Didn't realize a ring can "wear out!" Need advice!

[peonygirl]

I have a shared-prong wedding ring with 21 2point diamonds, set in platinum. A few days ago I noticed that one of the diamonds had fallen out! Took it to a well-respected jeweler and he told me that it would be $375 to replace the diamond and fix the prongs that surround it and that other prongs were flattening out/ wearing down so it would be $500 to fix/replace those. He told me that I didn't have to repair those today, but if I didn't do it within the next year or two more stones would fall out.

I didn't realize that I would need this level of upkeep on a ring! Is this normal for a platinum ring with diamonds? Should I have gotten white gold instead or is it just the fact that I use my hands so much? I've been wearing it for about 5 yrs and haven't had it inspected by a jeweler for 2-3 yrs (bad, I know). Anyway, I'm feeling a bit heartsick and not sure what to do. The ring was only about $1500 from Signed Pieces when it was bought, so it doesn't seem to make sense to pay $900 to get it fixed. I'm going to get an opinion from another jeweler about how much it would cost to get it repaired, but I have a feeling this guy is telling me the truth. While this ring is insured, I have a $500 deductible and my premium would go up if I went through insurance most likely. My husband thinks that I should just pay the money and get it fixed since it's my wedding ring, but it sounds like I'll be sinking mega-money into this ring every 5 yrs or so at this rate! We really don't have much money to spend right now because I'm a med student.

As I see it, here are my options (though I'm sure I'm missing some).

1) Spend the $900 to get it fixed
2) The jeweler offered me a trade in for another ring in his shop. Not sure how much we'd have to pay, but it would probably be more cost-effective than repairing this ring.
3) Get a pretty, plain white gold ring (my wedding ring is white gold) for $150 or so and save the wedding ring to get remade into necklace when we have more money.

Do all diamond wedding rings require this amount of upkeep? I really like how the sparkly band looks with my plain solitaire, but I'd be okay with having a plain white gold ring too.

Thanks SO, SO much for any advice you have!!

 

[stargurl78]

I think that quote seems very high for your repairs and I'd definitely get a second opinion. I'm no expert though so I'm interested to see what other members say.

It is normal for diamonds to fall out from time to time. Do you wear your wedding band at all times or do you take it off when working outside, cooking, working out, etc? You might have to baby it a little bit more to prevent this from happening.

 

[iheartscience]

You should contact Signed Pieces and see how much they would charge to replace the diamond and refurbish the ring. They may have some sort of warranty it could be covered under. That quote is extremely high-I definitely would not pay $900 to repair a $1500 ring.

ETA the option to "trade in" your ring for another ring in the jeweler's shop is somewhat sketchy, IMO, and makes it seem like the super high repair quote is to induce you to get something from him. I've never had a jeweler make an offer like that when I took something in for a repair. I'd find a new jeweler if I were you.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I too would find a different jeweler locally, but would contact facets first if that is where you bought it.

ETA: BGD would reset your diamonds into a new mount for like $950. Not saying that is what you should do, but really, $900 is not a repair, it is a remake.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

It sounds to me like that jeweler is just trying to get you to trade in your band so he can make some money. Why would he want to take in a band on trade that needed 900 in repairs? Contact signed pieces. And either never go to the other jeweler again or go after you have your ring repaired by someone else and let them know how much less it cost. Don't let yourself get ripped off!

 

[Laila619]

Shared prong bands that rub against other rings will be more likely to 'wear down' than other styles. You might want to consider channel set or bead set bands.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I agree with the others. $900 sounds very high for that type of repair and his trade in offer doesn't ring true to me. I would DEFINITELY find another jeweler and obtain another opinion but before I did that, I'd call Signed Pieces tomorrow.

 

[Mike R]

Yes it is normal, all jewelry if worn will eventually wear out.
The time a piece takes to wear out depends on the design, (in a rings case, width, wall thickness and claw wire size)

The type of wear a piece gets, the more a piece is worn the faster it will wear out. (especially if worn to the gym, doing gardening/rockclimbing or any other activity that involves abrasives.)

Finally the material a piece is made from and how it is made. Both platinum and gold come in different alloys, all with different wear characteristics, also hand forged metals are denser than cast metals so all other things equal a cast piece will wear out faster.

If you are having claws on your ring repaired please ask how this will be done before you accept the quote.
It is common for jewellers to repair claws by building up just the tips with solder, the solder wears much faster than metal so this type of repair fails very quickly.

Is it possible for you to post a few picture of your ring? I't would be great to see the type of wear it has to be able to advise you better, depending on how bad the wear is it could be best/cheaper in the long run to order a new setting for your diamonds.

