Did you know that the metal holding your gemstone can wear down over time? When was the last time you had your rings checked? When you visit our store, we are happy to clean and polish your jewelry, for free, after checking the condition of your items.
Most people don’t examine their rings frequently or carefully like a professional would. As a jewelry store that does on site repairs, we get to look at a LOT of rings – new, old and everything in between. This experience helps us recognize when the condition of your jewelry needs maintenance or not. We understand you may not know what to look for, which is why you choose to come to a professional for advice.
One of the areas that shows wear on a ring are on the prongs holding gemstones. If you feel something catching, has a sharp edge or has fibers caught around the prong, then it’s possible your gemstone isn’t being reliably held in place. If this is the case, two of the ways to address repairing these damaged prongs is either re-tipping or replacing the head. Minimal wear calls for adding metal to the tip of each prong. If all the prongs are worn thin, we often recommend replacing the head (that’s what the part is called that holds the gemstone) instead of repairing the individual prongs. We recommend this because the heat required to repair all the prongs will soften and relax the metal which compromises the integrity and strength of the metal. Replacing the head with a brand new one is stronger because less heat is involved and it will last longer.
You might ask, “When does this maintenance tend to happen? How long does it take for the metal to wear down?” That depends on several factors such as lifestyle, original condition of the prongs, how rough the environment is when you wear it, etc. It’s hard to predict when a problem will arise. Much like tires, you think all is well – until a tire blows because your treads have worn down too much. We are here to make sure your ring doesn’t blow out a tire, or in our case – prong. That is when you are in danger of loosing a gemstone- and we do not want that! We are here to make sure you stay ahead of any issues.
While we’re on the car analogy, we recommend bringing your rings in every 6 months to evaluate them, or if needed- a tune up, to keep them looking their best!
If you have any questions, reach out or come in, we are happy to help!
Here is a graphic that shows what we look for when we evaluate prongs:
