Let's face it.
Prongs control a Ring! It's true. They affect the Look and Design of a Ring. They affect the Feel and Shape of a Ring.
They affect the Security of the Gemstones and Diamonds and how the whole Ring comes together.
But how much do you take the Prongs of your Ring into consideration? If you're out shopping for a new Ring, do you even think about them?
For most people, they don't even look at the Prongs. Most people only look at the Diamond, the Quality, The Mounting and the Price. Prongs are normally a non-issue.
But is this thinking right? Nope! By neglecting to look at the Prongs, it could get very costly! How so? Because the more Prongs a Ring has, the more that Ring is going to cost you in the future. And that's because of one simple thing: Wear and Tear!
Prongs are thin and delicate to begin with, and under normal everyday stress they erode, crack, wear down and pit. The tips round off, the tops become thin and fragile. Some get paper thin and people wonder why they lose their Diamonds.
The sad thing is, there's no way to prevent this. It happens just like the tires on a car wear down. It's a fact of life.
So you can quickly see that the more Prongs you have, the more those Prongs will have to be retipped in the future. (Retipping is adding Gold to the tops of the Prongs to make them durable and strong again) And let me tell you, Prong Retipping is NOT CHEAP! Most Jewelers charge a whopping $10-$15 a Prong! That's a lot of dough. If you have a Diamond Cocktail Ring with 60 Prongs... Start crying now!
Plus, believe it or not, some Prongs are already very skinny and thin to begin with. Look at some new Rings in the Jewelry Cases, you'll see Prong thickness varies depending on Style and Price! Fancy built-in heads can be beautiful with lovely curved sides and shapes, but repairing and retipping them can be a nightmare.
Some Rings also have Double-Prongs! That's one prong with 2 tips, like a double-headed snake. It looks cool, but I can already feel your pocket book shudder.
Simplicity is the key to buying Rings. Less Prongs equals less money. If you can get Channel-Set Diamonds in the Band instead of Prong Set or Bead Set (very small rounded Prongs) Diamonds all the better!
Not to mention the fact that the more Prongs you have, the greater the risk of catching them, snagging them, breaking them off, hitting them, bending them or losing your Gemstones. And that's when things get really pricey!
So think twice about buying a new Ring with 30+ Prongs. Do you want the added aggravation? Do you want to shell out $300 in Jewelry Repairs? Sometimes Prongs are just not worth it! You may not have much of a choice when it comes to the center stone, usually 4 or 6 Prongs is standard, but if the mounting has endless Prongs (See picture), I would highly suggest one thing: Buy the Jeweler's Extended Service Plan!
Jewelry Service Plans (Most Jewelers have some type of plan) will normally cover the expensive cost of Repairing and Retipping those Prongs when they wear down. That's awesome! Read: Are Jewelry Service Plans worth it?
So don't forget to Count the Prongs on the Ring before you buy the Ring, or you'll be counting Cash and Repairs in the future!
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Copyright © 02-06-2009 Jewelry-Secrets.com
