{"id":7489,"date":"2018-10-17T18:04:44","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T22:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/?p=7489"},"modified":"2018-10-17T21:48:54","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T01:48:54","slug":"when-do-your-prongs-need-to-be-retipped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/when-do-your-prongs-need-to-be-retipped\/","title":{"rendered":"WHEN DO YOUR PRONGS NEED TO BE RETIPPED?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How<\/div>\n

Are your prongs worn and broken?<\/h2>\n

\nDo you even know where to look?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nDo you even know what a prong is?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nA lot of people don’t.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nAnd that’s where the problem starts.<\/p>\n

Retipping?<\/h2>\n

\nRetipping, or rebuilding prongs<\/strong> is necessary for maintaining jewelry. But people have a nasty habit of wearing their jewelry until a prong breaks off or they lose a gemstone or diamond. And then, everyone wants to know how and why it all happened?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

I’ll tell you why…<\/h2>\n

\nIt’s because you didn’t do any preventive maintenance<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\nJewelry is like a car, you have to take it in to a jeweler to have them inspect and clean it a couple of times a year. Just like oil changes, tune-ups and filters, your jewelry needs the same tender loving care<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Prongs wear down:<\/h2>\n

\nMost people don’t realize that prongs wear down<\/strong>. Prongs are those little pegs that fold over your gemstones or diamonds and hold them in<\/strong>. These prongs will wear down over time, just like tread on a tire<\/strong>. They’ll get low and thin making them catch on things and snap off.<\/p>\n

Gold is malleable:<\/h2>\n

\nGold is actually pretty malleable<\/strong> (especially when it’s thin). It’s like bending a paper clip back and forth, it’ll get brittle and eventually snap in two<\/strong>. When prongs rub down and smooth out, there’s not much holding in your diamond but luck.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prongs can get as thin as paper:<\/h2>\n

\nI’ve seen this…<\/strong> Paper-thin prongs are not good protection. You’ll be able to tell if they’re thin if you run your fingertips over the prongs<\/strong> and they feel flat and smooth<\/strong> to the touch (do it now). If you can barely feel them, then it’s time for a retipping.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Correction:<\/h2>\n

\nIt’s PAST time for a retipping!<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what do you do?<\/h2>\n

\nIf your prongs get so low that you can’t feel them anymore, then beware…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nIt wouldn’t take much to hit that prong on something and break it off<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nI’ve seen customers bring their rings in for a retipping with prongs so low and broken and flat, you almost can’t see them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nSometimes I’m shocked that they’re still wearing their ring<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nThe real question becomes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why would anyone still wear them in that condition?<\/h2>\n

\nIt truly amazes me…<\/strong> Don’t people realize how close they were to losing their beautiful diamond? Or do they just not care?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nWhen you run your fingers over your prongs you should be able to feel those little domed nubs <\/strong>sticking up.<\/p>\n

If you don’t know for sure, or can’t tell…<\/h2>\n

\nVisit your local jeweler!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nHave them check it out.<\/strong> Prongs wear down so slowly over time that most people wouldn’t notice<\/strong>…<\/p>\n

Until it’s too late.<\/h2>\n

\nI would advise getting them retipped about every 5-10 years<\/strong>. It all depends on how often you wear your ring and what finger you wear it on. Rings on the pinky finger or index finger take a little bit more abuse and wear down quicker.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get it cleaned and inspected often:<\/h2>\n

\nWhatever you do, take it in for a routine cleaning and inspection (Set a reminder in your smartphone<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\nIt won’t cost you anything for the jeweler to check and make sure your prongs are strong, straight and holding in your stones. They’ll use a microscope<\/a> or a 10x jeweler’s loupe<\/a> to check for cracks or stress marks. They’ll also make sure your prongs aren’t lifted<\/strong> above the stones. Checking is free. Getting the work done is not!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nProngs should lay flat and flush on top of your stone’s surface<\/strong>. This keeps them from snagging. Prongs that are raised tend to get caught<\/strong> on everything; gloves, sweaters and even hair. Eventually they will bend back and snap off<\/strong>. And if that happens, there’s a good chance you’ll lose your stone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get your prongs retipped:<\/h2>\n

\nHave your local jeweler retip your prongs<\/strong> when they’re low.<\/p>\n

\nNormal pricing is about $10-25 a prong<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nAnd here’s something you won’t think about… when you have them retip your low prongs, make sure they retip ALL of the prongs at the same time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nBecause if you only retip a couple of the lowest prongs, then they will be built up unevenly, making them noticeable and even odd looking. Some prongs will be high, some low… It won’t look balanced<\/strong>! So get them all retipped together at the same height so your prongs will look alike<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nAnd get your prongs checked a couple of times a year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prongs take a lot of abuse:<\/h2>\n

\nPeople are always knocking them and catching them. <\/p>\n

\nI’m actually surprised <\/strong>they hold up as well as they do. <\/p>\n

\nHaving your prongs checked regularly is NOT a guarantee<\/strong> that you won’t lose a stone…<\/p>\n

\nBut it will give you more peace of mind.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nP.S. Make sure you get your diamond rings fully insured<\/strong> as well.<\/p>\n

Just in case…<\/h2>\n

\nBecause in life, you truly never know<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nCheers! :)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are your prongs worn and broken? Do you even know where to look? Do you even know what a prong is? A lot of people don’t. And that’s where the problem starts. Retipping? Retipping, or [Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,3,10,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diamond-guide","category-diamonds","category-engagement","category-jewelry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7489"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}