Loose Setting Help

[lmyracle]

Last year I finally found a ring I’d been dreaming of. It’s a 5ct unheated sapphire with a halo of diamonds - platinum and 18kt.

The first thing a PS’r mentioned was to have the prongs redone because they were super skinny and short. Sure enough, the sapphire was loose so I had them lengthened a bit and thickened. The jeweler in Alexandria, VA, (was travelIng) said ideally he would’ve liked to see 3 prongs per side but for whatever reasons said after looking at it closely, he thought thickening and lengthening the current prongs would suffice. Picked up the ring and all was well and tight.

Flash forward a year and on a whim, I stopped into my local store to get it checked. I thought the girl was joking when she said it was loose. Sure enough the bench guy (sorry, is it a goldsmith?) showed me it was loose. He said it wouldn’t be a quick tighten that usually they can tighten while you wait but mine was more complicated due to the diamonds being so close to the sapphire and he wanted to be extra careful and take extra time. Of course I don’t have a clue so am asking here....

When I asked him what he would do, he said he’d take it back to where I got it from ~ which was an eBay seller so that’s not going to happen. Is this just going to be something I’ll have to constantly check or is there a better solution? Will attach photos - some are before prongs redone and some after. He will work on tightening it, very carefully....but is it the design that’s bad? He said something like the sapphire is too close to the diamonds??

 

[Bron357]

Hi, it’s a very beautiful ring.
I wonder if the blue sapphire was “married” to the ring setting more recently, ie the setting was not built for that sapphire.
It is sitting slightly high, the donut hole it is sitting in is fractionally too small and thats what the jeweller means by the diamonds are too close. And the prong positioning is not ideal for the sapphire shape and it sitting slightly too high.
I would contact someone like David Klass, I think the prongs need to be completely rebuilt and repositioned. It should be 6 prongs in my opinion.

 

[T L]

I have had tons of issues with stones coming loose in 18k. My solution, extra prongs.

Always shake the ring near your ear to listen if the stone rattles. If it does, the stone is loose and this should be corrected before wearing it again. You don’t want to lose a stone.

I agree the prong placement is not ideal, but a prong at the 12 and 6 o’clock positions would fix this.

 

[Arcadian]

Pretty ring, in full agreement it needs extra prongs.

 

[distracts]

I am also on the "more prongs" boat. It may not stop the need for regular prong-checking and tightening, but since you're unlikely to have failure of multiple prongs at once, it will drastically reduce the likelihood of losing the stone.

 

[lmyracle]

Hi, it’s a very beautiful ring.
I wonder if the blue sapphire was “married” to the ring setting more recently, ie the setting was not built for that sapphire.
It is sitting slightly high, the donut hole it is sitting in is fractionally too small and thats what the jeweller means by the diamonds are too close. And the prong positioning is not ideal for the sapphire shape and it sitting slightly too high.
I would contact someone like David Klass, I think the prongs need to be completely rebuilt and repositioned. It should be 6 prongs in my opinion.

I was told a lady had this specially made...and the woman sold it to her friend, who I bought it from.

I did get it back from my jeweler today. He was very kind and said it was nice and quiet last night so he stayed late to finish it. He loves his job and wanted to take extra time on it instead of rushing - which I was most grateful.

He did say he felt these prongs were really solid and that as long as I get it inspected, it won’t cause any problems and he said the current prongs were done very well.... He said adding prongs would take away from the aesthetics and now when I try to envision north and south, I agree.

Maybe adding 3 on each side, like 1:30, 3 and 5:30 ish..but not sure that would look right either. He also said he tightened a few diamond settings. So scary with anything being loose!! I will say the initial prongs were dainty and I was scaredy-cat it would look funny with longer and thicker prongs, but I quickly got used to them. Maybe I’d eventually get used to more prongs? I don’t want to diminish the look of the sapphire.

 

[lmyracle]

 

[distracts]

Maybe I’d eventually get used to more prongs? I don’t want to diminish the look of the sapphire.

With a sapphire that huge and that blue, you'd have to put a LOT of prongs on it to diminish the look!

I'm glad you got reassuring news from your jeweler. The ring is beautiful.

 

[Rfisher]

Count me in camp more prongs.
The ring is gorgeous, and I like the new size of the prongs!
Here’s some quick mockups of the prongs with added north and south


With the 1:30, 3 and 5:30 you mentioned - but I don’t think it will work due to halo diamond placement


And another alternative.

 

[lmyracle]

Count me in camp more prongs.
The ring is gorgeous, and I like the new size of the prongs!
Here’s some quick mockups of the prongs with added north and south


With the 1:30, 3 and 5:30 you mentioned - but I don’t think it will work due to halo diamond placement


And another alternative.

Wow aren’t you talented! I like that last one the best and that really helps me visualize it. Thank you so much for that. I will screenshot and save these for future reference and likely get it done by David Klass. Not that I don’t trust my local guy but DK is so well thought of.

 

[T L]

Just please don’t wear that ring anywhere until you fix this issue. You could easily lose the stone.