There are lots of options under diamond ring settings these days, and buying one boils down to both personal preferences and styling. Practical considerations hold weight as well, including the likelihood of your mounted stone or its prong catching somewhere and damaging the ring. No one likes the idea of their engagement ring snagging or catching on clothes and other materials all the time, which is a common sight when it comes to prong set diamond rings. Not only is this annoying, it also disturbs the setting, eventually leading to the claws loosening up or even breaking.
The main cause of risk here is the setting height. High prong settings are more protruded, and can easily bump into other things. As these settings usually feature a big rock, the chances of losing the precious stone are very high, even if one of the prongs got damaged due to an accidental hit. On the contrary, if your engagement ring featured a tiny stone held using small claws, the prongs would be sharper, and easily catch on every piece of fabric you come across.
What to Do if you Have a Prong Set Engagement Ring
If you had an heirloom engagement ring featuring a prong setting, and you wanted to use the piece to propose to your girl, it would be best to alter the setting to a simpler and safer one. This is especially important if your ladylove is a person who lives a hands-on lifestyle or works in the hospitality industry. You can consult with a reputed jeweler in such cases to learn about other safe yet alluring settings which you could pick for the heirloom ring without losing its original charm. Below are three of the most popularly adopted settings in this scenario.
• Full Bezel Setting: This setting best suits round and oval cut diamonds. It envelops the center stone fully with a polished metal, and no prong or claw is used to secure the stone on the ring band.
• Semi Bezel or Half Bezel Setting: This setting works with all cuts and shapes of diamonds. Here, only half of the centerpiece gem is covered by the metal casing, which allows more light to interact with the stone, and produces more sparkle.u
• Low-Set Claw Setting: This might not be as child-friendly as the bezel setting, but ensures that the ring does not catch or snag onto your clothing. The setting, however, is suited to securing small stones only.
What Makes Bezel Settings the Best?
The bezel setting protects the center stone from hits and accidental bumps in the best ways possible. Although diamonds are known for their supreme hardness, they are still liable to get scratched or chipped if they strike other hard substances. Repairing such chipped or damaged diamonds can be a costly affair, so protecting the jewel in the first place is a sensible approach by all sorts.
Unlike a prong setting, the entire stone is encased with a durable metal ring here. Even if you hit a hard surface, this metal casing would cushion the impact so that there is no damage done to the center diamond. What’s more, the simple setting also adds to the overall appeal of the ring by bringing in more shimmer from the metal.
You can also have accent stones added to the bezel set engagement ring to give it a unique look. In fact, this setting gives a different appeal by itself, as most diamond engagement rings traditionally feature the prong setting. That makes this a great choice for those modern brides who are looking to steer away from prevalent engagement jewelry trends and traditional norms.
Being the Center of Attention
A bezel setting can give your centerpiece gem a fuller appearance. The metal casing which surrounds the center stone to protect it can act as a frame for it as well. When set meticulously, this framing gives the illusion of a bigger stone, adding more value to your expensive engagement ring. This effect is very much the same as that produced by the halo setting, but you can save a lot here by having just a shiny metal casing, instead of going in for a row of small diamonds or gemstones around the center stone. With all that money saved, you can even get a bigger rock for your engagement ring and be the center of attention everywhere you go.
Bezel settings are also easy to clean and maintain when compared to other ring settings. You can even use household products to clean the ring and keep its luster going for a longer time. Just make sure that the cleaning solutions which you pick are safe to use on the stone you have on the ring, and does not harm the metal in any way. With periodic maintenance done at home, you will need to take the jewelry in for professional cleaning only once or twice in a year.