Good luck.

 

[CaprineSun]

But this doesn't make sense to me. At all.

How can platinum prongs wear down after only 5 years?

Isn't its durability part of the whole shtick for being better than gold since gold prongs wear out/down? And the reason for its "premium"?
I'm not understanding at all.

Hand forged or not shouldn't have that great of a difference that Platinum prongs will wear down so fast. 5 years is even fast for gold prongs to wear down.

I'd be more inclined to believe that the platinum in a shared prong setting bended/shifted ever so slightly, allowing the stones to fall out than the notion that they wore out.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Can you tell us a little about how much you are wearing your rings? Are you taking them off when doing anything such as the cooking, the dishes, housework, going to the gym, doing yard work, etc? With a full eternity, you have to be very conscious how you even grab the steering wheel, door handles, etc. It shouldn't be slept in. I think that is the major issue when prongs are worn on a platinum ring. You really have to baby eternity rings and pave rings to keep them in excellent condition.

Oh, and I fully agree that I would contact Facets about the repair, and then take extra caution with the ring from there on out.

 

[Mike R]

But this doesn't make sense to me. At all.

How can platinum prongs wear down after only 5 years?

Isn't its durability part of the whole shtick for being better than gold since gold prongs wear out/down? And the reason for its "premium"?
I'm not understanding at all.

Hand forged or not shouldn't have that great of a difference that Platinum prongs will wear down so fast. 5 years is even fast for gold prongs to wear down.

I'd be more inclined to believe that the platinum in a shared prong setting bended/shifted ever so slightly, allowing the stones to fall out than the notion that they wore out.

Any prongs can wear down very quickly given the correct situation, jewellers wear down platinum prongs everyday using abrasive cutting disks and files. You can wear away many mm of any alloy handforged or not in seconds if you want to.

I agree, it is more likely the diamond was lost due to movement of a prong or flexing in the head of the ring, these movements could have even happened due to wear at the base of the settings (not the tips at all)

With a photo of the ring PS'ers would be able to advise the op better.

Peonygirl, did you have your other rings checked while you were at the jewellers? I would hate to think that any of your other rings might be at risk of loosing diamonds due to wear.

 

[peonygirl]

Thanks so much for all of your feedback thus far! I never wear my rings to work out or even inside my house, so I'm not sure what's damaging them. I do have two toddlers who I pick up often though. I'm going to contact Signed Pieces tomorrow, that is a great idea. I'm not sure how much they'll be able to tell me without seeing the ring, but I will ask. Hopefully I can post a pic soon, my camera is not working right now. Thanks so much!!

 

[CaprineSun]

Any prongs can wear down very quickly given the correct situation, jewellers wear down platinum prongs everyday using abrasive cutting disks and files. You can wear away many mm of any alloy handforged or not in seconds if you want to.

I agree, it is more likely the diamond was lost due to movement of a prong or flexing in the head of the ring, these movements could have even happened due to wear at the base of the settings (not the tips at all)

With a photo of the ring PS'ers would be able to advise the op better.

Peonygirl, did you have your other rings checked while you were at the jewellers? I would hate to think that any of your other rings might be at risk of loosing diamonds due to wear.

To the bolded: Of course, I totally agree. And this is with deliberate, forced, and extremely abrasive methods. Not normal wear & tear or picking up toddlers.

Everywhere it is cited over & over again (almost ad nauseum) that "platinum never wears away, prongs won't wear down, instead, it bends. A platinum ring will last generations." And the classic, "the metal moves, but is never lost, not even when polished-- unlike gold, etc."

It has been shown, especially with posters LGK come to mind, that platinum can wear down--- but this would take at least a few decades to notice a difference --from what I've read--- not a mere 5 years.

However, I do hope the OP can find a solution to her problem.

 

[Mike R]

Any prongs can wear down very quickly given the correct situation, jewellers wear down platinum prongs everyday using abrasive cutting disks and files. You can wear away many mm of any alloy handforged or not in seconds if you want to.

I agree, it is more likely the diamond was lost due to movement of a prong or flexing in the head of the ring, these movements could have even happened due to wear at the base of the settings (not the tips at all)

With a photo of the ring PS'ers would be able to advise the op better.

Peonygirl, did you have your other rings checked while you were at the jewellers? I would hate to think that any of your other rings might be at risk of loosing diamonds due to wear.

To the bolded: Of course, I totally agree. And this is with deliberate, forced, and extremely abrasive methods. Not normal wear & tear or picking up toddlers.

