Advice please: Sapphire from old engagement ring (WITH PICS)

[Saffire]

I am lucky enough to own a really beautiful natural 1.5ct Madagascan sapphire.
The unfortunate part? It's set in an engagement ring, from a prior marriage (which didn't work out, unfortunately).









(The colour reproduction in the catalogue pic is closest to the colour; it's very blue in real life.)

I don't want the ring any more and have seriously considered selling it as is, but every time I look at other jewellery I realise how beautiful that sapphire is and want to keep it.

So... any ideas of ring styles I could have it set in, that would look very, very different to the current one?

And if I did have the sapphire removed from the ring and re-set, can anyone give a rough estimate of what the setting alone (solid platinum, rhodium plated, set with 20 small brilliant cut diamonds totalling 0.28ct, graded F/VS) would be worth, if I were to sell it? (Ideally Australian pricing.)

The jewellery store I bought it from suggested having it reset into a pendant, but I don't think I'd wear it much.

 

[JewelFreak]

Re: Advice please: Sapphire from old engagement ring (WITH P

It is a pretty sapphire. Setting too, but your wish to change it is understandable & I think you're so smart to keep the stone & give it a new life. What sort of styles do you like? Classic, antique, modern & minimalist? Accent stones or none? Do you have a rough idea of budget? What about metal color -- I can see that sapphire in rose or buttery yellow gold.

If you've seen examples of rings you like, pics would help us make suggestions. This is gonna be fun!

 

[Saffire]

Re: Advice please: Sapphire from old engagement ring (WITH P

It is a pretty sapphire. Setting too, but your wish to change it is understandable & I think you're so smart to keep the stone & give it a new life. What sort of styles do you like? Classic, antique, modern & minimalist? Accent stones or none? Do you have a rough idea of budget? What about metal color -- I can see that sapphire in rose or buttery yellow gold.

If you've seen examples of rings you like, pics would help us make suggestions. This is gonna be fun!

Thanks

I love antique jewellery, so I was contemplating buying an older setting with engraving or filigree work and re-setting the stone in it. Then selling the setting it's currently in to offset some of the cost.

I don't have strong feelings one way or the other re accent stones; if they work with the overall style, I like 'em.

As for budget... I'd like to keep it to $1k or so out-of-pocket to reset the stone, which I know it low-ish. Hence interest in what the current setting might be worth to either a jeweller, or someone wanting to buy their own diamond for an engagement ring; whatever it's likely to sell for, I can add to the budget.

Re metal colour, you're right that it would be gorgeous in rose or yellow gold. Generally white-toned metals look better with my skin, though. So most of my day-to-day jewellery is 925 silver; special ones I usually get either 14k gold (18k is too yellow on me); or platinum.

I'll look for some pics of things I love to post...

 

[Saffire]

Re: Advice please: Sapphire from old engagement ring (WITH P

As for pictures of the types of settings I like...

If money was no object, I'd probably reset it into something like this to wear as a cocktail ring:



More pics here.

Not gonna happen on my budget though.

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I also really like this style:



More pics here.

My only hesitation is that it's quite similar to Diana/Kate Middleton's engagement ring, and I hate anything trendy that's going to date badly in a few year.

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What I'm most likely to do is find a gorgeous antique or vintage setting that's either missing its main stone, or the stone's damaged or low quality, and have it removed and replaced. I love settings with filigree work and/or engraving, especially in flower / leaves / nature-inspired motifs. This type of thing, though I'd be looking for white gold or platinum:



More pics here.

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Or just to give you one more example of my taste in jewellery, I'm probably going to buy the white gold, no bling version of this ring soon:



Site I stole image from.

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I've also been looking for setting ideas where the stone is mounted horizontally instead of vertically; I just haven't found any I love yet. Anyone whose seen a great setting with the stone the other way, please share!

(I'm not in any way affiliated with any of the jewellery listings I linked to; I 'borrowed' their images to show the styles I like so figured I should give credit where it's due. If that's against the rules, sorry mods, please delete links. Newbie here.)

 

[dk168]

Re: Advice please: Sapphire from old engagement ring (WITH P

I would use the diamonds in the original ring to form a halo, and bezel set the sapphire, with or without an air gap in between; or something similar to this ring:



DK

 

[chrono]

Re: Advice please: Sapphire from old engagement ring (WITH P

Unfortunately, settings do not sell for much. If listing locally, pricing is generally low and you might get $500 thereabouts for it in the US. Breaking down the ring does not garner much cost savings either since it is labour intensive to reset each and every tiny diamond melee. Your best bet is to reuse the setting or attempt to sell it online. You can see whether a local jeweller is willing to consign it as well.

On the flip side, brand new settings are not inexpensive these days due to the current high metal price. My guess is that an all metal setting will easily run you anywhere from $500 to $1000USD. Then you also have to account for the VAT if buying from outside Australia. Take a look at Etsy to see if there is anything you like.

Daniel M (Dan) - http://www.etsy.com/people/danielmjewelry
Adzia - http://www.etsy.com/people/AdziasJewelryAtelier
Sally of Heart of Water - http://www.etsy.com/people/HeartofWaterJewels
Kyleanne - http://www.etsy.com/people/kyleannemetals
Maddie of OneGarnetGirl - http://www.etsy.com/people/onegarnetgirl
Jill of janishjewels - http://www.etsy.com/shop/JanishJewels?ref=ss_profile
JuliaB - http://www.etsy.com/shop/JuliaBJewelry
CvB Inspired Design (Caysie van Bebber) - https://www.etsy.com/shop/CVBinspiredDesign