not have pointy prongs that run more of a risk of breaking through the glove.

 

[jstarfireb]

I am also in the medical field and always wear my ring to work. I work such long hours that not to wear it just isn't an option for me. In anticipation of glove breakage, I asked for my princess cut diamond to be set as low in the shank as possible. The type of prongs you are describing are V-prongs, and they are always a good idea to protect princess corners from breakage, but I don't know if they will protect gloves any better than other prongs. A bezel or half bezel setting is a great idea, although it felt too heavy to be my style. I say do your best to have the stone set low and in simple, non-fancy prongs, and just double-glove and give it a go!

ETA: If it bothers you a lot, consider wearing it on a chain around your neck at work. That's what I do when I have to put on sterile gloves for procedures (you shouldn't wear any rings when you need to be sterile).

 

[KesVayReas]

Hi IBiddie,

Here is my 2 cents... I am a nurse and am also taing gloves on and off allllll day. I have a 2+ carat princess cut center stone, not set particularly low or bezel set or anything. And it has never ripped a glove; just a little uncomfortable when I can''t find gloves my size. But, my rings got so filthy that I stopped wearing them to work and purchased a high-tech ceramic ring and I just wear that now.

That''s my experience anyway!

 

[JSM]

I work in a mol bio research lab - most of the time, my work doesn''t require gloves. When it does, I wear nitrile gloves and I have yet to have a tearing problem with my ring. It''s fairly low set without any sharp edges.

If I was doing what you are doing, though, I''m not sure I''d wear the ring either. Maybe just a plain band?

 

[hearts-arrows_girl]

I have worn my ring under latex gloves (I am a bartender and sometimes wear gloves while washing glasses, my manager has a box of hospital gloves for us to use), and for me,

A. It was uncomfortable, the ring kept shifting to the side and poking the finger next to it through the glove.
B. If I was working with body fluids, ie. blood, I don't think wearing my ring to work would be worth the risk of it maybe putting a hole in my glove and compromising my own safety from contaminated samples.

I absolutely think you should just not wear the ring to work. You just may have one of those jobs that warrants "no ring at work". My mother never took hers off either, but she also never wore latex gloves everyday all day at work. I find it hard to even wear gardening gloves with my ring on. Again, the ring shifts funny under the glove.

"Too Big" is whatever YOU think is too big for YOU! You should be able to get what ever size or style ring you want, not just what will fit under gloves. What if you get a glove-friendly ring just to suit your job, and then change jobs. You'll be stuck with a ring you don't LOVE. It's not even like you can stare down at it all day, it will be covered by the gloves.

Good luck with your ring search!

 

[Ibiddie]

I wear nitrile gloves (no choice, allergic to latex!), so they are fairly tough. I think I''ve popped a nail through one. But I put them through alot of abuse too. Under normal circumstances, even if I weren''t wearing gloves, my hands would not come in contact with anything infectious (or potentialy infectious). I''m not overly worried about the exposure issue, it''s just if I break every other glove I put on that hand, it''s going to drive me crazy!

 

[chiquitapet]

I also work in the medical field, wearing gloves a lot. I was worried about this same glove issue and actually didn''t wear my e-ring to work for a while. Then I thought, I never actually see my ring due to the long working hours, so I started wearing it to work, and had no trouble at all. I have a 0.78 princess solitaire, not set particularly low, with V-prongs. At the beginning I tried to spin the ring around as the glove is a bit looser on the palm side, but couple of times when some emergency was happening, I forgot to spin the ring, and the glove just slid on as usual, so since then I just leave it as it is.

 

[disneybride]

Ibiddie, I am a nurse so I can relate to the gloves aspect. I do NOT recommend wearing your e-ring to work. I have a low profile ring with no edges that can catch(the prongs are purposely squared off and smooth) and I still cannot wear my ring for several reasons. 1) It gets hot under the gloves and my fingers swell which makes it uncomfortable to wear the ring. 2) I found I was always checking my finger to make sure I still had it and didn''t throw it away in a glove. 3) When my fingers were hot it made it harder to get the glove on over my ring and then sometimes I would still poke a hole through the gloves from the tightness of it over the ring.

This is just my personal experience though.

 

[Ibiddie]

Okay. I think I''m just gonna get the ring I love, and work out the rest later. Thank you all so much!!!

 

[ribbit]

lab rat here!

My e-ring is pretty small and plain-0.4 carat round in a 4 prong Tiffany reproduction. It tore every pair of nitrile and latex gloves I used. Another thing to consider is that even if you don''t see the snags, the ring could have made some. If you work with chemicals/pathogens/other nasties, you don''t want anything to sneak into the snags and get stuck between your ring and skin. I got mere glacial acetic acid under my ring once, and the extra time it took to get the ring off to wash my hands was *horrid*. My ring ended up staying at home. A few of the women at my work with bezel or channel settings kept their e-rings on, but no one wore regular solitaire settings.