How Are Your Prongs?

Prongs are thin pieces of gold, silver, or platinum that are shaped like a claw and have a notched-out top to hold a gemstone in place in your ring, pendant, or earrings.

Prongs are critical to the safety of the stone, whether it's a diamond, or a synthetic birthstone, and should be checked often by an experienced jeweler. One of the first signs that there's a problem is a loose stone.

When I would check prongs, I would actually grasp the stone's girdle with a serrated tweezers and try to turn it in its setting. If it moved, we knew for sure that the prongs needed tightening at the very least. Then we'd check for wear or breakage.

There are two ways prongs can go bad:

1. They wear out.
   
2. They get caught on something and break off.
   

The unit of 4 or 6 prongs is called a crown (or sometimes, a "head") and it can be replaced completely, or its individual prongs can be replaced.

There are a few ways of repairing prongs:

• Re-tipping.  The tip of the prong always wears out first. If the remainder of the prong is still thick, just the tip can be replaced. This is the least expensive prong repair.
  
• New prong:  This is replacing the entire prong with a new one.  If more than 2 prongs in a 4-prong crown, or more than 3 prongs in a 6-prong crown need replacing, it's more economical to replace the entire crown.
  
• New crown: This is just what it sounds like. The old crown is removed from the mounting and a new one is soldered in place, and then the stone is reset.
  

PRICES

• Retipping: Retipping can cost between $10 and $25 per tip.
  
• Prong: New prongs can cost between $20 and $50 each, depending on the length and thickness.
  
• New crown: A new crown can cost between $75 and $200, depending, again, on the size and number of prongs.
  

Also, remember that platinum repairs will always cost considerably more than 14K gold.

It's a good idea to stop in your friendly neighborhood jewelers every couple of months and ask them to check your prongs and to also give your jewelry a good cleaning.  If the stone's loose, it's better to catch it early, when it can simply be tightened, rather than later, when the stone may actually fall out and then you've got real problems.