Sometimes one or more prongs in a ring or other piece of fine jewelry will be damaged or worn to the point that they need to be replaced. This is a highly technical process, and it's one that our experts have extensive experience in. We'll replace as many prongs as necessary to ensure the integrity of your piece and the security of your gemstones, and we'll return it to you as good as new.
While every repair job will involve a slightly different set of challenges, we follow the same general process steps for each piece in order to ensure the highest quality of work every time.
In general, damage or excessive wear on the prongs in your jewelry will require either re-tipping or replacement. There are various factors that will influence the decision about whether to re-tip or replace, and our experts can help you make that determination based on knowledge accumulated through their many years of experience with this type of work.
Re-tipping is generally best in cases where the prong has been worn down through years of regular wear until it isn't thick enough to perform its required functions anymore. Replacement is required when damage has been done that compromises the integrity of the setting and the security of the stone.
Because many gemstones can be damaged by exposure to heat, we use highly focused lasers to complete all steps in the prong replacement process. This allows us to direct the heat precisely where it's needed, while avoiding damage to gemstones or other features of the piece.
When we say we'll return your item to you as good as new, we mean it. So once we're finished with prong replacement, we'll also re-plate your piece if necessary, and we'll then refinish it to restore its original look completely.
My fiancé and I (both women) wanted to get coordinating, but not matching, engagement rings, and we chose to work with Joseph Jewelry based on their stellar reviews and reputation for custom rings. We could not have been happier with our decision! From our first conversation with Erich in the Bellevue store, everyone we worked with was enthusiastic, respectful of our budget, responsive, and patient throughout the design process. After sketching up some initial designs for us based on what we liked in the store and online, we kicked off simultaneous design processes for both our rings. From our initial meeting to having the rings in hand was rough 4-5 months, which was perfect for us and mostly based on our laidback response timeline during the design process (e.g. occasionally we'd take nearly week to respond to questions or updates mockups), so I think it could have been faster if we'd wanted. The design team was very patient with our repeated minor tweaks, and they were great at refining the design (eg at one point I thought the prongs looked "too antler-y" and they understood what I meant and changed the design perfectly). I appreciated the team's excitement about designing both rings together, and as someone who struggles to be decisive, I enjoyed the process much more than I expected. Overall, I would highly recommend the Joseph Jewelry team!