Everywhere it is cited over & over again (almost ad nauseum) that "platinum never wears away, prongs won't wear down, instead, it bends. A platinum ring will last generations." And the classic, "the metal moves, but is never lost, not even when polished-- unlike gold, etc."

It has been shown, especially with posters LGK come to mind, that platinum can wear down--- but this would take at least a few decades to notice a difference --from what I've read--- not a mere 5 years.

However, I do hope the OP can find a solution to her problem.

I really do hope the OP finds a resolution also, I was just trying to answer her question that platinum can and does wear away (daily life can have many harsh abrasives just as harsh as those used in workshops)
I have seen major wear on pieces that have been traced back to all sorts of things like regular use of a heavy stone mortar and pestle during cooking, stainless steel handrails and stone bench tops. Most wear in rings like this come from other rings they are worn next to.

It sounds like Peonygirl has been looking after her ring well, I'm sure the manufacturer will check it for any defects that might have caused her ring to fail.

I find the myth that platinum doesn't loose metal with wear, that it just gets moved around frustrating also. If platinum never lost metal how could jewellers make jewellery. Platinum is more durable than white gold because it is far less likely to loose metal due to wear, but it can loose metal.

I appoligise for possibly taking this thread slightly off topic, good luck with your jeweller Peonygirl.

 

[Rhea]

I remember a post years ago where someone has worn down her prongs after a few months. She was, I believe, a seamstress or something similar. The prongs wore down over just a few months from being rubbed across fabric everyday.

Please shop around for a price quote. I got a quote of $265 to replace a 1/2 point diamond somewhere. Thinking it was high I went into another local shop and received a quote of $80. I have no idea if that was high or not, but I wanted to wear the ring so I had it fixed. I couldn't believe the price difference for what seems to me like the same work! The higher quote guy was my typical jeweler who I've used several times before and often came in the same for previous quotes. Not sure if it was an off day or what, but glad I shopped around!

 

[Mrsacornblue]

I would also suggest getting another quote for the work and would hesitate to work with someone who wants you to "trade in" a ring that you simply want fixed. I would also suggest you consider getting a plain band if you are going into the medical field. Hand sanitizers, hand washing and gloves can be very hard on diamonds. Also, some specialties such as the OR or pediatrics may not allow anything with diamonds as they can be an infection risk. I wear a plain tungsten band to work and save my diamonds for my days off.

 

[Jim Summa]

Peonygirl,
I do most of my benchwork in my shop. What I can add as a jeweler is that one of the special things about Platinum is the heat you need to solder it.
I had a similar situation last month when a refferral stopped in with a shared prong band....3.25mm square diamonds band set in-line, edge to edge, with 2 stones missing.
The band was heavy so I new it was Platinum but the prongs that had failed were really wonky. They had broken of at the stones girdle and although this is typical of White gold (stress corrosion) I had never seen this occur in Platinum...3 prongs total.

I was able to show the couple this on a computer moniter that I have hooked up to a microscope. What we were able to see is the jeweler that had set the ring had cut the edges of the prongs a little to deep, I was able to move one of the prongs a little with my thumbnail.

What I can add as a shopkeeper is if I work on this ring...I am married to it. Anything that goes wrong with it after I work on it will haunt me.

What Mike R says about solder is true..it wears away much more quickly and frankly sort of contaiminates the Platinum because you are using solders that are low enough in temparture so as to not smoke the stones. That and solder is weaker period.

I would have reccommended a reset on this ring if I hadn't just bought a Laser welder.

Having a Laser enables you to weld very very close to stones without burning them. I was able to weld on new prongs for the new stones. This work I guarantee for the client.

The rest or the prongs I was able to add a little metal at their stress points, or the sides of the prong. What was really a bonus is that I could fire a shot of hot light carefully into each cut bearing or seat which was what the problem was to begin with.

Now as a shopkeeper if a customer has a problem I would want the ring returned to me...this is were the buck stops and not every vendor will back up their work....which of course should't be the customers problem. I do understand a lot of problems happen at retail and calling the vendor may be the only alternative.

But the advice I hope you take to heart is that if metal needs to be added to your ring find a shop with a Laser.

 

[WinkHPD]

Peonygirl,
I do most of my benchwork in my shop. What I can add as a jeweler is that one of the special things about Platinum is the heat you need to solder it.
I had a similar situation last month when a refferral stopped in with a shared prong band....3.25mm square diamonds band set in-line, edge to edge, with 2 stones missing.
The band was heavy so I new it was Platinum but the prongs that had failed were really wonky. They had broken of at the stones girdle and although this is typical of White gold (stress corrosion) I had never seen this occur in Platinum...3 prongs total.

