QuestionHi!
I was thinking about having a ring made for daily use out of 18K gold. However, someone told me that 18K prongs do not hold gemstones well...because they break easily. Is this true? If it is what type of prongs should I get for a ring if I still want it to be 18K?
AnswerAlbert, thanks for your question.
What "someone told me" is not to be considered reliable in this case. We sell rings made of 18 karat gold quite often and there are not problems with prongs breaking. Some will say 18k is a bit softer than a lower karat such as 14k and therefore will wear more quickly. Will it? All depends on the alloy of the metal or the particular recipe used for the karat gold. Will 18k break? If the jewelry is well made you will see little difference in 18k or 14k and only quite rarely would either of those break. I believe 18k to be a superior metal for jewelry than a lower karat, keeping in mind that it "might" wear a little more but not so much as to worry about it. Just get a ring made with substantial prongs and not too dainty, knowing knocks are the worst event generally happening besides everyday wear from being in the environment.
A break would generally come from a few things:
Cast prongs or even die struck prongs which are poorly manufactured can have brittleness. The karat is not the factor here but the purity of the gold alloy in the first place and the care used in manufacture. A badly cast item can have brittleness or porosity in the metal, making for a weak condition.
A second reason is stress corrosion, a direct result of gold alloys being in contact with chlorine and and a few other chemicals. Swimming pools with strong chlorine are one of the most damaging places to expose a gold ring, especially white gold. Chlorine works on the nickle in white gold (some white gold does not have nickle but has palladium instead) and makes the metal weak at areas of stress. A bent prong is an area of stress and that is where the chlorine in the pool will go to work on the metal. The metal is weakened and a prong can fall off at a stress point (like where it is bent over a stone). White gold is most affected but other colors can be damaged also, even without nickle content. Lower karats are most easily damaged and 18k is the least damaged by stress corrosion.
18k is excellent but I would want prongs slightly thicker than with lower karats because the metal is generally easier to bend. This can mean a tighter stone when set but a prong which if given a hard knock will bend more easily than perhaps 14 karat would. I would not hesitate to use 18k but if you have any real concern, go for 14k which is a bit harder. And, keep it out of the swimming pool! : )
Albert, I hope this helps a bit. God Bless and Peace. Thomas.
