| Judging
Craftsmanship
The diamonds are poorly set if.With the unaided eye, it's
obvious that the prongs or beads holding the diamonds are
of different shapes, sizes, and styles You can hardly see
the diamonds because they are covered by so much metal from
the beads, prongs, or bezel.
The
diamonds are loose and move around. This is a fairly common
problem and, usually, it's easily corrected. If setters put
too much pressure on a diamond, it can chip or crack, so sometimes
they go to the other extreme and don't secure stones well
enough.
Once you start wearing a ring and knocking it about, do not
expect the diamonds to remain secure. You should have them
checked at least every six months or whenever you hear your
ring rattle or click as it is shaken or as a diamond is tapped
next to your ear. It would be unreasonable to blame a jeweler
when a diamond falls out of your ring a year after you buy
it.
You
can expect rings with clusters of tiny diamonds to start losing
their stones a couple months after you buy them if you give
them a lot of everyday abuse such as knocking them on counters,
dishes, and furniture or wearing them in hot tubs where they
expand and then contract. Therefore, you should either reserve
such rings for special occasions or else have them frequently
checked.
A
ring is poorly polished or plated if.
The inside of the ring is rough and unpolished.
The outside of the ring has sharp and rough edges or points
that cut you or rip your clothing.
The metal securing your diamonds is polished away.
With the naked eye you can see silver-colored spots or lines
on the yellow-gold portion of the ring. This sometimes occurs
when rings are rhodium plated.
The ring looks obviously dull, old, or dirty, yet it's brand
new.
If you find a ring that is just what you want but that has
one of the above problems, ask to have it corrected and feel
confident that you are making a reasonable request.
Perhaps
you wish to go beyond spotting unacceptable work and would
like to recognize top-quality craftsmanship. While reading
the discussion of this in the next section, you should realize
that you may never find a ring that meets all of the criteria
outlined below. In fact, people that insist on these standards
of craftsmanship could be considered over-critical, unless
they are willing to pay premium prices.
Normal
for several
Patterns
are intentionally
Ring
that meets
Die-struck
mounting
Aesthetically
pleasing appearance
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