your opinion on 4 prong vs 6 prong wanted..

[treysar]

Hi!

On a round Brilliant stone, Which do you prefer, and why?

Thanks!

 

[rms]

My personal preference is 4 prongs. To me it just seems cleaner and simpler.

 

[Rowan]

I like the look of six prongs, and it's supposed to be more secure, but I actually have a four prong cathedral setting and I love it. So go figure.

 

[cflutist]

I just had a conversation about this with Wink the other day. For platinum heads, it really doesn't matter that much due to the strength of platinum. But for 14K or 18K heads, I would go for 6 prongs because it is more secure, especially for stones over 1 ct. I went to orchestra rehearsal one night, some clown slammed my hand in a door, it broke a prong off my 4 prong setting, my 2.05 D-VS2 diamond that I had at the time fell to the floor and then I had to sit through all 3 hours of rehearsal with the diamond in my pocket. That totally stressed me out. So I always go with 6 prongs now mainly for safety reasons.

 

[sluke]

I had a one-carat RB and it was set in a six prong, simple band. Didn't like it. My recent e-ring is a four prong, tiffany style band. I prefer it for the cleaner look. I was concern w/it for security (stone is 1.51 ct RB) but was told by my jeweler it was not that big of difference in risk btwn the 4 prong and 6 prong setting.

However, it seems like the 6 prongs will have more "guard" control in protecting the girdle of the diamond. I'm always afraid I will chip the girdle when I accidentally bang the stone into something.

 

[Patty]

I just switched the head of my wedding ring from a 6 prong to a 4 prong. I like being able to see more of the diamond. Before I just saw setting...now I see stone. I also really like a rounder, curved prong instead of straight.

An interesting thing our appraiser pointed out...She feels that a diamond in a 6 prong setting is more likely to chip than one in a 4 prong. She said it's the hitting of the prong that causes the most chips. She feels that 4 prongs are safer that way.

 

[alexah]

I like the four prong best too- you can see more of the stone

I'm currently working on getting a four prong platinum setting custom made & i've asked the jeweler to turn the prongs in the N/S/W/E direction to enhance the "round" look - I prefer that to the usual four corner prongs...

 

[Dancing Fire]

good subject, i would like some answers also. my wife has both versions. the four and six prongs settings. she has the 6 prong setting on her 1.15 ct. she has a 4 prong setting on her 3+ ct, but the 4 prong seems like it's constructed with heavier prongs. as for the look, i honestly perfer the 6 prong.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

My mom just had to get her mother's platinum 4 prong ring redone, b/c one prong had worn away and was actually sitting underneath the diamond. The ring is 90/10 iridium, and all the other prongs and bars holding the side baguettes also had to be rebuilt. The diamond was on the verge of falling out. Quest Manufacturing in Northern VA did it (did a great job, by the way; the ring has over a 2 ct RB center stone, and .40 in baguettes and looked absolutely amazing), and they told us the lifespan of platinum is about 35 years. I didn't know plat could wear out like that. Just something to think about in the 4 vs 6 prong debate.

 

[Dancing Fire]

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On 8/3/2004 7:05:12 PM cflutist wrote:

I just had a conversation about this with Wink the other day. For platinum heads, it really doesn't matter due to the strength of platinum. But for 14K or 18K heads, I would go for 6 prongs because it is more secure, especially for stones over 1 ct. I went to orchestra rehearsal one night, some clown slammed my hand in a door, it broke a prong off my 4 prong setting, my 2.05 ct diamond that I had at the time fell to the floor and then I had to sit through all 3 hours of rehearsal with the diamond in my pocket. That totally stressed me out. So I always go with 6 prongs now mainly for safety reasons.----------------

cfluist,

my wife has 4 prongs basket setting on her 3+ ct stone. i went with 14 kt white gold because i thought it would be a stronger metal. plus i am a cheapo when it comes to settings. it kills me to pay more than a couple hundred bucks for settings. this one cost me $430 because it has to be a custom order head to fit this size stone, i think it's too much to spend on a setting. so do you think since it's in the basket setting, will the stone fall out if one of the prong breaks ?

