Advice needed- modifying antique Ering!

[Frumasring]

Hi all,

I’m looking to make some changes to my e-ring (roughly 40-50 years old) and was wondering if you all could give me some opinions on what modifications I should make. Currently, my 2 ct transitional round stone is set with two .03 baguette side stones. Everything between the baguettes is original, but hubby had to add more platinum to ring so it would fit my size 10 finger (essentially brand new shank). also, baguettes are not tapered.

Here comes the part I don’t like. The shank, from baguette to baguette is 3mm of platinum and VERY thick and heavy. When I wear it with just my 1.25mm wedding band it’s OK, but I’m having a 9 stone band made that will be about 2mm thick and I feel that the whole look is just too bulky. I prefer the look of Art Deco engagement rings and I’m looking for ideas on how to “re-fashion” mine. Thanks for your help! Hopefully pictures of ring as is are attached.

 

[VRBeauty]

Your might consider checking out the many beauties posted in the “Show Me The Bling” forum to get those creative juices and get some ideas. (Warning - that’s dangerous territory for anyone who loves jewelry and sparkly things!) When you have some ideas about the general changes you want to make, head on over to “Rocky Talky” for input that will help refine your design, steer you clear of potential issues, etc.

Good luck!

 

[kgizo]

Great advice from VRBeauty. I would consider the shank, basket and prongs so that whatever you redesign coordinates well with your 9 stone band.

 

[Frumasring]

Thanks!! Did some looking and reposted in “rocky talk”. I’m new here, so I’m getting great, exciting feedback!! But I’m really just struggling with my shank. The jeweler making the 9 stone band suggested putting a knife edge on the shank to accodate the new band. Interestingly, that’s what the shank was when my grandmother work the ring. We changed it cause my fingers are humungo .

 

[rockysalamander]

We changed it cause my fingers are humungo .

I used to say things like that about my fingers (size 10.75) and overall Amazonian proportions. My dear friend said something to me that I've always remembered. With a stern voice and anger in her voice like I had dissed her..."Your hands are what make animals feel safe when they are scared and in pain. Those hands greeted your son when he entered the world. Those hands and that body kept you alive through many of life experiences that would have broken many -- they saved me. Never say bad things about those hands. They are a miracle."

Yours are the same. Be kinder to yourself than the world might be.

 

[Frumasring]

Love it!! Thank you!!!

 

[dtnyc]

I am currently having my e-ring (avatar pic) totally re-set using all of the original stones, by David Klass. The main stone in my ring was from a necklace that belonged to my H's grandmother. He had the side stones added by a jeweler who was old (he made jewelry for my H's grandmother and she passed away over 20 years ago!) Anyway I never loved the setting. I saved TONS of inspiration pics, looked at tons of pics of rings here and on IG, etc. finally drilled down to what I wanted in a setting. It's going from 4 prongs to 6 delicate claw prongs inside a hexagaonal bezel/metal halo and the side stones are going to be bead set and the shoulders of the ring are going to slope down vs. the current stair step arrangement.

You can do a lot with metal work- do you love the setting as is aside from the shank?
You can retain the overall look of the ring but still upgrade the setting.

I don't think it's a great idea to re-work a shank too many times, make sure they are laser welding everything.

 

[Frumasring]

Would love to set how you are re-setting!! I think I love my current setting, just hate the thick, heavy, plain 3mm platinum shank. My jeweler ( didn’t make ring) is suggesting very lightly thinning out shank to a knife edge, to maintain strength and platinum value.

Just looked at David Klass designs - there look lovely. I
M sure yours will come out great!!

I am currently having my e-ring (avatar pic) totally re-set using all of the original stones, by David Klass. The main stone in my ring was from a necklace that belonged to my H's grandmother. He had the side stones added by a jeweler who was old (he made jewelry for my H's grandmother and she passed away over 20 years ago!) Anyway I never loved the setting. I saved TONS of inspiration pics, looked at tons of pics of rings here and on IG, etc. finally drilled down to what I wanted in a setting. It's going from 4 prongs to 6 delicate claw prongs inside a hexagaonal bezel/metal halo and the side stones are going to be bead set and the shoulders of the ring are going to slope down vs. the current stair step arrangement.

