Newbie needing help

[HenryD]

Hi everyone,

I am new here and pretty clueless about a few things. Please help me

Is it possible to transform a wedding band into an engagement ring? My girlfriend really wants a Harry Winston ring but it's a little too expensive for us. So we were thinking of purchasing a wedding band and bring it to a custom jeweler to add a yellow diamond and two little diamonds on each side. The idea is to use the Harry Winston wedding band as a setting and then add the three stones separately so it looks like an engagement ring.

Could I use this ring as a setting for example: http://www.harrywinston.com/store/engagement/wedding-bands/products/round-brilliant-single-diamond-wedding-band

Ideally, I would have preferred a plain band but I can't find any on the Harry Winston website. Can the jeweler remove that small stone that we see on the ring in the picture?

Please help me and let me know if you need any clarification? Hope my message was clear enough.

Many thanks in advance!!!!

 

[MarionC]

You could do that [remove stone, have diamonds added].
But it seems like a lot of trouble just have the hallmark on the inside, and an altered HW band loses it's value.
Why not find a nice engagement ring with the help of people here, then just buy her a HW wedding band?
Maybe you could upgrade your diamonds to a HW setting later - for an anniversary.
I would rather put the money into quality stones.
I imagine they have a plain wedding band, just not showing on the website?

 

[HenryD]

Thank you very much for your reply. Yes, I am still hesitating...considering both options at the moment.
However, I didn't know I could use the diamonds and add them on a Harry Winston setting in the future?

From my understanding and after visiting a HW store, I've been told that only HW diamonds can be placed on a HW setting... Am I wrong?

 

[MarionC]

Thank you very much for your reply. Yes, I am still hesitating...considering both options at the moment.
However, I didn't know I could use the diamonds and add them on a Harry Winston setting in the future?

From my understanding and after visiting a HW store, I've been told that only HW diamonds can be placed on a HW setting... Am I wrong?

whoops - didn't think about that. I guess one way around that would be to find a pre-loved HW setting somewhere - and that would be a project.

If is has to be HW, then your current idea makes sense if she is absolutely set on it.

edit: some online searching may help you find something...I found this. It's been sold, but there must be others out therehttp://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/Harry-Winston-Platinum-3-mm-Estate-Wedding-Band/6232675/product.html

2nd edit: there is one for sale on eBay right now.

 

[tyty333]

What is your budget for her engagement ring (total...and what size were you hoping to get)? There are pre-loved Harry Winston
engagement rings out there (as Jimmianne suggested). Maybe one of those will fit the bill?

 

[danielxlin]

The plan is completely nuts. Don't do it!

Won't save you money (custom jewelry work costs a pretty penny), and the result may not look good.

Second hand Harry Winston is the way to go. A good polish, re-finishing, and buffing will make the ring look brand new.

 

[HenryD]

Thanks a lot for all your feedback everyone.
I wouldn't want to purchase a pre-loved ring, I want something new from scratch.

I am pretty set on the idea of purchasing a plain band and adding the three diamonds on top. I found some great artisans in Dubai well known for being able to build a similar ring to what I want.

My question is more about the feasibility (technical): is it fairly easy for the jeweler to use a wedding band and add three stones so the result can look like this: http://raymondleejewelers.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Classic-Winston-Oval-yellow-diamond-ring.png

What width would you chose? All technical recommendations are more than welcome

 

[Zizzy]

Hi there,
If you go down the route you're considering, just a suggestion that you ensure your gf/FI and insurer knows right from the very beginning that it is an adapted HW band rather than an original. It will have a big impact on the value and the insurers might suspect attempted fraud if you don't describe it as such at the outset. If your gf assumes it is an intact HW e-ring it might feel a bit awkward telling her at a later date after she's gone on about not being able to believe you bought a HW for her, or if it is commented on when it goes in for a service or repair.
Remember, nobody will know it's a HW band on her finger unless wears a t-shirt telling people so, so why compromise the structure and design integrity of an existing band rather than buy a new ring from scratch by another maker? - Since the pre-owned route isn't for you. She will get a more beautiful ring for your money that way.

Sorry, it's just registered that your gf is on board with this. Have you both thought about getting a HW wedding band instead?

 

[Zizzy]

I'm not saying they have any legal recourse on this, but if I were a prestige designer, I'd be very unhappy about having my mark on a piece of jewellery that hasn't been finished by my workshop and that I have no quality control over, as would a clothes designer if you snipped their labels out and sewed them onto cheaper clothes. You may not mean any harm, but it would just sit oddly with me.

 

[danielxlin]

The shape of the HW wedding band and the shape of the shank in the HW engagement ring (both of the pictures you posted) are completely different. One is even all around, the other tapers and thickens.

You're not just adding 3 diamonds. You're adding a three stone head (hopefully HW style) that has to integrate naturally into the shank. HW Frankenring has to look good, look like an approximation of a HW engagement ring, and be structurally sound. A very tall order.

But if you trust your guy in Dubai then put him to work, maybe he's a genius. But don't act like you haven't been warned. Don't cut up a perfectly functional HW wedding band!

 

[MollyMalone]

The Dubai metalsmiths did not create those rings you've seen by merely "adding the three diamonds on top" of a plain wedding band. The structure and fabrication of a 3-stone ring is entirely different from that of a plain band. Perhaps viewing this profile view of a HW 3-stone ring will enable you to see why what you'd like is wishful thinking:
https://shard4.1stdibs.us.com/archivesE/jewelry/upload/135/34/135_1282060203_2.jpg