I was able to show the couple this on a computer moniter that I have hooked up to a microscope. What we were able to see is the jeweler that had set the ring had cut the edges of the prongs a little to deep, I was able to move one of the prongs a little with my thumbnail.

What I can add as a shopkeeper is if I work on this ring...I am married to it. Anything that goes wrong with it after I work on it will haunt me.

What Mike R says about solder is true..it wears away much more quickly and frankly sort of contaiminates the Platinum because you are using solders that are low enough in temparture so as to not smoke the stones. That and solder is weaker period.

I would have reccommended a reset on this ring if I hadn't just bought a Laser welder.

Having a Laser enables you to weld very very close to stones without burning them. I was able to weld on new prongs for the new stones. This work I guarantee for the client.

The rest or the prongs I was able to add a little metal at their stress points, or the sides of the prong. What was really a bonus is that I could fire a shot of hot light carefully into each cut bearing or seat which was what the problem was to begin with.

Now as a shopkeeper if a customer has a problem I would want the ring returned to me...this is were the buck stops and not every vendor will back up their work....which of course should't be the customers problem. I do understand a lot of problems happen at retail and calling the vendor may be the only alternative.

But the advice I hope you take to heart is that if metal needs to be added to your ring find a shop with a Laser.

Well said Jim. Lasers are very expensive for the jeweler to buy and expect to pay him to do the work, but the work is ever so much better in this type of situation.

Wink

 

[ame]

And if you're in STL, I can tell you where NOT to go for a laser job. Just sayin'!

I would send it back to SP, personally. Call them first and tell them you lost a stone and need them to give it a look to see if and how it can be repaired, or if it needs remade. Then they can tell you how much work they think it needs, and how much it would cost them to do it. They die strike these things, and I think the stones are machine set and hand finished which can allow for a snagged and ripped off prong, so either you wore the hell out of that thing wearing it CONSTANTLY for things it's probably not good to wear rings for, or there was some kind of remnants left behind in finishing that perhaps allowed for a snag.

 

[Mike R]

Peonygirl,
I do most of my benchwork in my shop. What I can add as a jeweler is that one of the special things about Platinum is the heat you need to solder it.
I had a similar situation last month when a refferral stopped in with a shared prong band....3.25mm square diamonds band set in-line, edge to edge, with 2 stones missing.
The band was heavy so I new it was Platinum but the prongs that had failed were really wonky. They had broken of at the stones girdle and although this is typical of White gold (stress corrosion) I had never seen this occur in Platinum...3 prongs total.

I was able to show the couple this on a computer moniter that I have hooked up to a microscope. What we were able to see is the jeweler that had set the ring had cut the edges of the prongs a little to deep, I was able to move one of the prongs a little with my thumbnail.

What I can add as a shopkeeper is if I work on this ring...I am married to it. Anything that goes wrong with it after I work on it will haunt me.

What Mike R says about solder is true..it wears away much more quickly and frankly sort of contaiminates the Platinum because you are using solders that are low enough in temparture so as to not smoke the stones. That and solder is weaker period.

I would have reccommended a reset on this ring if I hadn't just bought a Laser welder.

Having a Laser enables you to weld very very close to stones without burning them. I was able to weld on new prongs for the new stones. This work I guarantee for the client.

The rest or the prongs I was able to add a little metal at their stress points, or the sides of the prong. What was really a bonus is that I could fire a shot of hot light carefully into each cut bearing or seat which was what the problem was to begin with.

Now as a shopkeeper if a customer has a problem I would want the ring returned to me...this is were the buck stops and not every vendor will back up their work....which of course should't be the customers problem. I do understand a lot of problems happen at retail and calling the vendor may be the only alternative.

But the advice I hope you take to heart is that if metal needs to be added to your ring find a shop with a Laser.

Well said Jim. Lasers are very expensive for the jeweler to buy and expect to pay him to do the work, but the work is ever so much better in this type of situation.

Wink

Laser welders are good for repairing prong tips. In the case of this ring though we don't know if it is just the prong tips that are worn, it's no good to laser repair the tips only if the structure holding on the prongs is also worn from rubbing against another ring.
The lost diamonds could also be due to a faulty alloy, porosity or it might not be the correct design for your lifestyle.

It will be simple for the maker of your ring to let you know what went wrong once they see it and they should know the best way to fix it also. If you are not happy with what they have to say I'm sure the good folks here will also have great advise.