You can do a lot with metal work- do you love the setting as is aside from the shank?
You can retain the overall look of the ring but still upgrade the setting.

I don't think it's a great idea to re-work a shank too many times, make sure they are laser welding everything.

 

[dtnyc]

Would love to set how you are re-setting!! I think I love my current setting, just hate the thick, heavy, plain 3mm platinum shank. My jeweler ( didn’t make ring) is suggesting very lightly thinning out shank to a knife edge, to maintain strength and platinum value.

Just looked at David Klass designs - there look lovely. I
M sure yours will come out great!!

I have a thread in rocky talky detailing some of the process with the last 2 sets of CADs and pics of the plastic model I got today!
I am actually going to have the shank of my ring have a soft knife edge with milgrain along the “edge.”

 

[Frumasring]

Love your CAD design!!! Personally, i love antique looking settings for antique stones! Your CAD mock-up is stunning! Can’t wait to see finished product.

I have a thread in rocky talky detailing some of the process with the last 2 sets of CADs and pics of the plastic model I got today!
I am actually going to have the shank of my ring have a soft knife edge with milgrain along the “edge.”

 

[Frumasring]

Dtnyc, I’ve just gone through all of your posts. Lovely pieces you have!! We seem to both have an appreciation for the antique, with respect for preservation. I’m interested in addresssing my shank only. When my DH and I got my ring from my parents (it belonged to my dads mother), it was set exactly as is now but with a size 4 platinum knife edge shank. At first I thought I hated the baguettes because they aren’t tapered. But when I saw them under the loop, I fell in love with the steps. So....since my finger is a size 10, my DH just bought more platinum to have the shank replaced. I’ve never modified shank since and like you mentioned, don’t want to make too many modifications.

Even though my fingers are big, I want something kind of delicate. Currently, shank is HEAVY and 3mm. Plus to add to the picture, we are currently having a 9 stone band made from a ring that was my grandmother’s in-law. So I’m adding another band to the mix. Tat one is 9 - 15 point stones. Plus my 1.7mm plain platinum wedding band.

Sooo...as small and dainty as I can get is what I’m looking for.

What do you think? WWYD? Not looking to spend a lot either. Thanks for your thoughts!!!

I am currently having my e-ring (avatar pic) totally re-set using all of the original stones, by David Klass. The main stone in my ring was from a necklace that belonged to my H's grandmother. He had the side stones added by a jeweler who was old (he made jewelry for my H's grandmother and she passed away over 20 years ago!) Anyway I never loved the setting. I saved TONS of inspiration pics, looked at tons of pics of rings here and on IG, etc. finally drilled down to what I wanted in a setting. It's going from 4 prongs to 6 delicate claw prongs inside a hexagaonal bezel/metal halo and the side stones are going to be bead set and the shoulders of the ring are going to slope down vs. the current stair step arrangement.

You can do a lot with metal work- do you love the setting as is aside from the shank?
You can retain the overall look of the ring but still upgrade the setting.

I don't think it's a great idea to re-work a shank too many times, make sure they are laser welding everything.

 

[kgizo]

Instead of a new shank is it possible for the jeweler to polish it down? I wonder if you went from 3mm to 2.5mm if you would like it more?

 

[Frumasring]

do you think it will make a big enough difference? The jeweler suggested bringing it down in very slow increments to a knife edge until I was comfortable with width. I’m just scared to do that and then hate it and then have to replace entirely sad sad sad

Instead of a new shank is it possible for the jeweler to polish it down? I wonder if you went from 3mm to 2.5mm if you would like it more?

