Choosing a Ring Prong Setting

Gold, platinum and silver rings offer variety different settings. Before you go out and buy an engagement ring, wedding ring or other ring, take a look at this brief guide to the various ring prong settings that are currently available.

Engagement Ring Settings

The prong setting, also called a claw setting, is the most commonly used setting.

The prong setting is especially popular for solitaire engagement rings. The diamond or other gem is inserted into three or more metal prongs forming a basket-like base. Then the prong ends are bent over so they rest against the crown, just past the stone’s girdle, holding it snugly in place.

Visible prong ends are often rounded, but they can be shaped into ovals, points, V-shapes, left flat or even formed into decorative shapes. The prong setting can be tall, perching the diamond above the ring band. Likewise, it can also be short, with the stone resting closer to finger.

Prong Setting Benefits and Disadvantages

Prongs are tiny, so more of stone is visible. Furthermore, prong settings are easy and quick to make and they are usually less expensive than more intricate settings. Finally, stones set in prongs are usually easier to clean.

There are some drawbacks to a prong setting that you should be aware of. The girdle area of the gemstone is not covered and prongs offer less protection for stone than other, more enclosed settings. On top of this, prongs can snag clothing and other items they come in contact with.

Evaluating Prong Settings

If you are going to buy a ring with a prong setting then you should carefully consider some the following points:

1. Make sure that the gemstone is held snugly, and does not wobble.

2. The prongs should be formed so that the stone sits at even height and is not up or down on any side.

3. Very thin or flat prongs will eventually break or wear away, putting the gemstone at risk.

4. Hooked prongs or prong ends that form an open loop before they touch the stone, will open up in time.

5. Short prongs, which provide enough contact with the gemstone, won’t hold it safely in place and can catch on to clothing and other items.

6. Large prongs may overpower gemstone, making the setting less attractive.

7. If you have or plan to have children, you wouldn’t want to wear a tall, narrow setting that could scratch or puncture delicate skin.

Finally, a professional jeweler may have diagrams that help you to visualize these and other types of prongs. Ask your jeweler if he or she has prong diagrams.

You should also be aware that prongs may need to be repaired over time.

Ask your jeweler to show you several prong settings and ask for advice on the safety and durability of each.

Trying many rings is best way to discover how different settings feel and look.

About the Author

Lewis Jewelers is proud to carry the full line of
Pandora Jewelry
. Pandora bracelets, Pandora charms and Pandora beads are only a part of the collection. For more information, Lewis Jewelers, 2000 West Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48103, 877-88-LEWIS or visit the website.

Glass Jewelry genuine Murano Glass made in italy – www.murrinashop.com

Pandora Charm Bracelets Are The New Black!

Have you noticed that Pandora charm bracelets are the new black? Everywhere I look I see women of all ages with charm bracelets rattling around on their wrists. The new style of charms are threaded onto a solid chain and are very different to the charm bracelets that were around when I was a girl. Back then each charm was attached to a link of a chain, with links large enough to fit another link through. Beautiful to look at but hazardous to wear! Often your charms would become entangled in your hair or your clothing or worse still someone elses hair or clothing!

The modern Pandora charm bracelet also lets you choose from many more types of charms than has ever been available in the past. For example, if you would like to give the gift of a Pandora charm to symbolize your love for someone, you would be able to choose from several different designs. There is the Pandora hanging heart, the Pandora everlasting heart, the Pandora solid heart, the Pandora love bouquet, the Pandora I love you cube with gold heart, the Pandora silver and 14k gold love and hugs bead, just to name a few. The best way to see what is available is to go online. There are many authorised sellers of authentic Pandora charms online. It is now a fact that you can save money by buying your Pandora charms online. Authorised Pandora stockist sell their product for exactly the same as traditional retailers and often provide free shipping. This means you actually save time and money by not driving to the shopping centre or paying for parking while you shop for your charm. Online orders are delivered straight to your door. What service!

With all these new Pandora charms entering our jewelry boxes there is bound to be some that are gifted to us that will not be our favourites. Pandora charm bracelets also fill up eventually and we might want to create some room for a new release charm you simply must have. What to do? Trade Your Charms is a new listing site where you can sell your authentic, preloved Pandora charms and other authentic pieces of jewelry. Launched in November 2009, Trade Your Charms is an exciting new option where high end jewelry can be viewed without lots of low end fakes all around. Be expecially careful of the wording used on sites such as ebay. If it reads “4 Pandora” or “fits Pandora”, it will most certainly be a fake. Authentic Pandora beads and charms are hallmarked and have certain markings to identify their authenticity. Don’t be fooled by cheap imitiations. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

About the Author

Our online business is www.tradeyourcharms.com Launched in November 2009, Trade Your Charms is a new listing site for pre-loved, authentic charms and jewellery. You can send your friends an ecard for free. You can also join “Our Charming Community” for lots of info & interesting facts.

Can you help me with pandora bracelets?

I’m thinking of getting a pandora bracelet and my mother has kindly agreed to get me one for christmas. But they are very expensive, so my mother is going to buy them from ebay. I was just wondering if you could tell me some beads that are “in” at the moment and how many beads can fit on a 16 or 17 cm bracelet? (Yeah, I have small hands) Also, what type of beads should I get? I don’t think I am able to get the gold ones so I’m going to stick with the sterling silver ones. How should I arrange my bracelet and do I need clips and spacers?

well i have a pandora so i’ll do what i can to help. (:

the number one thing to be careful about when buying beads off ebay is not to get any fakes one. all real pandora murano glass beads have pandora written along a side and the clasp on the bracelet should read pandora as well. if you live in america i suggest buying them there -they are a lot cheaper in america than in countries like australia and england!

my bracelet is also 16 – 17 cm and sterling silver. (:
you can fit five to six beads in each section, depending on how big the bead is.
oh and make sure to get the silver bracelet with bead clasp, not claw clasp.

you definitely need to get two clips. this stops all your beads sliding to one side and fills in the bracelet. personally i think these are the nicest sterling silver clips and cost 25 US dollars;

http://www.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/d6/8/AAAAAjOnWecAAAAAANaJNQ.jpg

spacers aren’t essential until your bracelet is full and you need to fill in tiny gaps.

it is best to keep your bracelet to two colours and sterling silver. mine is pink and green. some other good combinations are blue and pink, purple and white or purple and green. to start your bracelet off i suggest you get two murano glass beads, or if you want more make sure it’s an even number as having three, five, etc would make the bracelet look uneven coz these beads are large. the most popular murano glass beads at the moment are the summer range; http://www.wilkinsandolander.com/images/pan_79658_sm_000.jpg which come in pink, green, blue, violet, rose, beige, orange, clear with black hearts and black and white. match one of these with another glass bead and it will look great. (: i have the green summer bead and everyone loves it, especially coz it’s not released where i live yet. the beads with stones in it are the nicest beads, but also quite expensive. it’s worth getting at least one and it really makes your bracelet look nice and they are always in style. another popular bead is the enamel butterfly, almost everyone i know with a pandora has one; http://www.charmme.com.au/images/79437_E01.jpg this comes in blue, pink, purple, green, orange and yellow. silver beads with hearts on it are also classic and cheap, and space out the coloured beads well.

here are two sites where you can design your own pandora bracelet;

http://www.denmark-beads.com/cgi-bin/pandora/build/build-a-bracelet

http://www.pandora-jewelry.com/US/Build%20your%20own%20bracelet.aspx

hope i helped! (:

Pandora – Don´t You Know