Wedding Ring Buyer Beware, Seven Steps to Take to Avoid Disaster

Shared Prongs. Two diamonds are held in by shared prongs. Not good.

As beautiful as a delicate and thin ring is, it may end up breaking your heart. With more maintenance than a more sturdily built ring, the kinds of problems that crop up with a poorly made ring are many.

Wedding Ring Buyer Beware

There are a lot of knockoff jewelry pieces—lightweight replicas of famous and beautiful designs—sitting in jewelry store cases on planet Earth. Be careful, and make sure you don’t end up owning one of them!

Seven Steps to Take to Protect Yourself From Poorly Made Wedding Rings

A Magnifying Loupe Reveals the Details

1. Examine all jewelry under magnification. Request a loupe from the jeweler. If they don’t have one, walk away.

Thin is Pretty, but it isn’t Sturdy

2. Check other rings of similar design. Compare and look for the one with more gold and a solidly made design.

A Too Thin Band Looks Delicate and Feminine, But it Won’t Be Stable Enough For Hard Daily Wear

3. Feel the difference in weights. See if one ring feels heavier than another. Too thin a ring will drop diamonds.

The High Four Prong Center Diamond Setting Just Snapped Off

4. Question the style. For example, will the design you like, protect your center diamond?

5. Pay special attention to the way the diamonds are set. Some setting styles are more lasting.

Shared Prongs Show Off the Diamond, But Also Let Go Too Easily

6. For everyday wear try to chose settings that don’t share prongs.

This Bride Chose a Low Set Blue Diamond with a Halo to Protect it. Note the Strong Prongs

7. Make sure the prongs are substantial and all the gemstones are set neatly.

It’s Amazing What You See Under Magnification

Ensure that the prongs hold onto the diamonds. Some prongs are slightly too short or too thin to do the best job of protecting your gemstones from daily wear.

Eight Things to Look For in That Ring With a Loupe

Ensure That Prongs Go Over the Diamond Firmly

1. Look at the prongs holding the center gemstone. Make sure they go over the outer edge and hold the diamond.
2. Are the four or six prongs even in length?
3. Do the prongs cover the gemstone evenly? Avoid settings where one or more the the prongs are too close the the edge of the gemstone and not over the outer edge of the gemstone.
4. Are the settings thick enough to protect the gemstone? Look at a number of engagement rings. Compare daily wear with occasional wear rings. Daily wear prongs should be more substantial.
5. Are the side gemstone settings neatly and evenly done?
6. Does each prong-set gemstone have four prongs? Or does it share prongs with its neighbor? Shared prongs are more problematic.
7. Does the balance of the ring have enough gold/metal at the base?
8. Do the diamonds or other gemstones in the ring look rich in color or bright white if diamonds?

If the Price of That Wedding Ring Seems Too Good to be True, it Probably is 

Thin Looks Graceful, but may conceal a design too thin to hold up to daily wear

You’ve all heard it before, but: “You get what you pay for.” There is a very good reason why one ring costs $1,000.00 more than a similar one.

In the ring above, notice that the nice thickness you see in the bottom third of the ring looks less substantial when the diamond settings have been cut into it in the upper section.

The ring you choose needs to be especially thick in the area where diamond settings are drilled into it.

Notice the Thickness of this Ring. It’s Made to Last

The more expensive ring is probably heavier, it was cast using more gold, and more time was spent setting the gemstones.

A well made ring was made to last a longer time. The cheaper one? It was made for profit, not the happiness of the wearer.

You’ll Never Have a More Important Piece of Jewelry Than Your Wedding Ring

Take your time in selecting it. Consider having it custom made so you’ll know the thickness and quality will be built in. I know a good designer…..

Your Personal Jeweler,
Calla Gold