Should I have my wedding rings checked?
A common question. So many people ask me about this and the answer is 100% yes. Most people don’t realize that a loose, thin or weak prong is a problem until a stone is missing. To set yourself at ease, it’s a good idea to have your rings checked at least twice a year.
Rings are especially prone to damage since they are worn on your hands and get hit, bumped and snagged multiple times a day. Prongs, the tiny pieces of metal that hold your stone in the setting, are the most vulnerable part of any piece of jewelry. Most rings have 4 to 6 prongs and if one becomes bent or pulls away from your stone, the stone can fall out.
If you notice any bent or out line prongs, it is best to not wear the ring until you can get a jewelry professional to take a look at it. If prongs are thin or missing, a technique called “retipping” can be done. Retipping is adding a prong to the top of the old prong, rebuilding it to a safe thickness.
Don’t think it can’t happen…I had one client, a photographer, out in the aspen leaves, that slid her hand into her pocket and later noticed her center diamond was missing. Ugh…my heart sinks thinking about how this feels. Lucky for her, she noticed it fairly quickly and actually found the diamond – in the aspen leaves! Diamonds can bounce off all their facets and you never know where they will end up. Think about a football bouncing .. it can bounce in many directions.
Another situation that causes prong damage is when a wedding band rubs against the engagement ring. You can see in these two pictures that the wedding ring has a line where the ring has been rubbed after years of wearing. This causes the prong to weaken and makes it easy to bend if snagged.
When was the last time you had your ring checked or cleaned? I am happy to clean your ring, check your prongs and polish out any nicks or scratches, restoring your ring back to a brand new looking finish.
Safe wearing!