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Yikes! I cracked my ring!! :(

GeorgieQ

GeorgieQ

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 8, 2013
Messages
667
So a couple of days ago, I was at work, I've walked past a very lightweight whiteboard and my hand some how banged the corner of it. Unfortunately my ring took the brunt and it has now cracked the entire way around the centre! :shock: The ring is made of 18ct rose gold and from what I can tell, the diamond seems to be undamaged (phew!). At a glance the ring appears completely fine and you certainly can't see any crack, it's not until you look a little closer that the epic crack can be seen! I haven't worn it since I found the crack.

I haven't had a chance to take it to a jeweller as yet, and probably won't now until early January, but I'm wondering if anyone would have any idea as to whether this is going to be a repair or a complete redo? If it is just a repair job, is that spot likely to forever more susceptible to cracking again if it's knocked a second time? Any thoughts will be greatly received!

20221223_174416.jpg20221223_174450.jpg
 
Woah! I’m so sorry this has happened and hope you find a fix you’re happy with. Is it just on the surface or has the metal split apart through the full depth? It’s not some kind of plating that has cracked is I guess what I’m asking. I think it’s much more fundamental than that as the profile looks like your stone has maybe moved in the setting - the culet looks like it’s lower than the bottom of the setting in the profile view, but that could just be the photo angle?

(The 2 year old in me really wants to see if the 2 ends pull apart…)
 
Oh man, I’m sorry this happened to you. :eek2:

I’m not an expert so take my opinion with a grain of salt. While I think it could be repaired, I also think it wouldn’t be as structurally sound. I’d probably vote for a full redo, for peace of mind.
 
Ouch, so sorry that happened!

If it’s a break that goes all the way through it might have to be a complete redo?

Even if it’s a surface level crack, it would sort of make me nervous, I may opt to redo it anyway.

GeorgieQ said:
So a couple of days ago, I was at work, I've walked past a very lightweight whiteboard and my hand some how banged the corner of it. Unfortunately my ring took the brunt and it has now cracked the entire way around the centre! :shock: The ring is made of 18ct rose gold and from what I can tell, the diamond seems to be undamaged (phew!). At a glance the ring appears completely fine and you certainly can't see any crack, it's not until you look a little closer that the epic crack can be seen! I haven't worn it since I found the crack.

I haven't had a chance to take it to a jeweller as yet, and probably won't now until early January, but I'm wondering if anyone would have any idea as to whether this is going to be a repair or a complete redo? If it is just a repair job, is that spot likely to forever more susceptible to cracking again if it's knocked a second time? Any thoughts will be greatly received!

20221223_174416.jpg20221223_174450.jpg
Click to expand...
 
For a crack like that, I would do a re-do. Will also ask the jeweler how a crack like that could have happened and to consider that during the reset. Seems like an odd place to crack imo.
 
Is your jeweler you will be taking it to the jeweler who made the ring?
I think I would want to know if there were any porosity/casting issue faults (warranty issues, I think?) that contributed to the ease of it cracking - before I decided on a fix or redo.
I really would be wary of a fix, though, like others have stated.
Glad it wasnt any worse and you didn’t lose anything!
 
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I am not a bench jeweler, but the first thing I would do if you came into my office would be to tell you I need to speak with my bench jeweler to give you accurate advice. Rose gold can be brittle and difficult to work with, so you will need to be sure your jeweler is experienced in working with rose gold.

Perhaps one of our bench jewelers can weigh in on this distressing case. @Garry H (Cut Nut), @Rockdiamond, can you assist @GeorgieQ?
 
ouch, sorry that happened.
I'm not a benchman but I do not see how it can be saved.
Even with a laser welder I would be worried it would not stay closed.
 
Thanks so much everyone for your replies, I really do appreciate it!
To answer some questions:

My hand is totally fine, which is weird because you would think a knock that hard would hurt your hand but the ring, sadly, took the full force. It also hit a seriously lightweight whiteboard, my 6 year old students can pick up this board and move it around, it's really light!

Unfortunately I can't take the ring back to the original jeweller as he retired just after finishing my ring (very well respected, experienced jeweller). I got the ring in early 2021, so I consider it to be fairly new.

I have given the ring a shake to see if I can hear the diamond move, but there's no sound at all, which suggests the setting is still managing to hold the stone soundly........for now! I'm just lucky I ran my finger over the edge where the diamond sits because that's when my finger felt the crack, you really don't notice it just looking at the ring, it's only close up you start to see it.

