Another Tension Set Question...

[PaulD]

I am interested in purchasing a tension set ring, however, my jeweler, who I have a very long standing relationship with and I trust, does not endorse them. She said that they're often at risk of losing the stone, but that she would make me one if I wanted. I talked another jeweler who sells this type of ring, and she said she has never had a problem, but I don't really know if I can trust her, because of some other things she said and because of her hard sell tactics. I've done some other research online, but I haven’t been able to find much in the way of impartial data. Therefore, my questions are: (1) what's your overall opinion of the tension set rings? (2) Since my jeweler does not generally deal with this type of ring, I think it would be a mistake to have them make one, do you agree? (3) Are there any other resources that you can refer me to that might speak more about this topic? Thanks!

[Yosef]

Tension Rings are very reliable if made by a competent jeweler. And when I say competent jewelry, I don't mean your jeweler :) I'm not saying his work is bad, but honestly the best "jack of all trades" jewelers can not make tension rings reliably.

There are only a handful of designers who specialize in these settings. It's a complicated process that requires careful measurement and calculations, special alloys, work hardening and heat treatment processes for added strength, etc. My uncle is a fabulous jeweler, and I would have him repair just about anything, but I would never in a million years let him touch a tension ring.

Currently the best designers out there specializing in these are Niessing, Gelin Abaci, Danhov and Steven Kretchmer. We carry Danhov and have had great success with their tension rings. We can also get any Gelin Abaci ring if our customer requests it. Danhov makes custom order tension rings as well.

Best Regards,
Yosef

[timsharpe]

Apparently setting a diamond by tension alone is quite the craft; the jeweler has to be incredibly skilled, because if they set the stone with too much tension, it can crack, and if there’s not enough tension, that tiny little gem could be lost forever.