Which do you prefer...4 or 6 prongs?

[Mara]

I bumped the other poll on which type of prong/setting heads people prefer which has ALL the options, but here is something more specific to the ole 4 vs 6 debate!!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Mara
thanks for the poll.my wife has a 4 and a 6 prong but i voted for the 6 because ,the 6 makes an rb look more round.nothing against the 4 (security wise) i do think they''re more heavily constructed with stronger prongs.

 

[Jaded Gem]

Four...
Off the subject, but was there another Bay Area get together? It was mentioned in the "Diamond Hangout" section, and I e-mailed you. I guess nobody was interested?

 

[KBerly]

I voted 4...I used to be a 6-prong girl, that's all I ever wanted because I thought the 4-prongs made the round diamond look square. After going with Mark Morrell, I decided to go 4-prong as long as he could make the prongs smaller and pointier, and still be secure. Well, he did, and I am soooo happy we decided on
4-prongs...all diamond and not all prong, it's secure as can be and it doesn't make the diamond look square

 

[Kaleigh]

I voted four because I think it''s nice to see more of the stone and less metal.

 

[AndyRosse]

I voted four, even though my e-ring has six prongs, because I really am not liking how much metal the six prongs have!! I really like being able to see more of the side of a diamond in the four prong.

 

[Mara]

Jaded Gem sorry...YES there was lots of interest but I have just not sat down and put it all together...but Jorman is moving here in August I think so I figured maybe a date in August would be fun?! I''ll definitely send an email soon!!

 

[FireGoddess]

I voted six...I do like that the 4 prong shows more diamond, but I''m not a fan of how it makes the rb look square...also, once when my pear was in a solitaire setting I bent a prong pretty bad one Saturday night and all I kept thinking till I could get to a jeweler was, "what if this was 4 prongs?...I might not have a stone right now!"

 

[cflutist]

Date: 6/26/2005 10:45:06 AM
Author: FireGoddess
I voted six...I do like that the 4 prong shows more diamond, but I'm not a fan of how it makes the rb look square...also, once when my pear was in a solitaire setting I bent a prong pretty bad one Saturday night and all I kept thinking till I could get to a jeweler was, 'what if this was 4 prongs?...I might not have a stone right now!'

My personal opinion is that it is NOT a popularity contest between 4 prong or 6 prongs. You need to weigh the aesthetics and risks of BOTH to make an INFORMED decision on what works best for you.

I have personal experience on 4 prongs failing and almost losing my 2.05 D-VS2 diamond at the time.

Here is my post from another thread:

I can tell you that I personally had to sit through 3 hours of orchestra rehearsal with a 2.05 ct D-VS2 diamond in my pants pocket because it fell to the floor after some clown slammed my hand in a door, which bent one of the four prongs I had at the time. After that incident, I set my e-ring diamond with 6 prongs and always recommend to my friends to do the same.

Wink told me several stories of women coming into his shop crying because they lost their diamonds out of 4 prong mountings.

Garry Cut Nut also posted a nice picture on the Pricescope Gallery showing why 4 prongs can be less desirable.
There is a "danger zone" at 3 and 9 o'clock where most chipping occurs.
http://com.pricescope.com/photos/stones/picture9.aspx

I look at it this way. As long as the kid who rides his bike without a helmet (because he wants to look cool) doesn't have an accident, he's fine. But if he had an accident, he's going to wish he was wearing a helmet, especially if he hits his head on the concrete.

Bottom line, its your choice and your risk tolerance assessment.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Date: 6/26/2005 12:12:11 PM
Author: cflutist

My personal opinion is that it is NOT a popularity contest between 4 prong or 6 prongs. You need to weigh the aesthetics and risks of BOTH to make an INFORMED decision on what works best for you.

Exactly. Do the research, which Pscope so wonderfully facilitates, and choose the better option for YOU and your tolerances/preferences.

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 6/26/2005 12:14:30 PM
Author: Jennifer5973

Date: 6/26/2005 12:12:11 PM
Author: cflutist



My personal opinion is that it is NOT a popularity contest between 4 prong or 6 prongs. You need to weigh the aesthetics and risks of BOTH to make an INFORMED decision on what works best for you.

Exactly. Do the research, which Pscope so wonderfully facilitates, and choose the better option for YOU and your tolerances/preferences.

