One of the most important differences between 4 and 6 prong rings is in their appearance.
If you are more concerned about how much of your gemstone will be visible, getting a four-prong ring is one option. A ring with four prongs leaves a bigger part of the gemstone mounted therefore it is more visible. If you have a diamond set in your ring, the fewer prongs it has, the more the stone will show. Four-prong rings also make diamonds look bigger. Six-prong rings, on the other hand, make a stone look small as more of its surface is covered by the prongs and block more of the stone, however as the stone reach proportions of typically large then 1.50 carats it would be prudent to consider a setting with six prongs.
Six prongs setting can be harder to clean at home especially the lower part where dirt tends to accumulate, however at José & Co. we use our ultra-sonic cleaner, high pressure steam for fantastic results on any setting.
Four prong settings are less safe because prongs wear down with time, they can bend or break. With six prongs, if one breaks you have more prongs left to hold your stone in place until it gets repaired. With only four prongs you are a higher risk of your stone coming loose and fallout out.
Six prongs offer better protection from accidental hits. Since a stone mounted in such a mounting is covered by more prongs, the gemstones is at a lower risk of chipping or breaking if you accidentally bump your ring which odes happen more often than we notice.
If you want the best of both worlds and have a mounting that makes your stone more visible while being safe, consider a four-prong setting made of platinum.
This metal is very durable and wears a lot more slowly than gold or silver, so you won’t have to worry as much about bent or broken prongs.
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