@lissyflo to satisfy the 2 year old in you, when I discovered the crack runs the whole way through I did give ring a super gentle pull/twist to see if there was any movement, but nope, there was nothing, it's rock solid!

My gut was telling me that this is going to be a redo, and honestly at this point, I think that's a better idea than trying to repair it and having that little bit of doubt in your mind that it could happen again.

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to reply and commiserate, I appreciate this community so much!!! =)2
 
So sorry to see this. For the remake, I wonder if the jeweller you choose could make a mold of the original, as the subtleties of shape for a gypsy ring are so individual to the piece. If you love the shape of the original ring, I think it would be worth recreating. If not, now's a great time to consider a new style. Either way, wishing you an intact stone and a happy result with whatever you choose to do!
 
Thanks so much @PreRaphaelite I actually really love this ring, the lines were just perfect, both for my AVC and my finger (which is quite small). The irony of all this is that I chose the gypsy setting, not only because I loved the aesthetic, but because I wanted a real workhorse of a ring, something I could wear daily and would have real longevity! Hopefully the second one will last a many years longer than this one! =)2
 
Bummer about the ring, but as everyone else said, the important thing is the diamond is ok (as well as your hand)! I agree that you're probably better off making a new mounting. Your jeweler should be willing to deduct the scrap price of the gold from the new cost. Good luck!
 
If the crack were at the back of the shank a laser weld may do (I've done it and had the repair last) BUT being that it's at the diamond I would say a re-do is necessary.
 
@Platinumplus this is for you! First two pics are when she was brand new and looking gorgeous, with a lovely satin finish. Third pic is of my poor battered, bruised and cracked ring today. Clearly I'm harder on jewellery than I realised and my hand has aged 3,000 years! :confused2:

Screenshot_20221224_140003_Gallery.jpgScreenshot_20221224_140024_Gallery.jpg20221224_133818.jpg
 
For curiosity, when you do have the new bench make the new setting you should ask them to do some "forensics" on the existing setting and take potos of the cracked surface to see if there was a porosity or something they can identify as the cause or initation point. It would be interesting to see if there was!

Edit to ask: did you change it from a brushed finish to a polished finish? Or did it just happen over time?
 
@emmy12 when I look through my loupe there's a few little pitted areas at the back of the ring near the cracked area and lots of tiny dings around the top of the setting so you may well be right, that porosity may definitely be an issue and contributed to the damage I've inadvertently done.
As for the finish, it started off with a satin finish but over time, as the gold rubs between fingers etc, the satin finish gives way to a more polished look. The satin finish needs to be redone every so often. =)2
 
emmy12 said:
For curiosity, when you do have the new bench make the new setting you should ask them to do some "forensics" on the existing setting and take potos of the cracked surface to see if there was a porosity or something they can identify as the cause or initation point. It would be interesting to see if there was!

Edit to ask: did you change it from a brushed finish to a polished finish? Or did it just happen over time?
Click to expand...

GeorgieQ said:
@emmy12 when I look through my loupe there's a few little pitted areas at the back of the ring near the cracked area and lots of tiny dings around the top of the setting so you may well be right, that porosity may definitely be an issue and contributed to the damage I've inadvertently done.
As for the finish, it started off with a satin finish but over time, as the gold rubs between fingers etc, the satin finish gives way to a more polished look. The satin finish needs to be redone every so often. =)2
Click to expand...

@emmy12 brought up an excellent point, and, judging by your response, it seems like she was spot on. I remember having an 18k rose gold ring custom made by an Etsy seller in Virginia. I eventually had to bring it to a local jeweler to be made smaller. I remember him pointing out one tiny pit in the gold. I sort of shrugged, not fully understanding the importance. He said if there is one pit (created in the casting process, not by wear), then you can assume there is a general porosity issue. So if that ends up being the case here, you might want to let the jeweler know who made your original ring, because it can be quite a pervasive problem!
 
Thanks @Autumn in New England =)2 unfortunately the jeweller who made my ring retired in early 2021, so I'll have to take it somewhere else. The more I look at the ring through my loupe, the more damaged and pitted it appears to be. I think I've just been a bit unlucky but hopefully the new ring will be porosity free!
 
GeorgieQ said:
Thanks @Autumn in New England =)2 unfortunately the jeweller who made my ring retired in early 2021, so I'll have to take it somewhere else. The more I look at the ring through my loupe, the more damaged and pitted it appears to be. I think I've just been a bit unlucky but hopefully the new ring will be porosity free!
Click to expand...

I bet you'll love the new ring even more!! :dance:
 
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