David Adamson Designer Jewelry

By Appointment Only

By Appointment Only
17208 Panama City Beach Parkway
Panama City Beach, FL 32413
ph: 850-960-2511
Info@DavidAdamsonJewelry.com

Prongs; Holding Your Treasures

Prongs are the tiny fingers that clutch your gemstone or diamond. It isn’t uncommon to see a large diamond worth tens of thousands of dollars in a fancy gold or platinum ring. Prongs however are what hold that gem in place and these are commonly a fraction of a millimeter (that’s tiny) thick and if worn, damaged or too thin or small by design can fail resulting in the loss of you precious gem.

The most commonly requested jewelry shop services are ring sizing, chain repairs and prong retipping or replacing. I have included the "JA Quality Assurance Guide" illustrating the characteristics of prongs that need retipping or replacing.

Why Prongs Become Worn
Occasionally, prong repairs are needed because of errors in workmanship – usually from overworking or overpolishing – when the stone was originally set. In most cases, however, prongs need to be retipped or replaced because they wear or break from normal use. Normal erosion of metal can result from:

The ring being too large. When the ring turns on the finger and the wearer pushes it back into place with an adjacent finger, the prongs on that side of the ring become worn.
An owner's lifestyle and behavior. Wearing a ring during manual labor or to bed can hasten wear of prongs. You wouldn't think sleeping with a ring could cause it to wear, but sheets can act as an abrasive.

What Is Retipping?
Retipping is the process of rebuilding prongs that are worn but not worn out. The bench jeweler – keeping the stone in place – uses a welding process to affix a wire or metal bead (matching the prong's alloy and slightly exceeding its dimensions) over the top of the worn prong and fashions a new one.

What is Individual Prong Replacement?
A bench jeweler replaces the entire length of a prong when it's worn so badly that retipping the top is inadequate. Individual prong replacement, also done with the stone in place, involves sawing off the worn prong, welding on a new prong and shaping it to work effectively.

When To Retip, Replace a Prong or Replace the Head
A trained jeweler can help the customer decide the most economical and effective way to repair worn prongs – whether to retip, replace a prong or replace the whole prong head. Here are some indicators that head replacement is the best option:

All prongs are badly worn on top and sides.
The stone was set improperly and needs to be reset correctly.
A new head costs less than retipping or replacing numerous prongs.

Keep in mind that these little prongs keep your treasures safe for you. Sadly these are one of the most neglected things I see on jewelry, often customers bring me rings missing a diamond that hasn’t been inspected or maintained for years. Regular inspection and maintenance of your jewelry can save you the large sum of replacing a lost diamond not to mention the impossibility of replacing an heirloom.

JA Quality Assurance Guide

The Ideal Prong

The amount of contact the prong has with the crown of the stone.
The height of the prong in relation to the top of the stone.
All the prongs match in size, shape and dimension.

Wearing a ring while doing manual labor or where it brushes against an abrasive surface contributes to prong wear. Notice how the top of the prong is worn almost flat, considerably reducing the amount of metal at the "heel."

This is a common sign of wear – the side of the prong is noticeably reduced in size and is a good candidate for prong replacement.

The top of the prong is almost completely worn. If the ring continues to be worn, the stone will surely loosen and fall out. This is a candidate for retipping.

The top and side of the prong are substantially abraded, severely compromising its ability to hold the stone. The best option is to replace the prong. If several prongs are in this condition, replacing the head and resetting the stone is likely to be more cost-effective and result in a better repair.

The solid lines show the shapes of the old, worn prongs (#1). The old prong on the right will be sawed off at its base (#2, dotted line), then a wire of more substantial dimension will be soldered and shaped into a new prong (#3, dotted line).

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