QuestionHello I have a somewhat simple question my husband is looking to get me a new wedding set after 11 1/2 years of marriage (yeah finally!!!) I found a really pretty Past, Present & Future quad princess cut ring that princess cut diamonds set in each head its through a national chain that offers warrenties if you have your jewlery inspected every 6 months which is not a problem for me my question is we have 4 children ranging in age from 10 to 7 months and I'll be honest with you I use my hands a great deal I have heard several horror stories when it comes to the invisable or quad set diamonds two examples if you loose a stone it cannot be repaired or if you barly hit the head or the prong the stone will fall out and once you loose one stone the other 3 will follow, ect. Would you suggest this be a "ring for me???". I really love it and it has a decent price within the range of what my husband is willing to spend. I am a bit more confident since they offer the guarentee on it I'm just gonna have to make sure that I get over to the "big city" where the store is located every 6 months so my warrenty doesn't void out. Please help me I have looked at so many diamond rings in the past couple weeks my head is spinning I just wanna pick one and be done with it. Thank you so much in advance for you help with this. T.C.
AnswerTheresa, the answer to your question varies somewhat according to the quality and actual setting method of the four diamonds together.
The advantage of the ring you describe is that each stone does have two sides (?) touching the sides of the setting. Invisible set jewelry with more rows of smaller diamonds often have a row around each edge touching the metal and several rows of stones set in the area between. The stones in the settings are set with a sort of tongue and groove effect much as with wall paneling or hardwood flooring where one piece fits into another.
You need to have the store tell you if they can or find out for you before you purchase the ring if there is substantial metal beneath the four princess cut stones since good support is important in stability of the stones in the setting. Ask that they honestly tell you of any problems they have encountered with this style from their customers. Ask if when you come in for one of the regular inspections what happens if the stones are found to be loose: In repair done in-house, sent out or what? If sent out, what sort of turnaround time is should you expect? You should be told all of this is answer to your questions and you likely want to know and not have any surprises down the road.
Yes, there are horror stories but most of these apply to the invisible set jewelry with more than two rows or more than four stones. Imagine the setting I tried to describe with several rows filling the space between the edges. Yes, with those settings often the horror stories are quite true.
We generally will not accept multi-row invisible set jewelry for work in our shop. As for rings with two or four stones set together as one stone, those we do check for security and will accept for work since these are considered much more substantial than the multi-row invisible settings.
Still, care should be exercised perhaps more than with a single stone setting. You should do ok with the ring you describe but absolutely do not get the multi-row versions!
Well, will you have your hands full with your children and other tasks? I would believe so. If possible, do not wear the ring( or any ring) while bathing, washing dishes, using any sort of bleaches or when doing tough chores where the ring could be bumped hard and you not know it happened. You might determine a specific place to put your ring during these activities so it will not be put on a counter or in a drawer or on the sink and then wind up misplaced.
Theresa, I do hope this answer will help somewhat. Without the actual ring in hand I certainly cannot compare the structure and setting security to other similar rings; still, I can provide some assurance that this design is much less likely to result in a "horror story" than the multiple row invisible setting styles, styles I would not give half the price asked to purchase. As a bench jeweler working with the very items, you see my thought on the multiple row styles. As also said, I check the four stone styles before accepting for general repair but do work on those as long as it is not an issue with the structure of the central stone setting design.
If you want to rate this answer, please do that. If you need more info or clarification of some sort, feel free to use the follow-up option. Fair enough?
Theresa, God Bless and Peace to your family. Thomas.
