Will it break and which way is up?

[4ever]

FF and I picked out an ering with a centre pear with oval sides in Feburary.

Sadly it is not mine to wear yet but the paranoia has already started to kick in.....what if I break it?
I know this may be silly, diamonds being rather hard and all that but I''ve hurd on here that they can chip or fracture?

I say this becuase pears have a point, to me a point would be a weak spot and unlike many rings I''ve seen on here my setting dosn''t cover over and protect the pointy bit.

Should I be worried?

Also, which way should I be wearing it? Is there a normal way to wear pear stones? Point towards the nuckle (i guess leaving the point more vunerable) or point towards the hand (making it hard to wear a wedding ring with)?

 

[Pandora II]

Hardness in diamonds only refers to their ability to be scratched by another substance - not their toughness. They are actually not that tough and can be chipped or fractured and even split due to their perfect cleavage. Hence why it''s a good idea to be careful with your ring and not wear it if you are doing housework or anything dangerous. Sleeping in it is also a no-no.

With a pear, I would want a setting where the point was protected with metal as this is the most vulnerable part - then up to you which way up you wear it.

Definitely make sure you are insured then if anything does happen it''s not a total disaster.

 

[MustangGal]

Pretty ring! I would worry a bit about the point not being covered... I managed to put a big crack in my oval diamond by a knock on a metal filing cabinet.

I had a pear e-ring for a while, and I wore it point facing knuckle, which allowed my wedding band to fit almost flush along the bottom.

 

[mrssalvo]

I would def. want the point protected.

 

[tyty333]

I have a been wearing a pear for 10 years now. No problems

. I do not wear it if I am doing
dirty work (like outdoor stuff). Mostly dont want it to get dirty but I dont want any damage either.
My pointed end has a V prong so it is somewhat protected. I wear my pointed end pointed towards
my fingernail. Seems to be more flattering that way.

Congrats on your ring...we need more pics (SMTR).

 

[tyty333]

Duplicate ..dont know how that happened

!

 

[Fly Girl]

Here is another discussion of which direction to wear a pear: Link

I think point up makes it look more like a pear or a raindrop. I preferred to wear mine point down, for the same reasons that MustangGal gave.

I'd for sure get the ring insured, and yes, the point really should be covered.

 

[4ever]

Thanks for the link fly girl. I prefer it point towards findertips like most women on that post but am reconsidering just to protect that vunerable point abit more. I can just imagine going to slide my hand under or reaching through something and, not being used to having the ring on my hand, give it a good hard knock.

I keep having nightmares about breaking or chipping or cracking that stone and it not being insured and being devistated, I don''t think I would be able to replace it because it''s such a unique colour. FF says he will insure it once he proposes.

Do you think it would be easy for a jewler to add a V-prong protection near that point? Would it ruin the style of the ring?
I don''t think FF would allow me to make any changes to it just yet (as he is convinced that diamonds are super hard and don''t break and I''m just being presious with it) but I have been wondering since we got it if some extra protection could be added by a jewler in future when we pick out wedding rings.

I have never owned anything worth as much as this or with so much sentemental value and I would be beyond devistated if anything happened to it.

 

[twennywonn]

wrong post

 

[Indira-London]

That is good advice from all the previous posters.

The pear is a beautiful shape and one that you can enjoy without worriying unduly if the tip is covered usually by a v-shape prong as the most vulnerable part of a pear shape diamond is the tip.

I have only once made a "naked" pear tip design for a client who insisted on this despite our strongest advice against this - and needless to say that when she next brought her ring in for servicing, she had chipped the diamond at the point. In her case, she was lucky as we were able to get the diamond re-polished to remove the chip and she did not loose any carat weight (hers was the 2.13 carat E SI1 diamond shown below).

Perhaps you can show your fiancee this thread to see if you can persuade him to ask the jeweller to add a v-shape prong to the tip of your ring.

