Repairing Ring Prongs: Prong Retipping vs. Prong Rebuilding

If you’ve looked down at your hands and noticed your ring’s prongs are damaged, chances are you’re searching for a way to get it repaired. After all, the setting of your ring is important because it holds in your stone, and if it’s damaged there’s a risk of the stone falling out. Before you get started on your repair, however, you need to determine which service is best for your needs. Read on to learn more about repairing ring prongs.

What are Prongs?

While you already know that these little bits of metal function to hold in your stone, they come in different shapes and sizes. Typical ring prongs are long, stick-like bits, while others may come in the form of decorative shapes or little beads. Knowing what your prong is like will help you determine the repair you need.

Prong Retipping

This ring needed a prong retipping. Note how the prongs are intact but short.

Prong retipping is a common service used for repairing ring prongs that are not entirely missing. For example, if your ring’s prong is still mostly intact, but not covering the stone, you’ll need to have it retipped. The jeweler simply adds more metal to the existing prong to ensure that it’s doing its job to hold your stone in place. 

Prong Rebuilding

This ring needed prongs to be rebuilt as they were completely missing.

Prong rebuilding is used for replacing prongs that are entirely missing. To do this, the jeweler applies a new piece of metal and attaches it to the base of the setting, shaping it and ensuring that it fits over the surface of the stone to firmly hold it in.  

Assessing Which Repair You Need

Now that you understand what constitutes prong retipping and prong rebuilding, it’s important to look at your item and identify what needs to be done. If the prong is mostly intact, you’ll need prong retipping. If the prong is completely gone, you’ll need prong rebuilding. 

It should be noted that some settings are near-impossible to repair without modification, and even then the integrity of the item will not be the same. This is common with rings that have extremely worn down settings for pave side stones. You may have to deal with the ring looking visually different, or wear it very carefully to avoid knocking the stones out.

Cost and Turnaround Time

Prong rebuilding and retipping starts at $24 and up, depending on the material and the number of prongs needed. The turnaround time is quite fast, at around 1-2 days. For items made from stainless steel, turnaround time is around 3-5 days due to the nature of the metal. 

Now you’re all set on repairing ring prongs! If you’re in need of prong retipping or prong rebuilding, let us know in the comments below.