Not All Tension-Set Jewelry is Created Equally

The first tension ring, called the Niessing Spannring, was created in 1979 by the German company Niessing. However, the general concept of tension settings has been around for more than 40 years as it was developed in the late 1960s by a Niessing employee named Friedrich Becker. The original tension ring designs were very bulky in order to provide the strength to maintain sufficient pressure on the suspended stone. These early rings are so bulky that they resemble a solid metal inner tube wrapped around the finger. Steven Kretchmer was the first American adoptee of this design, and perfected the work hardening process that allowed his ring designs to be less heavy than the Niessing originals without sacrificing strength. Other ring designers followed Kretchmer's adaptations.

The traditional channel set wedding, engagement and fashion
rings created with a process called tension setting have started to become popular in recent years. Tension-set jewelry have a stone (typically a diamond,
although tension setting can be used with any precious gem) that is set in an
opening in the ring itself and held by tension of the open ends of the ring
pressing against the stone. Impacted by unusual force, a prong-mounted stone
can shift and loosen when the prongs bend, but a tension-set stone is held by
pressure, secured into its seat by specially heat-treated precious metal
alloys, and needs no routine tightening or maintenance. This design is not the
same for all designers and while jewelers agree that there are both positive
and negative aspects to choosing tension set rings, your selection should be
guided by the reputation and reliability of the designer and the advice of a
jeweler you trust.  We strongly recommend Steven Kretchmer who holds twelve U.S patents for tension set technology. 

Tension-set rings are beautiful. Because the design is so unique, your tension-set wedding or engagement ring will definitely draw people’s attention. The rings are available in all the typical styles one would expect, including rings of gold, platinum, titanium, and white gold, but the tension setting gives them a stylized and modernistic look that a traditional channel set rings are simply not capable. People will examine the ring up close and, if they’ve never seen a tension setting before, will wonder how in the world that stone stays in place. You’ll find that your tension set wedding ring will be a topic of conversation at many a social gathering.

Accoding to stevenkretchmer.com, “with a tension-set by Kretchmer, the strength of the entire setting itself secures the stone in place by a compression force of 12,000 pounds per square inch, not just with wires as in prong settings. This type of mounting also exposes the gemstone to more light, and brings out the brilliance and colors that are often hidden by prongs or bezels.”

This compression force is the key factor and difference when choosing tension set jewelry. Many jewelers attempt to imitate the look our work, but a tension setting done by any other American company risks the security of your stone. It is difficult for a jeweler to effectively resize a tension set ring of any kind. The process of resizing a ring actually alters the shape and thickness of the metal and this will cause a change in the amount of tension holding the stone in place. This is particularly troubling for someone with a tension set wedding ring, since the ring is meant to be worn forever. As a person ages, their body changes so, even someone who doesn’t gain or lose weight over the years (and that’s a scant few of us) will still likely have a different ring size when he or she reaches the age of fifty than he or she did at age twenty five.  Kretchmer takes this in consideration and because of their expertise a resizing is possible without compromising the quality and safety of your ring. 

Michael Fischer is the owner of Prime Time Fine Jewelry located in Solana Beach. For more information, please call, 858. 259.1819 or send an email to info@primetimefinejewelry.com.