how old is my tiffany ring? Is it fake??!!!

[robert farrant]

I have the following Tiffany ring:
TIFFANY & CO. Platinum .53ct Diamond Engagement Ring. The Stone is a Round Cut .53ct E color, VS1. Tiffany rings are now stamped with an individual number, this one is not.......
The ring is signed "Tiffany & Co." and stamped "PT950." but no individual number......
I believe tiffany have not always stamped an individual number....so HOW OLD IS MY RING!!!! IS THIS A PROBLEM??!!
HAS ANYONE ELSE SEEN A DIAMOND TIFFANY RING ONLY STAMPED WITH "TIFFANY & CO PT950"???
I have none of the original paperwoirk/certificates. but the diamond has been removed to allow for a GIA certificate so I know the diamond is OK
PLEASE HELP!! WITH THANKS.

rob

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[belle]

how long have you had the ring and where did you aquire it from?

 

[MissAva]

How old is your ring? I would contact Tiffanys what is the GIA number from your stone? They ought to be able to tell you if it went to Tiffanys.

 

[jewelryjunkie]

The only way to know if it''s fake is to take it to Tiffany''s and have it evaluated.

But there are a couple of things in your post that seem to make the diamond''s authenticity questionable, but not necesarily the setting''s authenticity.

I could be wrong but I don''t believe that Tiffany & Co ever sets a round stone in the Lucida setting. I think they only set a Lucida stone in the Lucida setting.

I bought a Tiffany & Co ring second hand from Signed Pieces.com and when I took it to Tiffany''s to make sure it was authentic they specifically looked for the ID# on the setting. They said it was so they could verify the authenticity of the diamond. I do think that each Tiffany e-ring has an individual ID number so they can dectect if the diamond has been switched out. And Tiffany doesn''t supply a GIA report for stones under 1 carat, but there is always a Tiffany certificate with every e-ring.

I''ve heard that sometimes with a Tiffany ring the original stone removed and a different stone put in and it will then be resold as a Tiffany ring. In that situation, technically the setting is Tiffany''s but not the stone. But since Tiffany stones are not the best stones on the market, it might not be a bad thing to have a Tiffany setting and not a Tiffany diamond. Unless you paid significantly more for the stone thinking it was a Tiffany stone.

I hope for your sake your ring is exactly what you want it to be and that you love it for it''s beauty, not it''s brand, as all diamond rings should be loved.

 

[pad3006]

that sounds fishy to me too, I am almost positive that the only stone that goes into a lucida setting is the lucida stone.
but yeah I would take it to tiffanys, and they can tell you if it is there or not, you may have to wait for it but I am not sure what is the closest tiffanys to you and what facilities they have there, good luck

Phil

 

[MrsFrk]

Every Tiffany ring I''ve ever seen has the carat weight of the center stone engraved inside the band.
I also thought that only the Lucida cut was mounted in the Lucida setting.
Smells possibly fishy. Check it out.

 

[diagem]

The Lucida by Tiffany & Co. is the combination of the Tiffany Lucida patented diamond and the Lucida mounting.

If you have a round shape diamond instead of the Lucida, it is sure that somewhere along since September 1999 the diamond has been changed!!!

 

[robert farrant]

thanks julia & all others that have replied. Firstly i made a mistake, as you can see i''m new to this!!!

It is NOT a luicida ring but a classic tiffany setting....ooops, sorry all.

I got the ring from a jewlers in CT he got it with no paperwork & so took the stone out to allow a GIA cert to be done for it, so I have NO worries about the quality of the diamond...that is certified, it''s the band i''m concerned about, have tiffany sold the classic ring without individual numbers on??? I think they used to, but has anyone seen them??

 

[valeria101]

There are tons of copies out there, some startingly close to the original. The lack of marks would make me think this is what you have got. I do not know if these rings were sold without the Tiffany mark ever, but one from 1910 I have seen surely carried the Tiffany&Co mark inside the shank. So age des not explain that.

Now, if the ring looks like Tiffany's and you paid a fair price, why does it matter who made it? It is unpleasant that the thing has been sold with you with the claim of being a 'signed piece' when this is not the case. But... in the end the ring itself is what matters.