HI:

Agreed, so many variables to weight--size of stone & shape, setting type/style, wants & needs, etc, etc....

cheers--Sharon

 

[Dancing Fire]

after all these yrs,my wife never had a bend or broken prong .most of her rings are cheap 14k setting.i don''t know how easy or how hard it is to bend one.

 

[Mara]

re: the safety issue, it's definitely a personal thing....there are tons of 4 prong rings out there in the world that manage just fine...but i do understand wanting to be very safe, esp with a larger stone that may not be easily replaceable in event of a loss or damage.

however, i have had multiple jewelers both online and offline tell me that if you get your prongs checked regularly, aka every 3-6 months for wear/tear/strength etc, then you should not have problems. so that is what i do...guess anything is possible, but i tend to prefer 4 prongs for the look mostly. then again, i am pretty clumsy and it's made it this far with me.

 

[strmrdr]

I love six prongs but think that a lot of 6 prong designs have way way too much material in the prongs.
They are way too fat and take away from the stone.
To me 6 narrow prongs properly set and spaced is the best looking.

 

[strmrdr]

I like the smaller prong look of this one.
8 prongs

hmmm this one really has me thinking.
Plop a nice spinel in it and put it on a shank. yummy

 

[strmrdr]

yuck

 

[strmrdr]

much better

 

[IrishEyes]

Well according to the poll, we are at a tie right now!!

I voted four, I personally think the less metal, the better the look, so long as the stone is secure of course!

 

[strmrdr]

OT but had to do it :}

this puppy in that 8 prong setting would be way yummy

 

[LGail]

Very intersting topic as I just discovered today that my diamond is loose in its 4-prong setting!! Ahhhhh, I am in Japan and not going home to the states for another week. So, I have to put my e-ring in the safe and wait until I get back to San Diego.

Now this is where I have to decide if I want to have the head changed to a 6-prong since I am obviously clumsy with my hands. I have been wearing the ring for less than a year!

Also, here is a question - My husband purhcased my ring through Dirt Cheap Diamonds. When you purchase your diamond/setting online, do you normally find a local jewler to check it for you regularly? If so do you have to pay them to check it? I have no idea who I am going to take this to in order to have it fixed.

 

[fire&ice]

I''ve had my orginal engagement ring set in four prong. After 20+ years, absolutely no moment what so ever. It''s a JABEL setting & I had the head reset in another setting.

 

[Dancing Fire]

lets see more votes.
we''re talking about solitaire here but, if we were talking a 3 or 5 stone ring there wouldn''t be much choice but to go with a 4 prong?

 

[pinkee]

4 prong - it makes the stone look a bit larger! I had me show me my 1.28 diamond in 6 prongs and I did not like it at all....

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 6/29/2005 4:35:26 AM
Author: Dancing Fire
lets see more votes.
we''re talking about solitaire here but, if we were talking a 3 or 5 stone ring there wouldn''t be much choice but to go with a 4 prong?

Not if you go custom. My 3-stone is 6-prong.

 

[jellybean]

I''ve had my 1.5ct diamond set in both 4 and 6 prong settings and by far asthetically I like the way the 4 prong setting looks, so that''s what it''s in right now. The diamond is in a lower setting (where you don''t see the culet) so it may be more secure that my 0.72ct which is set in a high 4 prong setting (where you do see the culet).

I am the world''s clumsiest person and I am doing just fine with the 4 prongs == but I do get them checked regularly.

 

[lost on 5th]

i would have to give my vote to 4 prong most of the time. however i perfer a 4 prong double claw style. they still have a presence, but are less chunky (when done correctly) im very picky on how the prongs end and how it relates to the stone.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 6/29/2005 8:51:32 AM
Author: aljdewey

Date: 6/29/2005 4:35:26 AM
Author: Dancing Fire
lets see more votes.
we''re talking about solitaire here but, if we were talking a 3 or 5 stone ring there wouldn''t be much choice but to go with a 4 prong?

Not if you go custom. My 3-stone is 6-prong.

i know you can go custom but, i was thinking if you walk into a b&m store 99.9% will be 4 prong style.

 

[Dancing Fire]

you guys making me look like a genius.

i said from the beginning 55% for 6 vs 45% for 4 prongs. wish i could be that accurate at the horse track.

 

[cflutist]

DF, you just lucked out. Seems that the 4 prong people are more verbal than the 6 prong.

 

[Kaleigh]

Or too bad you can''t translate those numbers for a winning lottery ticket!!!!