We’re obsessed with durable engagement rings here at Hera. It’s easy to get excited about the fun stuff like design when choosing an engagement ring, but if the ring isn’t built to last, there’s likely to be some heartache and disappointment down the road. That said, all fine jewelry is delicate, and any engagement ring - even ours! - can be damaged.
It can be really stressful to see damage on your engagement ring. Our clients often aren’t even sure where the damage came from. When that happens it can feel like the damage happened spontaneously, out of nowhere - and then it’s easy to worry that there’s a serious problem with the integrity of your ring. That’s not really possible, though. Damage on an engagement ring is a lot like getting a bruise: it’s easy to bruise yourself, sometimes so easy that you often can’t even remember doing it, but the initial impact still had to happen.
Here are some of the most common ways that people damage their engagement ring. Please note that all of our advice assumes that your ring was built to last in the first place.
Missing pavé
Pavé settings are delicate by nature, especially French pavé or other setting styles with very minimal metal around the stones. The prongs holding in these little stones are less than a millimeter wide, and they loosen over time. It’s normal to occasionally lose diamonds out of a pavé band; it doesn’t mean that there’s a problem with the structural integrity of your ring. You are more likely to lose stones like this after an impact to the bottom of the ring from something like a fall or lifting heavy objects while wearing it; oftentimes when we get a ring back for repair because of a missing pavé stone, the bottom of the band is a little flattened out. Frequent use of ultrasonic cleaners is another common way people lose pavé diamonds.
Bent basket or head
This type of damage is normally caused by snagging - for example, getting the ring caught on a cabinet hinge and pulling, or wrapping something like a dog leash or a blind cord around your fist and then pulling. Even well-built rings can bend with force; gold is soft, and that’s just the nature of the material. We recommend a cathedral setting or an integrated basket to minimize the chances of a bent head. Peg heads like our Jackson ring, and floating galleries like our Carolina ring, are more likely to bend. We’ve only seen this happen a couple of times on our rings because we design them thoughtfully and with a good amount of gold weight, but it isn’t impossible!
Loose center stone
If a loose center stone happens right away, it’s probably because the stone wasn’t properly secured in its setting. It could be a serious problem like an improperly cut seat, or it could just be that the prongs weren’t tightened enough initially and that’s an easy fix. Sometimes prong or even bezel set rings can get loose because of impact to the ring - anything from a fall to a snagged basket to ocean waves. However, over time, all prong set engagement rings will loosen. As you wear your ring, it receives tiny micro hits to the bottom all day long, reverberating up your ring to loosen the prongs on the basket. That’s why we recommend having the prongs checked on your engagement ring every year.
If you notice the stone in your engagement ring rattling around in its setting, stop wearing it immediately and take it to a jeweler for inspection. If you keep wearing it, the problem will get worse and the stone might fall out!
Black spots on your gold ring
This is most commonly due to tarnishing, or a substance adhering to your ring and oxidizing. When people see black spots on their ring, they often worry that the ring wasn’t made out of solid gold, but that isn’t necessarily true! While pure gold cannot tarnish, the alloyed metals in 14K or 18K gold certainly can. It’s quite rare for a 14K gold ring to tarnish, but exposure to chemicals can create this reaction. If you see black spots on your engagement ring, contact your jeweler. They can take a look and give you more information on what’s going on.
