Prong repair-- prices in your area?

[fleur-de-lis]

A ring of mine was found to be making a faint rattling sound last night, and when I brought it in to my local jeweler today they discovered, under microscope, a faint crack in one of the prongs holding the side stone. It's a platinum, three-stone ring, trillion sides, and the prong furthest from the center stone, holding the outer edge of the trillion, is the affected one. (As for the scope/size of the issue, I was told that the ring would probably continue to hold for a while if I wanted to delay, but it seemed penny wise and pound foolish to take a risk with a diamond ring.)

The jeweler will be calling back in a few days with the estimate (and the store has a reputation for being overpriced sometimes), but what would a prong repair on a platinum ring cost in your area?

 

[SweetAsscher]

One of my local jewelers quoted me $30 for a broken prong on an antique ring.

 

[Enerchi]

I don't know specifically, but I'd imagine if you can have it repaired for under $100, that's a good deal! And overall - the cost of the setting and stone is worth WAY more. Whatever the cost, its an investment in the longevity of your ring. Be careful now - watch how you move!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Probably $75 or so, depends on how serious the issue and how long it takes.

 

[Mike R]

Did they say what caused the crack in the prong? The ring would have to be checked for faults with they alloy, if the crack was due to shrinkage porosity it might be nessarcary to remove sections and replace them with new material. If the crack was due to wear and tear then they may be able to repair the crack with a laser (this will be cheaper)

How old is your ring?

If your going to get a few quotes to repair the ring, be sure to ask what they will be doing to repair the crack, so that your comparing apples with apples. There are many ways to fix a crack and all repairs are not equal.

Good luck.

 

[denverappraiser]

Ditto what Mike said. A crack in the prong is usually a symptom, not the problem, and the cost of repair is going to depend on what’s really going on. Some are easy to fix and some are hard. Get a bid or two and specifically ask the jeweler what they think is wrong and what they propose to do about it, not just how much it will cost.

Special note: The rattling you hear is the stone moving around inside the prongs. Diamonds are hard – platinum not so much. The edge of the stone is causing wear against the inside of the prongs and the problem is getting worse if you’re wearing it until eventually the stone is going to come out. If you haven’t already done so, stop wearing the piece until you get this addressed.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Sweetasscher, Enerchi, and DreamerD, thank you so much for responding so quickly. Having a ballpark idea of pricing really will assist me when it comes time to evaluate my next step.

Mike and Neil, your learned comments are incredibly helpful-- I didn't even know that lasers could even be used in the repair. What are the various methods commonly used so that I can also google/further educate myself before I speak to the benchman?

The ring is ~5 years old and gets near-daily wear. My guess is that I must have hit something solid along the way; though I loupe-check it every now and then, the crack only became visible to the benchm(e)n under microscope. But I'll ask when they call with more information. The rattling sound concerned me enough for that very reason that I took it off immediately and brought it in to the jeweler when they opened the next day; reading the posts of experts like you over the years to no longer wear the piece instantly came to mind when I found myself in the situation this week. (Though serious, to tell the truth I was just glad that the large main stone hadn't chipped under a prong... that would have been quite the painful haircut.)

Thank you all so very much-- your answers have been very helpful!

 

[denverappraiser]

The options are basically laser and solder. Both will work although I definitely prefer laser, especially with platinum. The issue is deciding what needs to be done. The easiest path is to weld the crack and call it good. The next would be to replace the whole prong. Next would be to replace ALL of the prongs and reset the stone. There's no way to give a straght answer about what is called for without seeing the piece. Tiny details are important.

Another general observation. Different craftsmen (and women) charge different rates for their time and talents. The cheapest are rarely the best. Money is always a player but make sure both you and the benchman under stand what's expected. I recommend against having price be your #1 criteria on this sort of thing. This probably won't be a difficult job but it MIGHT be, and understanding the difference is terribly important.

