PreRaphaelite
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2015
- Messages
- 3,564
Hi PSers,
FEEL FREE TO SKIP DOWN TO THE PHOTOS. I babble too much.
Ok, so in Jurassic Park, a character admonishes another with, "... so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should!"
That's where I am today: decision paralysis.
I have several small projects in the beginning stages, "pre-commission" as it were. But I've been starting up and then losing courage, and then starting again. And I'm locked up, thinking whether things should be done rather than whether they can.
Today's debate is my ring. It's kind of my "One Ring to Rule Them All" as it were. It was sold as antique, with a .90 OMC "SI3" stone. (SI3, lol, ok sure whatever) Nevertheless I love this ring with all my heart, so putting it away and never wearing it is not an option. However, after reading on PS for a while now, I know the stone is problematic. The "SI3" is not about carbon spots (though it has some on the very edges) but rather for a huge chip that makes the stone fragile. I researched a recut for around $350+ where significant loss is expected - ok and then it would no longer fit in the ring and need to be set into something else. I never thought I could afford to resolve this. It's literally been *years* that this has hung over me.
Recently I found a beautiful OEC at a pawn shop, and when I took her home I began to have delusions of grandeur, lofty dreams. Platinum! Halo! Expensive reset! Enormous pendant! Designer commission!
Sigh. It took a few weeks to let go of that fantasy.
Victorian/Art Nouveau/Pre-Raphaelite is just who I am. And every time I post on PS, my little avatar ring shows up and I just still adore it. Yes, the urge to become chic and upwardly-mobile in my jewellery (and life) has failed. I am a hopeless romantic. Old school. I was never cool as a kid. But the philosophers say, "Know thyself and then adorn accordingly" after all. And so this ring is my match. Warts and all.
So here's the "could/should" question:
Could the old 5.8mm OMC be replaced by the new 6mm OEC? Would the pearl need to be un-mounted? I have to consider setting fee, plus the cost to re-tip prongs, etc.
BUT
Should it? Would an OEC be historically wrong and obviously inauthentic? Is it right to swap out a pre-1891 stone with a post-1891 stone? Would an appraiser specializing in antiques frown at a newer stone in an older setting? Would you all think it is ‘less’ somehow? A hack job? A rookie mistake?
Anyway, If it can’t be done, or people here think is shouldn’t be done, then I have my answer, I’ll just stop all this hooey and look for a different setting for the new OEC.
If it can be done, and people here think there is no reason it shouldn’t be done, then I’ll start looking for estimates and then move to the next step: what to do with my old stone…. it’s too fragile for a ring, but recutting may be pointless. I could leave it original, chip and all, and set it in silver cut-down/button pendant in a Georgian style paired with an antique gold chain I already have. Here’s an example from the Old World Diamonds website (this stone is twice the size of mine):
It reminds me of Ireland where I lived for a few years, way back when I was young and my eyes lit up just absorbing the artistic and architectural influence of Georgian Dublin. I was born at least 100 years too late, if not 200.
Anyway putting the OMC in a Georgian style setting would hopefully prevent it from breaking, and the wonky facets would look right in that context. Even if the new OEC doesn't go in the old ring, I think this is a reasonable idea to help preserve the little sparkler for the future. Beyond that, there are many other small projects but this one just gnaws at me all day every day. It would be nice to resolve the question.
Thanks in advance for all the opinions you share. I've been on PS for a good while and have learned a lot. I have a ton more to learn though, so please be gentle with me. Thank you!
FEEL FREE TO SKIP DOWN TO THE PHOTOS. I babble too much.
Ok, so in Jurassic Park, a character admonishes another with, "... so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should!"
That's where I am today: decision paralysis.
I have several small projects in the beginning stages, "pre-commission" as it were. But I've been starting up and then losing courage, and then starting again. And I'm locked up, thinking whether things should be done rather than whether they can.
Today's debate is my ring. It's kind of my "One Ring to Rule Them All" as it were. It was sold as antique, with a .90 OMC "SI3" stone. (SI3, lol, ok sure whatever) Nevertheless I love this ring with all my heart, so putting it away and never wearing it is not an option. However, after reading on PS for a while now, I know the stone is problematic. The "SI3" is not about carbon spots (though it has some on the very edges) but rather for a huge chip that makes the stone fragile. I researched a recut for around $350+ where significant loss is expected - ok and then it would no longer fit in the ring and need to be set into something else. I never thought I could afford to resolve this. It's literally been *years* that this has hung over me.
Recently I found a beautiful OEC at a pawn shop, and when I took her home I began to have delusions of grandeur, lofty dreams. Platinum! Halo! Expensive reset! Enormous pendant! Designer commission!
Sigh. It took a few weeks to let go of that fantasy.
Victorian/Art Nouveau/Pre-Raphaelite is just who I am. And every time I post on PS, my little avatar ring shows up and I just still adore it. Yes, the urge to become chic and upwardly-mobile in my jewellery (and life) has failed. I am a hopeless romantic. Old school. I was never cool as a kid. But the philosophers say, "Know thyself and then adorn accordingly" after all. And so this ring is my match. Warts and all.
So here's the "could/should" question:
Could the old 5.8mm OMC be replaced by the new 6mm OEC? Would the pearl need to be un-mounted? I have to consider setting fee, plus the cost to re-tip prongs, etc.
BUT
Should it? Would an OEC be historically wrong and obviously inauthentic? Is it right to swap out a pre-1891 stone with a post-1891 stone? Would an appraiser specializing in antiques frown at a newer stone in an older setting? Would you all think it is ‘less’ somehow? A hack job? A rookie mistake?
Anyway, If it can’t be done, or people here think is shouldn’t be done, then I have my answer, I’ll just stop all this hooey and look for a different setting for the new OEC.
If it can be done, and people here think there is no reason it shouldn’t be done, then I’ll start looking for estimates and then move to the next step: what to do with my old stone…. it’s too fragile for a ring, but recutting may be pointless. I could leave it original, chip and all, and set it in silver cut-down/button pendant in a Georgian style paired with an antique gold chain I already have. Here’s an example from the Old World Diamonds website (this stone is twice the size of mine):
It reminds me of Ireland where I lived for a few years, way back when I was young and my eyes lit up just absorbing the artistic and architectural influence of Georgian Dublin. I was born at least 100 years too late, if not 200.
Anyway putting the OMC in a Georgian style setting would hopefully prevent it from breaking, and the wonky facets would look right in that context. Even if the new OEC doesn't go in the old ring, I think this is a reasonable idea to help preserve the little sparkler for the future. Beyond that, there are many other small projects but this one just gnaws at me all day every day. It would be nice to resolve the question.
Thanks in advance for all the opinions you share. I've been on PS for a good while and have learned a lot. I have a ton more to learn though, so please be gentle with me. Thank you!
300x240.png)