When people say the diamonds or other gemstones in their ring are prong set, they are talking about the way these stones are connected to the piece of jewellery. Prongs are metal wires, mostly made out of gold or platinum, that a goldsmith bends around the stone to secure it.
This brilliant cut diamond is secured with eight prongs as you can see on the picture.
Contradiction to a bezel setting that hides parts of the stone because it’s a metal strip that surrounds the stone to keep it in its place, a prong setting makes sure that as much light as possible can hit the stone and set it on fire. (As we don’t say a diamond shines, it burns)
On this picture we see a solitaire ring that secures its beautiful diamond with four prongs. this is a traditional number just like six. Although it is certainly not uncommon for the maker of a jewel to opt for more or fewer prongs. This way he or she can give a jewel a specific look or just make sure that the prongs stand out less. In other words a prong setting can happen with as many prongs as the client or goldsmith wishes. It’s a way to give a ring something extra next to the ability of connecting. As you can see in all these pictures.
The diamonds in this star pendant, are each set with three prongs. The emerald in the center is set with six. As you can see, these stones are differently accented by using a different quantity of prongs. This pendant would look different if for example the emerald in the middle was also set with three prongs. We like the balance the goldsmith created by using a different quantity.
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