 

[cflutist]

----------------
On 8/3/2004 8:26:57 PM vtigger86 wrote:


<cfluist,

my wife has 4 prongs basket setting on her 3+ ct stone. i went with 14 kt white gold because i thought it would be a stronger metal. plus i am a cheapo when it comes to settings. it kills me to pay more than a couple hundred bucks for settings. this one cost me $430 because it has to be a custom order head to fit this size stone, i think it's too much to spend on a setting. so do you think since it's in the basket setting, will the stone fall out if one of the prong breaks ?----------------

I am not sure what would happen. Perhaps we can ask one of the experts here who set diamonds. The basket surely helps. All I can say, is after my 2.05 rolled to the ground I made sure my 3.01 F-SI1 pear was set with 6 prongs.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Visually, I like both--I think it is a style preference, except if the prongs are gold--then the strength issue may warrant six prongs.

If you had asked me 2 weeks ago what I would have picked out at that very moment, I would have said 4. But my husband surprised me with a new diamond ring before I could get one myself, and it has six prongs--but the prong work is one of the things I love most about the ring...you can't hardly see them when you look at the stone--they are so well done, yet secure (platinum), so I guess a lot depends on how delicate they are....

 

[sluke]

----------------
On 8/3/2004 7:51:50 PM Patty wrote:

An interesting thing our appraiser pointed out...She feels that a diamond in a 6 prong setting is more likely to chip than one in a 4 prong. She said it's the hitting of the prong that causes the most chips. She feels that 4 prongs are safer that way.----------------

Patty: That is good to hear. Make some sense too.

 

[ame]

I went from a 4 to a 6 because Im a paranoid psycho. ALways worried about banging and losing it.

In my original thread about my ring I think I have it posted as a 4 and as a 6 farther down. The 4 makes more light get to it but I like it wtih the 6 because it looks a bit bigger and makes it look more valuable.

 

[hoorray]

I like the 6 prong look from the top view, which is most important to me. I think it really highlights the roundness of the stone. However, I think many 4 prong settings look better from the side view since more diamond shows. I'm surprised at how most people do not show the side view of a ring in their catelogs, websites, etc. I think it is a key part of the design.

I'm thinking about how I want to reset my stone, and have concluded that from a looks perspective, it depends on the the prongs themselves -- thin vs thick, straight vs rounded, and orientation, rather than the number of prongs. I saw a beautiful 4 prong setting recently with delicate sweeping prongs that really showed off the stone. I don't know how secure it would have been tho since I have "active hands". I'll probably go with 4 prongs, just to "lighten up" the setting vise a vie the stone, but I'll hate giving up the nice round look of the 6 prong top view.

 

[KBerly]

See, this is why I am torn...the Vatche Royal Crown platinum is 6-prong and I think it is beautiful, most of the ones I have seen on here the prongs are made the perfect size, not too big and bulky. But I love the look of 4-prong settings too, i.e. Precision Set. I think it really depends on the whole ring and definitely your taste.

 

[Patty]

It's a tough decision. I think my stone looks a bit smaller in the 4 prongs than it did in the 6 prongs, but I love how it looks from the side and I like seeing more of the stone.

I like this look too...It's kind of 4 prongs plus two little half prongs:

 

[Hest88]

Patty, where is that ring from?

Re: 4 vs. 6, I prefer the look of a 4 prong. But then that's just me.

 

[Patty]

Hest, that is the Vatche pave solitaire. It's from the SuperbCert site.

 

[Hest88]

Oh thanks, Patty! I didn't know that's what it looked like from the side. It's pretty cool!

 

[Jennifer5973]

I forgot I had taken this when i got my new ring...you can see the middle is my 1.52 with 6 prongs--very nicely done and not too heavy...the bottom ring is four 55-60 pointers, each in 4 prongs...I agree that the heaviness/girth of the prongs can contribute a lot to the decision. I've seen some 6 prongs where the prongs were way too thick and detracted from the stone...heck, I've seen 4 prongs that looked that way too.

 

[ringbling17]

Here is a picture of the Stuller Octet (4 split prongs) and the Vatche Royal Crown (6 prongs).
This sort of gives you an idea of the difference in looks.
I will post one more similar picture for you.

