why did my diamond fall out?

I don't hear that question that often... but I used to a great deal more when I worked for jewelers doing repairs. But I did a repair / stone replacement for a co-worker of my sister... a favor to my sister.

So... why did the stone fall out? Here are a few photos... let's see if we can figure it out.


Issue 1... well, maybe the client should had gotten the prongs checked every few years or so... not wait 40 years. There is no metal left to the prongs. This original head was a heavy tapered leg Tiffany head... very very heavy, very thick metal prongs.

Issue 2... well, because the prongs are so thing, notice how they are kicked out on one side... the prongs probably caught onto something and easily pulled open to release the stone.

Issue 3... this is my favorite. Do you see that grayish white area at the base of the prongs? I thought it was gross built up dirt and hand cream and stuff... but no, it wouldn't clean out. So what could it be??? SUPER GLUE??? Oh yes... the client probably saw that the stone was wiggly (loose) and thought that a little dab 'ill do ya... e voile... no more loose stone. Unfortunately, it would only hold for so long.

So... these 3 issues... along with whatever else happened to it in the past 40 years... caused the stone to fall out.

It's kinda fun playing jewelry CSI!

DON'T FORGET... ONLY A COUPLE OF DAYS LEFT FOR THE BLOG SALE BEFORE IT'S ALL GETTING MELTED DOWN!!!