 

[Mike R]

The most important thing is to figure out why the platinum cracked (this is not normal) not how to repair the crack itself, depending on why it cracked the repair might be as simple as a laser repair or worst case it might mean you need to replace the ring if it has a major porosity or alloy problem.

Platinum should flex many times before cracking, you may have had bad luck and posibly the damage was caused though wear/accident or there could be a design, alloy or manufacturing problem with your ring, it's important for you to have a ring/repair that is going to give you many years of service.

I would recommend either talking with the original manufacturer or the very best local workshop in your area, it really is important that an expert examines the whole ring to get a good understanding on why your ring has failed in such a short amount of time.

The other thing you should think about is how you are wearing your ring, are you wearing it at times you really shouldn't be? Like yard work or other activitys that can cause damage.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Just received the call from the jewelry store, new info as follows:

--no indication that it's an alloy problem; the tips covering the edge of trillion is particularly exposed and all signs point to hard knock at some point;
--laser to be used for repair
--repair not in-house, but at their preferred benchman; store rep would not share name, but said he's one of only about ten in LA who have laser, also does pieces for David Weiss (so *I* don't know who s/he is, but heck, maybe someone here does, heh heh)
--price estimate $135; cited cost of $25,000 machine for why it's more expensive than traditional solder (?)
--I suspect middlemen charges have increased the price I'd be paying if I go this route in light of the other posters' experiences, but the alternative of spending days driving around town to various benchmen or shipping with proper insurance via Fedex makes the cost differences a wash. Chalk it up to big city living, eh?

Mike, it was a custom piece commissioned via this B&M store, so I do not know the original maker/manufacturer. At the moment I'm leaning towards accepting the terms to solve the problem at hand in a quick manner-- but to be better prepared in the years to come. For future reference, how would you recommend I, as someone not in the industry, "find the best local benchmen" for the next time I have a jewelry emergency?

 

[Mike R]

Just received the call from the jewelry store, new info as follows:

--no indication that it's an alloy problem; the tips covering the edge of trillion is particularly exposed and all signs point to hard knock at some point;
--laser to be used for repair
--repair not in-house, but at their preferred benchman; store rep would not share name, but said he's one of only about ten in LA who have laser, also does pieces for David Weiss (so *I* don't know who s/he is, but heck, maybe someone here does, heh heh)
--price estimate $135; cited cost of $25,000 machine for why it's more expensive than traditional solder (?)
--I suspect middlemen charges have increased the price I'd be paying if I go this route in light of the other posters' experiences, but the alternative of spending days driving around town to various benchmen or shipping with proper insurance via Fedex makes the cost differences a wash. Chalk it up to big city living, eh?

Mike, it was a custom piece commissioned via this B&M store, so I do not know the original maker/manufacturer. At the moment I'm leaning towards accepting the terms to solve the problem at hand in a quick manner-- but to be better prepared in the years to come. For future reference, how would you recommend I, as someone not in the industry, "find the best local benchmen" for the next time I have a jewelry emergency?

It might be good for you to have the ring checked for faults by someone independent to the store that sold you the ring, a good independent appraiser would probably be best so long as they do not do repairs or sell jewelry themselves (this will save competitor bashing and give you the unbiased truth)

I know it might be a little hassle now but like you correctly said in your first post you don't really want to take any risks with your diamond ring.

Platinum should not crack if you hit it on something, it should either dent or bend. There would be evidence of a hard hit to the prong by way of either a dent or a very bent prong, can you see either on your ring? (a crack really is a little concerning)
The crack might be where you have worn through to where the seat was cut on the inside of the prong for the trillion, if this is what's happening then the prong on the other side will be very close to doing the same thing and should be repaired at the same time.

The store you are already working with might be all you need, but if your after advice on how to find a great bench jeweler I would think the best place to find one would be here on PS, start a new thread asking for great jewellers in your area.
You ideally want one with the workshop on site, this way you can talk with people that have a good understanding of how metal reacts and not just a retail understanding.