 

[ringbling17]

Here is the other picture.
I have to say that my personal preference is the six prong setting, but mostly for security reasons. Also, I like the prongs to look very small and round and not big and boxy.
When I had my diamond reset, I had LM make four claw prong prongs, but the prongs are so small that you don't even see them. It looks like the diamond is held by nothing at all. I have to say that they came out pretty good.
I will try to take a comparison picture tomorrow so you can see the Stuller Octet next to the LM and see the difference in workmanship and size of prongs.

 

[ringbling17]

Actually, here is a picture I found in my files. You can kind of see the difference that size makes.

 

[treysar]

WOW! Thank you so much for posting the pictures- that was very kind! They both look beatutiful - it is such a challenge to choose one over the other!!

 

[fire&ice]

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On 8/3/2004 7:58:16 PM alexah wrote:

I like the four prong best too- you can see more of the stone

I'm currently working on getting a four prong platinum setting custom made & i've asked the jeweler to turn the prongs in the N/S/W/E direction to enhance the 'round' look - I prefer that to the usual four corner prongs...

----------------

Alexah, my original engagment ring w/ set with this orientation. I loved it. You will have to make sure you get a *very* flush band or have your jeweler knotch out under the prongs.

I, too, like the clean lines of 4 prong.

 

[ringbling17]

Here is one more I found in my files.
The first ring(on the left), is similar to a Leon Mege ring, made by Juan Van Graff, with an 8 mm. stone.

The second one (on the right) is by Mark Morrell, with a 2 carat I VS H&A (provided by GOG. It has six scallop prongs that are shaped like tiny hearts. I like the positioning the prongs.

By the way, both rings are owned by Buttercup and I believe were both given to her at the same time.
Lucky girl!!!!

 

[WinkHPD]

What a great discussion.

As a jeweler one of the saddest parts of my business is replacing lost stones. Almost never do I replace a stone from a six prong head. To loose a stone from a four prong head it only takes one prong to go before you loose the stone. Sometimes you will get lucky with the diamond wedged against the top of the prong that remains after the top is worn off as was described earlier, but one fair to middling blow would have removed that diamond in a heartbeat.

With a six prong head, you have to bend or lose at least two prongs to remove the stone, and it you are lucky enough to break every other prong, you could actually loose up to three prongs without loss. I have never seen any one actually put off fixing a ring long enough to break the tips off of three prongs, but I have seen two prongs missing several times.

So for me, on safety, six prongs is a clear winner.

Appearance is a personal choice issue. No winner here from a logical point, it is just what do you like.

However, some designs will not work with six prongs that will work with four prongs. Putting six prongs on a shared prong eternity band for example just is not going to work. Design is also a factor.

Appearance is also biological issue in a small way. Our eyes are a little bit lazy and prefer to see things smoothly. With four prongs they are separated enough that our eyes will see them as bumps on the stone with not too much problem. With six prongs, they are close enough together that our eyes want to smooth them out a little, and as a result the stone will look slightly larger in six prongs than in four.

For me, design permitting, I like the security and the look of six prongs, especially in gold, where the alloys in the gold are susceptible to leaching out if you spend a lot of time in the pool. Nothing sadder to me than the sight of one prong broken and an empty head, except the sad eyes of the lady who owns the ring. Platinum will wear much longer than gold so when a client wants a four prong head I always recommend the platinum heads for security reason. I started out thirty some years ago liking the four prong look better, but it did not take too many sad eyes coming in to have stones replaced before I started to strongly prefer the six prong look.

Wink rambling on at 4 A.M.

 

[strmrdr]

I like the look of 6 prongs as long as they arent too huge.
The 4 prong to my eyes makes the stone look out of round.
But then again bezels are my favorites so maybe thats it.

While my eyes arent the best when it comes to noticing color or inclusions out of roundness I pick up real easy and it bugs me.
slightly oval stones really annoy me If I get an oval stone it has to be very much an oval or ie not look close to a round or it will bug me.

But then when I worked in a machine shop Id walk by and see 6 parts laying on a tray and with my bare eyes pick the one out that was out of spec.

 

[DiamondDust]

Okay, I'm new here but, if everyone would like to mail me their rings, I'll be glad to tell you what prongs look the best