Movado Tension rings

Hi,

I was wondering about what people's opinion is with Movado tension
rings. My concerns are as followed:

1. How well are they constructed, since metal alloys have a large
effect on duability on a tension set ring. Am I for example better off
buying a ring from Steven Kretchmer designs?

2. How durable is the tension set in general. I worry about the diamond
being hit on the side.

3. What about resizing, are tension rings hard to resize?


Paul

On Tue, 06 Dec 2005 07:56:33 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry
wrote:

Hi,

I was wondering about what people's opinion is with Movado tension
rings. My concerns are as followed:

1. How well are they constructed, since metal alloys have a large
effect on duability on a tension set ring. Am I for example better off
buying a ring from Steven Kretchmer designs?

Possibly. Steven has several patents on, in particular, alloy systems and
treatments that allow a tension ring to work really well. His versions of this
(he was one of the pioneers in the development of the idea, though not the
first. Many of the tension sets on the market are cheap knockoffs of hisideas,
often made without a proper understanding of why they can work so well, and
those, DON'T hold up. Movado is certainly big enough and technical enough to be
able to get it right. Whether they do, is something else again. Steven's
tension sets, on the other hand, have a well deserved reputation as one of the
most secure settings you can get. With a price, of course, to match the
quality.


2. How durable is the tension set in general. I worry about the diamond
being hit on the side.

Most well made tension sets have a shank that's wide enough to protect the
girdle of the diamond from most impact. You can still chip a diamond, but this
is likely true of any setting. The actual security of the diamond in the
setting is another matter. If the ring is properly made, like Steven's, the
stone is very secure.


3. What about resizing, are tension rings hard to resize?

Yes. it has to be done in a manner that totally preserves the proper tension
and temper in the metal. To do it well, it's best to return these to the
manufacturer for any service work beyond cleaning, etc., and sizing theseis not
a trivial quick task. Any jeweler, even an experienced well equipped one, who
thinks they can do it for you, may be suffering from naivite'. Send themback.
The bottom line with these is get the ring size right the first time.

Peter