Diamond Filigree Pendant?

[reena]

i spent a few hours browsing through the antique shops in the diamond district today in my quest to find a pretty diamond pendant. (yeah, i know, it''s the holiday season and i should really be focusing on shopping for others. soon. i swear.)

i found one pendant that i love but i can''t decide whether or not it''s a reasonable buy. it''s a reproduction antique filigree pendant in white gold with 1.12 carats of diamonds (supposedly G/H, SI1). i tried in vain to find something similar online to show you guys but i couldn''t. the pendant is a bit bigger than my thumbnail (so it''s pretty delicate, which i love) and the shape of it is similar to that of the top two pendants shown below. the filigree design looks nothing like those, though; it looks more like the design on the third pendant. (sort of.) in addition to having teensy melee throughout, there is a cluster of slightly larger stones in the center. (as a side note, does it seem possible that the carat weight could really be as advertised on a pendant that small? most of the other pendants i looked at were in the .20-.30 range. maybe that''s what made this one so sparkly--less metal and more diamonds?)

the pendant is beautiful, but the price is $800. (i think i could probably get her down to $650-$700, but not much more than that as the price tag said $1500 and her offer before the $800 was $1000.) i can''t decide whether that''s fair or not. any opinions? also, i can''t decide whether i should be concerned about buying from some random place in the diamond district. it''s not an e-ring, to be sure, but it''s still a substantial amount of money. on the other hand, i can''t exactly get reproduction antique jewelry from the pricescope vendors, so ...

help?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/2/2004 7:28:24 PM
Author:reena

can''t exactly get reproduction antique jewelry from the pricescope vendors, so ...

I wouldn''t be so sure... for example, the last one you posted is from Stuller''s catalog of finished jewelry!

(link)

This is part of a set... didn''t browse the entire site for more filigree stuff but there is more.

 

[reena]

wow ana, thanks! (i was hoping you would respond.) i''m going to check that out. i find that it''s tough to pick out a pendant without seeing it in person, though.

any opinions on the price of the pendant i described?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

If you like the pendant and it has nicely cut diamonds then for $600, I'd say you're getting a good buy. Fifteen hundred is waaaay too much and for even 850, the price seems a bit steep. I think internet shopping has sort of twisted my prospective on what a fair price is. Before I'd have thought that the 800s range would be an excellent price.

Just be sure the seller has a cash back 30-day return policy so that if you later decide that you want something else (or find a comparable item elsewhere), you can return and get your $ back.

Edited to add: if the pendant truely is amazing and you LOVE it, then ignore the price to a certain extent (as long as it doesn't cause you/your SO to bounce checks), since you never know how long it'll be until you find another great necklace

 

[reena]

yeah, it seemed like an okay deal to me, especially considering that i saw similar pendants with .20-.30 TCW and they ran from about $300-$550. so, 1.12 TCW for $800 (or even better for $700) seemed fair. (the roberto coin star pendant we both love is $360 and it is 0.09 TCW!)

but then again, what the heck do i know?

very luckily for me i ran into mark (from engagementringsdirect, from whom i bought my e-ring stone) while i was looking at the pendant (he is also located in the diamond district) ... i expressed these same concerns to him and he later called and offered to go back and take a closer look at it for me tomorrow to see whether he thinks it's good quality and a fair price. isn't that unbelievably nice of him? i couldn't believe it. mark's a real class act.

 

[valeria101]

Not sure what to say about price: if that total carat weight is made of ''couple pointers cast in place... what do I know ?

One thing seems clear: to get a filigree pendant relatively as nicely made among its peers as your ring is among others, it''ll be quite a hunt! I don''t even know who makes such things in platinum...

 

[reena]

thank you for the compliment ana--that means a lot coming from you!

anyway i know it doesn''t make as sense to be as obsessive as i was about my e-ring with every little jewelry purchase--so i sort of feel like, if i love the way it looks and the price seems good, then i should just relax about the rest. right?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/2/2004 90:26 PM
Author: reena
if i love the way it looks and the price seems good, then i should just relax about the rest; right?

Sure m''am!

i surely didn''t mean otherwise.

 

[reena]

oh no, you misunderstand--i didn''t think you meant otherwise. it''s me--i tend to overanalyze everything to the point of paralysis!

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/2/2004 9:25:46 PM
Author: reena
it''s me--i tend to overanalyze everything to the point of paralysis!

tell me about it....

I can''t believe they were asking 1.5k or so for Stuller''s! (and perhaps not all talk prices down) Then... how much should be this:

No wonder hand made filigree is dead...

 

[reena]

1.5k! wow! i didnt notice that. is it in platinum?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Wow, that is a killer pin!!!

Reena,
I called BBB to see if they have the star pendant in stock and the lady I spoke with kept over emphasizing how small it is (1/4 inch from point to point!!!). Maybe she was just trying to convince me prior to going in that I should spend more for the bigger TCW pendants.

You''ve probably got a much better deal in the filigree necklace, plus the style is unique and not trendy so you can wear it for years! Just get it and enjoy it.

 

[reena]

that''s what im thinking too. now the trick is to convince the FI (you may recall that my original budget was $500-$600)...

maybe i can talk the seller down to $650.

 

[Hest88]

Those are really lovely, Reena! What good taste you have!

 

[Bikergirl]

The (original) inflated price might have more to do with being located in an antique store than with the actual tcw of the pendant.

My MIL owned an antique store for close to 20 years. My DH, although certainly not an expert on antiques, did most of her research/locating/purchasing for her shop for about 15 or those 20 years.

I''ve heard some pretty crazy things about antiques....but that''s a different subject.