If the mark does matter allot, do you have the option to return that one and find a Tiffany ring papers & all ?

The current marks on these rings look like this:

Both pictures come from Signedpieces.com a shop that sells estate signed pieces of current popular brands... including Tiffany.

 

[robert farrant]

Hi valeria101, thanks, the photo you have: is it only marked with Tiffany & co pt950" or is there a numbered id as well?? I cant make it out.....

My ring is marked "tiffany & co PT950" only.......... are you saying this in itself is not suspect??
rob

 

[MissAva]

It is likely that the other side of the band has the number. On my mothers her id number for the ring&stone is on one side and the Tiffany and Co stamp and plat stamp on the other. And I am 100% sure it is real Tiffany and Co since I got to go with my father to pick it out for their 20th Wedding Anniversry.

Another poster mentioned about the ones under a carat not having GIA certs. I have never seen one that small so I dont know, perhaps the smaller ones dont have numbers on the inside although that strikes me as odd. Why dont you just call Tiffanys and ask them?
Also the fact that the jewler took out a stone and put a stone back into the setting would make me feel a bit weird. JMO.

 

[valeria101]

Arrgh... yeah, I see what you mean. The pictures miss something - serial number & diamond weight are engraved on the opposite side inside the shank. The thing looks like this:

 

[valeria101]

The same ring also has the usual hallmark:

This one has a 0.31 carat diamond... so it is stamped with the .31 (in the picture above) after the serial number which should also appear on the certificate.

 

[robert farrant]

Thanks loads VALERIA101

 

[fire&ice]

Call Tiffany & Co. and ask when they started to stamp the carat weight, etc on the shank. In the back of my mind, I don''t think it was from their inception. I believe they have an archives department. This should answer your question.

That said, many many fakes exist. Also, your jeweler should suppy you with some sort of history of provenance.

Hope it turns out to be your heart''s desire!

 

[TimeTraveller]

Tiffany supplies GIA reports with their diamonds? I was under the impression that Tiffany has their *own* diamond grading lab and that their diamonds come with their own grading reports. I''ve even went to Tiffany''s and looked at 1ct+ size diamonds and asked to see the grading reports for the diamonds and they gave me their own grading reports. They didn''t produce any GIA reports.

Can someone verify that indeed Tiffany offers both a GIA and their own diamond lab report for diamonds 1ct and above? This is news to me.

 

[rainbow]

Hello Time Traveller,

If you re-read pooperboy''s post you will see that the GIA report did not come with the Tiffany ring but was organised by the jeweller at a later date.

 

[JulieN]

"At Tiffany, every diamond engagement ring we sell is accompanied by a special Tiffany certificate that inclues the exact measurements of your stone, as well as the clarity, color, and carat weight. Diamonds in excess of one carat, or .50 to one carat if the stone is graded D or IF, are accompanied by an independent laboratory report from the Gemological Institute of America."

 

[TimeTraveller]

Date: 8/25/2005 1:38:52 AM
Author: JulieN
''At Tiffany, every diamond engagement ring we sell is accompanied by a special Tiffany certificate that inclues the exact measurements of your stone, as well as the clarity, color, and carat weight. Diamonds in excess of one carat, or .50 to one carat if the stone is graded D or IF, are accompanied by an independent laboratory report from the Gemological Institute of America.''

Interesting... Thanks JulieN... I learned something new today.

 

[oldminer]

The two photos posted by Valeria101 look like a real Tiffany PT950 stamping and an aftermarket, machine engraved serial number and weight that anyone, anywhere could have put into the ring. I doubt Tiffany would ever use such a crude way of inscribing their own product.

Lots of old Tiffany & Co mountings are out there in the secondary market just wating for dealers to set a diamond into them and shout "TIFFANY & CO" until someone naive buys it. No doubt, the stamp inside the ring adds a lot of excitement, but many TCO items are not totally authentic in the second hand marketplace. Some are outright counterfeits, too.

Unless the item is truly superb and special, having the TCO stamp is all well and good, but paying a lot for it when you are uncertain of the actual origin is not something I''d recommend.