 

[meely]

Could we see it on your hand? I think @kgizo has made a good suggestion. 2mm is what many would recommend on here when folks are designing rings from scratch, however 2.5mm is quite a lot thinner and might make enough of a difference. Also on a slighter larger finger I would be included to have a slightly wider shank just for proportions sake. I also wonder if a engraved detailing would look nice? Maybe a line to each side.

 

[Frumasring]

Could we see it on your hand? I think @kgizo has made a good suggestion. 2mm is what many would recommend on here when folks are designing rings from scratch, however 2.5mm is quite a lot thinner and might make enough of a difference. Also on a slighter larger finger I would be included to have a slightly wider shank just for proportions sake. I also wonder if a engraved detailing would look nice? Maybe a line to each side.

Hopefully these photos attach properly. Please excuse remnant of mosquito bite on middle knuckle.

What do you mean a line to each side? My current jeweler things that the original jeweler wanted to sell a lot of platinum because it’s like absurdly thick, which I think is more evident in palm shot.

Thank you for your help!

 

[meely]

Thanks for the photos I don't think it looks ridiculously bulky, to me it looks like it's on the deep side more than too wide.
I also think that there is a bit of an optical illusion going on in that the side stones aren't tapered and they are the same width as the shank plus you have a very narrow wedding band which has the effect of making the engagement ring look bulkier than it is.
I think it would odd to narrow the band as the stones are fairly small anyway so they aren't big enough to do a stepped effect and because they aren't tapered but are quite long tapering the band would look odd too. I don't overly like the knife shank idea of your jeweler as I don't see how that fits the style of the ring.
It sounds like you really want to retain the original ring as much as possible. so I would suggest narrowing the depth of the band to reduce on the bulk and then engraving the shank. I can't find the style I mentioned earlier with two lines but to be honest engraving is very fashionable, CvB inspired design on instagram has a lot of it so does David Klass. I think that could give you more of that Art Deco look you are after.

 

[Frumasring]

Thanks for the photos I don't think it looks ridiculously bulky, to me it looks like it's on the deep side more than too wide.
I also think that there is a bit of an optical illusion going on in that the side stones aren't tapered and they are the same width as the shank plus you have a very narrow wedding band which has the effect of making the engagement ring look bulkier than it is.
I think it would odd to narrow the band as the stones are fairly small anyway so they aren't big enough to do a stepped effect and because they aren't tapered but are quite long tapering the band would look odd too. I don't overly like the knife shank idea of your jeweler as I don't see how that fits the style of the ring.
It sounds like you really want to retain the original ring as much as possible. so I would suggest narrowing the depth of the band to reduce on the bulk and then engraving the shank. I can't find the style I mentioned earlier with two lines but to be honest engraving is very fashionable, CvB inspired design on instagram has a lot of it so does David Klass. I think that could give you more of that Art Deco look you are after.

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but when you say deep, do you mean it too thick? I’m not sure I understand which direction I need to go in thinking out. The 3mm is the width of the shank.

 

[meely]

This bit you can see it protrudes a lot further than your wedding ring.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I like the first solitaire pictured in this photo from JBEG. I think it looks antique- but not bulky.

 

[Frumasring]

I like the first solitaire pictured in this photo from JBEG. I think it looks antique- but not bulky.

Very pretty! But what to do with my baguettes?

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Very pretty! But what to do with my baguettes?

If it was me I would not limit my design choices by the need to include the baguettes. My thought would be that I could always use them in another piece of jewelry. But if they are necessary for your design then my apologies for posting a design without them.

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

My 2 cents is to leave it alone. I think it is lovely and certainly doesn't appear too bulky at all. Even adding a 2mm additional band, your finger has plenty of room to not be overwhelmed. Both my e-ring and wedding band are 3mm platinum on my short-girl fingers and I'm hoping hubby catches the hint that I want the matching contoured band for the top too. Shaving off platinum seems like it would devalue your ring. Again, just my opinion. Good luck with your decision!