I would say that $650-$700 is probably reasonable, if you love the pendant. Don''t let them try to convice you that it''s more valuable because of providence - ex. because it belonged to the first cousin of the Queen of England...or something equally crazy. But if she''s willing to negotiate, and you can get the price down to what you can afford - I would go for it!

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 12/3/2004 1:45:32 PM
Author: Bikergirl

My MIL owned an antique store for close to 20 years. My DH, although certainly not an expert on antiques, did most of her research/locating/purchasing for her shop for about 15 or those 20 years.

HI:

I absolutely love filigree work--those pendants and that pin Ana posted are to die for. Hope you are successful in your bargaining Reena.

BTW Bikergirl: with your "family" in the business, did you ever receive/buy any cool antique stuff?

cheers--Sharon

 

[reena]

thanks hest! i think you and i have very similar taste.

actually the actual pendant is about five times prettier than those (at least IMO) but i couldn''t find anything similar anywhere online.

and bikergirl i think you''re probably right--just calling things "antique" (even here where it''s a reproduction) carries a premium.

so here''s an update. mark (the saint that he is

) went to see the pendant for me today. apparently the carat weight on the tag was an error--the pendant has matching earrings and those are 1.12 TCW, but the pendant itself is only half that, about 0.60. i kind of figured that the 1.12 might be wrong, and actually, funny enough i feel better that it''s only .60--because $800 for 1.12 tcw of diamonds actually struck me as being oddly cheap. i was worried that something was fishy. the woman has agreed to go down to $700, but that''s her bottom line i think. mark thinks that the pendant is of reasonably good quality, and that the price is fair for what i''d be getting, so that makes me feel better. (thank god for him.)

now i just have to decide what to do. maybe i''ll go back and see it again this afternoon.

 

[Bikergirl]

Yes, the new tcw does sound a little more in line with the price!

A thought....don''t know how close you are to your family to be, but.... My MIL was completely at a loss as to what to get me as a wedding gift. I married her only son, and she was TOTALLY stressed about getting off on the "right foot" so to speak. BUT, seeing as how her husband passed away, oh, 17 years ago and she is on a VERY limited income, she really didn''t know what to do.

She actually approached me and asked what I might like as a gift. I thought about it for a very long time, and asked if she would consider "handing down" something from her shop (she sold most of her items when she closed the doors, but kept several of the more delicate and/or more valuable items for herself). Skip ahead, skip ahead... as my wedding gift, I was given something old and something blue - a GORGEOUS rhr made of white gold, round (old miner''s cut) center stone of aquamarine, about .5 carat, with three diamond chips set into the band on either side. Circa approximately 1930 or 1931. She offered to have it sized for me (was too big). So her "cost" for my wedding gift was the charge for the sizing, plus the decrease in value of her estate. She was happy she was able to give me something significant, and I was happy to get the jewelry, and we were all happy that we worked within given constraints.

Didn''t mean to make this all about me, but I guess the point here is that if someone close to you has hinted about getting a gift for the wedding, maybe they would like to contribute to the "pendant fund" and supply jewelry for the big day?


Different subject - yes, our house is FULL of antiques! Stuff from all over the world. Furniture, jewelry, knick-knacks, picture frames...we have some very unique stuff, too....such as a life-size idol taken from an Oriental temple. Still smells like incense. Not sure how my DH acquired it, but I know at one point it was in a traveling exhibit that made it''s way across the US. We also have things like authentic ceremonial masks from Africa, circa late 1700''s. A "wedding chest" from China, circa early 1800''s (that was actually our wedding present to ourselves. We just bought a house and are looking for furniture to fill it up. We found that at an incredible discount from a dealer who is going out of business. We knew it would look beautiful in our bedroom and couldn''t pass it up!). Anyway, we have TONS of antique items. Our design taste is very clean and modern, but the antiques also make it very eclectic. Looks great together!

 

[reena]

wow bikergirl--i really love antiques. i''m going to have to come over for a visit!

it''s funny that you mentioned the pendant as a wedding gift because a woman in the store actually asked me if i was buying it to wear on my wedding day. i thought that was pretty cool and that it spoke volumes about the piece, too. the only problem with making the pendant a wedding gift is that we haven''t even set a date yet, and it probably won''t be for 1.5-2 years ... lol!

i would love to see pictures of your RHR. it sounds exquisite, and i love that it has such a sweet story behind it, too.

 

[moremoremore]

Do it. Do it.

(anyone remember the SNL devil played by John Luvitz? Do it. Do it.)

 

[reena]

lol, and more recently ben stiller''s character in starsky and hutch i think? DOOOOO IT. DOOOOO IT.

unfortunately it''s not up to me, it''s up to my poor put-upon sweetie, who is still in the process of paying off my e-ring. i''m thinking i might need to back off, at least for one holiday.

(maybe)

 

[Bikergirl]

You can visit any time! We''re in Dallas. Send me a PM if you''re ever headed this way! We have a spare bedroom (complete with it''s own bath). Just give me enough advance notice to get rid of all the dust!

My camera is currently kaput. Which is why I still haven''t posted pics of my ering and/or wedding band (I know...I''ve been married an entire month now! I''m so far behind!). If you want to see something similar, do a search for Eduardian style settings. Will give you a general idea.

Date? Oh, I didn''t realize you had to set one of those before asking for gifts.

As for the pendant....why leave it up to your sweetie? Don''t tell me that an outstanding attorney such as yourself accepted an offer without a sign-on bonus?!?

That''s inconceivable!

Disclaimer: I''m the accountant for a litigation firm here in Dallas.....

 

[Bikergirl]

Moremoremore, I love that! I''m laughing at my screen, and one of our staff just walked by and did a double-take. Oops...back to work now!