 

[Indira-London]

For comparison, here is a picture is the normal version of this same design with a v-shape claw to cover the tip. This picture shows a 2.11 carat D SI2 pear diamond.

 

[4ever]

WOW. Compared to those rings my pear is a baby (0.73ct), although still very large for New Zealand standards.

Would it be relitivly easy for a jewler to add the v shaped claw to a basket setting like mine? Or would it have to invlove moving or replacing the top 2 prongs? I love the roundness and fluidity of the current setting and would want the v-prong the same, not as angular as the one above.

I just hope this is not going to be too major an undertaking, I don''t wan''t to mess with it too much because I love it how it is and don''t want to ruin it. I am also abit worried about the cost, this ring was already abit over our budget.

I talked to FF after everyone here confirned my worrying, he has agreed that it needs to be done....but didn''t say now or when we get wedding rings or after he proposes.....I hope it''s sooner rather then later because I feel paranoid even trying it on!

 

[4ever]

I don''t know if this helps but it''s just the rings profile at the point. It gives a clearer veiw of the frount two prongs and the little naked point.

 

[Lorelei]

I would definitely see about getting that tip protected, it might not be a terribly difficult or expensive job.

 

[Sharon101]

Date: 5/6/2009 6:12:52 PM
Author: Pandora II
Hardness in diamonds only refers to their ability to be scratched by another substance - not their toughness. They are actually not that tough and can be chipped or fractured and even split due to their perfect cleavage. Hence why it''s a good idea to be careful with your ring and not wear it if you are doing housework or anything dangerous. Sleeping in it is also a no-no.

With a pear, I would want a setting where the point was protected with metal as this is the most vulnerable part - then up to you which way up you wear it.

Definitely make sure you are insured then if anything does happen it''s not a total disaster.

Pandora, you have explained this so well. I didnt realise that hardness is so different to toughness. I wear my ring 24/7 but you have given me reason to question that. I always wear my ring to the jym, and there are weights that I handle and metal grips that I hold etc. I guess thats risky seeing as my ring has 4 corners being a princess.

Finally, why should we not sleep in our rings or do housework (not that I do much of the latter).

How could the wearer sleeping do any harm to the diamond.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 5/7/2009 9:08:18 AM
Author: Sharon101

Date: 5/6/2009 6:12:52 PM
Author: Pandora II
Hardness in diamonds only refers to their ability to be scratched by another substance - not their toughness. They are actually not that tough and can be chipped or fractured and even split due to their perfect cleavage. Hence why it''s a good idea to be careful with your ring and not wear it if you are doing housework or anything dangerous. Sleeping in it is also a no-no.

With a pear, I would want a setting where the point was protected with metal as this is the most vulnerable part - then up to you which way up you wear it.

Definitely make sure you are insured then if anything does happen it''s not a total disaster.

Pandora, you have explained this so well. I didnt realise that hardness is so different to toughness. I wear my ring 24/7 but you have given me reason to question that. I always wear my ring to the jym, and there are weights that I handle and metal grips that I hold etc. I guess thats risky seeing as my ring has 4 corners being a princess.

Finally, why should we not sleep in our rings or do housework (not that I do much of the latter).

How could the wearer sleeping do any harm to the diamond.

The main danger with sleeping in your ring is damage to the setting, threads could catch under the prongs and lift them - you should have the prongs checked at least every 6 months by a jeweller to make sure they aren''t coming loose anyway.

Housework increases your risk of bashing the stone or setting, also some chemicals will react badly with white gold. If you have gemstone rings, you can have problems with chemicals, water and thermal shock - putting things in the freezer and then putting your hands in hot water could crack or shatter some types of stone.

Picking up heavy items - suitcases, weights etc can put massive strain on a ring and cause you to lose stones if you have channel setting or pave - I keep a small ring box in my handbag and put my e-ring in it if I have to lift anything heavy as I have channel setting - some people put theirs on a necklace instead.

