Ebay find..Is this an OEC? Circa....?

[septsparkle]

I recently lost my favorite diamond stud earrings. They were just .50 ctw but for me they were the perfect size for everyday wear and not a big monetary loss should I lose one, which did end up happening. I decided it would be fun to try to find some small omc or oec's in the .20-.30 ct range to put into earrings. So, I've been spending a lot of time scouring through auctions and came across this ring. The auction sold it as a "vintage" ring with a .25 ct old european cut diamond with I-J color and Si clarity. They also said it had not been cleaned or polished and could not have stressed that enough.

When it arrived it was filthy...there was literally pieces of dirt hanging from the pavilion of the diamond. Gross. So, out came a toothbrush and the US machine...after it was cleaned up, it's actually quite a pretty ring and the stone faces up quite white and clarity wise it looks great. My fiance and I used a 30X loupe and neither of us could find any inclusions. Perhaps they are hidden under a prong, or perhaps the seller just didn't have much information and viewed it when it was filthy. It's quite a little firecracker...and for a small stone it's very pretty. I'm growing quite fond of it.

Is this actually an OEC stone? I don't care all that much, I just want to be certain that's what it is so I can find a good match for it to make earrings with. Any idea about the setting? It's marked 14k COLUMBIA. It appears to be both white and yellow gold, or perhaps even platinum (is that possible?) as the top whiter portions of the setting are very, very scratched compared to the yellow gold counterparts.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the only photo from the auction:



Here it is after I cleaned it up:

 

[septsparkle]

More pics...

 

[septsparkle]

 

[septsparkle]

Okay, that's the last of the pics for now.

 

[KaeKae]

What a beautiful ring! Love the setting. As for the stone, I have no expertise, but I do think I see a smaller table...not sure about the faceting, and I don't see a culet, but I could be wrong. I do know it's beautiful and I'm sure another poster, who knows what she/he is talking about, will come along to help you out better. Congratulations on a lovely find, enjoy!

 

[kelpie]

Very pretty! It is def an OEC. Not sure from when, I wouldn't say it's very early because the symmetry looks good for an OEC.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Very pretty!

 

[septsparkle]

Thanks guys. It does have a culet, but it's a lot smaller then other stones I've seen. Though it's a small diamond so perhaps that's why. The symmetry does look good to me as well, so I wasn't even sure it if really was an OEC. On one side around the girdle that looks a little jagged and has a bit of a point to it, but otherwise perfectly round as far as I can tell.

I feel bad about taking the stone out of the setting though. I'm a modern, minimalist type so this typically isn't my style, but I find this setting sort of romantic and somewhat sweet. I bought the ring for the diamond so I could make earrings. I got it for a steal, so I figured I'd just scrap the gold, but I think I may have a hard time doing it.

 

[septsparkle]

I was able to blow up a few pics I took earlier so you can see the culet.

 

[diamondringlover]

That sure is pretty little ring, I really like that style, good find

 

[arjunajane]

ooohh sept it is just darling!
Both the diamond and the setting are lovely, its such a sweet ring
I can see from your most recent photos it is for sure an OEC, looks likely a later one or perhaps
even heading to transitional.

Do you still think you will dismantle the diamond from the ring? Please don't scrap
the setting if you do, it seems too nice for that.
(If it not your style, I bet you could get a much better price on ebay
than for scrap.)

Congrats on such a nice find!

 

[septsparkle]

Thanks, arjunajane!

I'm glad to hear it's definitely a later OEC. It sure is a pretty little stone. I think for now what I will do is see if I can find a pretty mate for the stone to make earrings. If i do...I'll cross that bridge of deciding whether to remove the stone from the setting then. I likely will try to find a good jeweler to remove the stone without damaging the setting and I promise not to scrap it now though, I had not realized it was going to be such a pretty setting. The picture on ebay didn't do it any justice and I'd feel really terrible doing that to it. It's not my style, but there is something quite charming about this ring.

The ring reminds me a little of my grandmothers setting from the late 30's which what I was estimating age wise as my best uneducated guess. Would you agree?

 

[sphenequeen]

That engagement ring is definitely reminiscent of wedding sets that were popular around the late 1930's - early 1940's when young couples were getting married and soldiers were going off to fight in WWII.

Very sweet. If you decide to use the diamond for a pair of earrings, perhaps you can sell the setting or put a colored stone in the center.

 

[LGK]

I'd call it a transitional cut, circa late '40s early '50s. Or even mid '50s. Two tone metal was huge then, as well as that style of illusion head. And the cut looks transitional to me, but leaning more towards the OEC side of things (visible, if small, culet, smallish table, but nice symm). It looks like it'll be a wee fireball

 

[septsparkle]

I haven't been on here in ages. I just was looking through old posts and saw these replies. They happened to be 2 days before my wedding so I am not surprised I missed them.

Thought it would be fun to report back that this sweet little ring is still sitting comfy in my jewelry box. I didn't have the heart to dismantle it yet. I really would love to use the little stone, but for some reason I feel mean doing so. So....there she sits...nice and clean, and comfy, for now.

 

[innerkitten]

Sure looks like it with the culet at the bottom and the high top.