I am not sure if this belongs here because I dont really have a question.... but when i was trying to find someone to do my antique ring project I of course searched here and there really wasn't much on antique ring restoration. I feel like there's been a real resurgence in interest in old cuts maybe it would help to post about this.
So, I have been wanting and looking for a 5 stone ring for a while. I wanted "larger" diamonds, prong set and i wanted the fancy scroll work for the basket. The fancy scrolly/vine was super important to me.
Well, I found the "perfect" one, exactly what i wanted, but it had an emerald for the center. The center stone was held by 4 prongs and I wanted 6 prongs and i wanted them changed to claws, and they were all very sharp and catching on everything. So I had the bright idea to put my grandmother's transitional diamond in the center in place of the emerald. The emerald was listed as .79 and I think about 6mm, my grandmother's diamond is 6.1mm. My grandmother's ring couldnt be worn because the shank was paper thin, it was so worn, and it was a solitaire diamond, and I don't like the look on me of a right hand solitaire diamond. So I never wore my grandmother's diamond, it has been sitting in a box in my room for 25 years.
I am sure many people would NEVER take 2 antique rings apart like this, but this is for me to wear every day, just for me, and I will never sell it, it will be passed down to family, and sitting in a box was more of a waste than taking apart the rings.
I contacted several jewelers but Kevin Crane at Crane jewelers in Seattle was by far the most knowledgeable and realistic of all I spoke to. He spoke to me for over an hour and i learned so much, I felt really confident and comfortable sending it to him.
So, I sent it on Monday June 8 overnight. He didn't tell me he received it, but tracking told me it was delivered. He called me that Saturday to just kind of confirm what I wanted and that it was possible. We went over what I wanted and I sent him pics and I went on about the prongs being important and I like to see the prongs. Again, he spent a ton of time on the phone with me. I did say I wasnt in a rush, and I am not sure how long this would normally take, but he never gave me any ideas on a timeline.
I pretty much never heard from him again. LOL. I had to reach out after a month just see what was going on. He said he was going to send me pictures but didnt. He sent me an invoice on July 31 and I FedExed him a check. On August 10 i text and asked what was going on and he responded with the tracking info, it was actually being delivered that day!
So overall, I loved Kevin, he did an amazing job and really listened and definitely knew everything about antique rings but the communication was not good after the initial 2 conversations. He added milgrain in one area and it doesnt 'go' with the ring and I dont like it. I generally love milgrain but it doesnt "fit" and I would have said no to it had I known. Thankfully I don't really notice it. Also, i wish the top and bottom prongs were more substantial but he may not have been able to make them any bigger, he created them from nothing, however, he didn't talk to me about it at all so i am just guessing.
He changed the center emerald to my grandmother's diamond, he added the prongs top and bottom center, restored ALL the prongs, they were all sharp and sticking up, cleaned it. He also restored the detail on scroll work to look like vines. Again, I am SUPER happy with the amazing work he did.
So, great work, not so great communication. I would absolutely recommend him, but I would just be clear on a timeline and that you want to approve it before it gets sent.
So enough with the words, we only care about the pictures!
This is the original ring I purchased. Victorian 18k 4 OECs with rose cuts in between ... and if I could find the paperwork I would tell you the rest of the details... LOL
this is my grandmother's transitional diamond
And here is my restored 5 stone with my grandmother's stone as the center!
I LOVE it, it's HUUGE though and sparkles so much I am a little self conscious wearing it
I cannot get over the sparkle!!
Just compared to my ering (2.27 OEC)
This is where i actually wear it, right hand middle
OMG! How did I miss this!!! It turned out amazing! I LOVE it!
thank you!!
And someone asked for inside lighting pics but I was having a personal crisis when I got the ring and wasnt posting much
I am not sure if this belongs here because I dont really have a question.... but when i was trying to find someone to do my antique ring project I of course searched here and there really wasn't much on antique ring restoration. I feel like there's been a real resurgence in interest in old cuts maybe it would help to post about this.
So, I have been wanting and looking for a 5 stone ring for a while. I wanted "larger" diamonds, prong set and i wanted the fancy scroll work for the basket. The fancy scrolly/vine was super important to me.
Well, I found the "perfect" one, exactly what i wanted, but it had an emerald for the center. The center stone was held by 4 prongs and I wanted 6 prongs and i wanted them changed to claws, and they were all very sharp and catching on everything. So I had the bright idea to put my grandmother's transitional diamond in the center in place of the emerald. The emerald was listed as .79 and I think about 6mm, my grandmother's diamond is 6.1mm. My grandmother's ring couldnt be worn because the shank was paper thin, it was so worn, and it was a solitaire diamond, and I don't like the look on me of a right hand solitaire diamond. So I never wore my grandmother's diamond, it has been sitting in a box in my room for 25 years.
I am sure many people would NEVER take 2 antique rings apart like this, but this is for me to wear every day, just for me, and I will never sell it, it will be passed down to family, and sitting in a box was more of a waste than taking apart the rings.
I contacted several jewelers but Kevin Crane at Crane jewelers in Seattle was by far the most knowledgeable and realistic of all I spoke to. He spoke to me for over an hour and i learned so much, I felt really confident and comfortable sending it to him.
So, I sent it on Monday June 8 overnight. He didn't tell me he received it, but tracking told me it was delivered. He called me that Saturday to just kind of confirm what I wanted and that it was possible. We went over what I wanted and I sent him pics and I went on about the prongs being important and I like to see the prongs. Again, he spent a ton of time on the phone with me. I did say I wasnt in a rush, and I am not sure how long this would normally take, but he never gave me any ideas on a timeline.
I pretty much never heard from him again. LOL. I had to reach out after a month just see what was going on. He said he was going to send me pictures but didnt. He sent me an invoice on July 31 and I FedExed him a check. On August 10 i text and asked what was going on and he responded with the tracking info, it was actually being delivered that day!
So overall, I loved Kevin, he did an amazing job and really listened and definitely knew everything about antique rings but the communication was not good after the initial 2 conversations. He added milgrain in one area and it doesnt 'go' with the ring and I dont like it. I generally love milgrain but it doesnt "fit" and I would have said no to it had I known. Thankfully I don't really notice it. Also, i wish the top and bottom prongs were more substantial but he may not have been able to make them any bigger, he created them from nothing, however, he didn't talk to me about it at all so i am just guessing.
He changed the center emerald to my grandmother's diamond, he added the prongs top and bottom center, restored ALL the prongs, they were all sharp and sticking up, cleaned it. He also restored the detail on scroll work to look like vines. Again, I am SUPER happy with the amazing work he did.
So, great work, not so great communication. I would absolutely recommend him, but I would just be clear on a timeline and that you want to approve it before it gets sent.
So enough with the words, we only care about the pictures!
This is the original ring I purchased. Victorian 18k 4 OECs with rose cuts in between ... and if I could find the paperwork I would tell you the rest of the details... LOL
this is my grandmother's transitional diamond
And here is my restored 5 stone with my grandmother's stone as the center!
I LOVE it, it's HUUGE though and sparkles so much I am a little self conscious wearing it
I cannot get over the sparkle!!
Just compared to my ering (2.27 OEC)
This is where i actually wear it, right hand middle
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