Regarding the hardness v toughness, it''s something that very few people ever really realise is not the same thing - we are just so used to being told that diamond is the hardest substance on earth. One of the weird things is that a substance like jade is actually very tough due to it''s crystal structure, if you drop a chunk of it you might chip it, but it''s unlikely to split in two - however it''s also soft and easy to scratch.

Gemstones are my main interest, and with them you always need to consider not only their hardness on the Mohs Scale (diamond is 10, sapphire is 9 etc) but also whether they have cleavage planes or not as this will influence their wearability and the type of setting you should consider.

Obviously, how people choose to wear their jewellery is down to them at the end of the day. I am very sentimentally attached to my e-ring and the centre stone would be very hard to replace, so although I have full insurance I am very careful and baby my ring. My SIL on the other hand NEVER takes her ring off at all and makes me wince at some of the risks she takes!

On PS there are probably a greater number of people who err on the side of caution than in the general population! (And don''t get me started on ring cleaning

)

 

[sba771]

I just wanted to say your ring is BEAUTIFUL! I can''t wait until it is ''yours'' and you can post some hand shots.

 

[MustangGal]

I wonder if the front 2 prongs could be removed and then add a small v-tip? Then it would be help in by 3 prongs. With a diamond that size, it might look like too many prongs to have the 4 existing ones as well as the tip. My pear was a 1.25ct, and had the 4 prongs plus the tip.

 

[tyty333]

Here is my pear...you can see the protected points (sorry pic so big...I need to resize even smaller)

 

[4ever]

I never considered the prongs getting caught in bed, I always thought it would be better to wear it to bed incase the house got robbed in the night and my e-ring got taken off the bed side table.

Thank you so much Sba771, your comment made my heart flutter

. I adore it, almost as much as the man who bought it for me.

I was thinking the same thing mustangGal, either removing the top 2 prongs and replacing with a V-prong or moving those 2 down level with the ovals and adding the Vprong at the end (like tyty333s). I really have no idea how easy or difficult that would be to do.

Thank you for the picture tyty333, thats much more like what I would want, the prong is lovely and fluid and rounded and thin and I think would suit my ring style more then the pointy ones I''ve seen.

I think FF is atleast partly convinced, he said we can go visit some jewlers today and see with they think and get some quotes. I don''t know any great jewlers in Auckland that I would trust, I''m not totally happy with the re-shanking done by the jewler we got it from (you can see the join mark on one side under the band) so I don''t wish to go back to him for this. If anyone has a suggestion of a great Jewler to go and see in Auckland I would love to hear it.

I will let you know how todays mission goes.

 

[4ever]

We talked to a local jewler today who I think would do a good job, he''s talking about removing the top 2 prongs and replacing them with one double or split prong (forgot what he called it) at the tip. He will call me tomorrow with a quote once he has talked to the master jewler about it.

Is a slipt prong ok? Or should I be insisting they do a Vprong?

Is 3 prongs (one at the tip and two at the bottem) enough to make it secure? Or should I ask they move those two prongs down level with the ovals?

Sorry to be so anoying with the questions but I don''t wan''t to just go along with what they have told me if it may not be the right thing to do (I have done so previously wich turned out to be a $200 mistake), I would REALLY appriciate your knowledgeable advice.

 

[4ever]

Just an update, Jewler is doing it this week. He''s removing the top two prongs and adding a rounded V prong at my request.
It will cost us $350 NZD *sigh*. I hope it all works out how I want it, I''m scared I won''t love it anymore when I comes back different.

 

[tyty333]

Wow! You work fast! I think you will feel a lot better with the protected point. Come back with some pics!

 

[Abril]

Or you could use the tip for protection.


Culet up diamond ring

 

[4ever]

I have a very obsessive personality, FF knows if he dosn''t "work fast" he has to put up with my ramblings till it happens.

Abril- Hehehehehe, "come here bad guy so I can stab you with my daimonds tiny point"

. "No! Bad boyfriend, I said double soy latte with a CARAMAL shot *stab stab*"