Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now what?

[PreRaphaelite]

Hello friends,

I got caught up into a fun shopping project. My brother wanted to find a nice gift for his wife and since he knows I'm a jewelry junkie, I was called in to help.

Brother's wife is a gem herself, though understandably a bit hard on her jewelry as she's a busy mom of two young boys, and so he wanted to find something that would not be terribly fragile, but would brighten her day (she's recently been talking about needing some **COLOR**). She has a knuckle-duster of a Modernist peridot/diamond ring she likes, but it's already been broken once with diamond melee needing replacement, so the order of the day was to find something a bit more practical.

I looked for a low-set, simple design with a nice cheerful color. I found this pretty little thing at an auction, and was pleased to win. The bezel set stones should be better suited to everyday wear, and I really think she will like it and be comfortable wearing it. It's 14k white gold, 8mm checkerboard cut 1.8ct amethyst, .07ctw H-I/SI1 diamonds. Super cute.

However, I noticed some scratches on the center facets, and don't feel confident sending it off to Brother just yet. So, I wonder if these scratches could be polished out. What do you all think - take to a jeweller for polishing, or maybe even replace the stone? I understand that a lot of "amethyst" sold these days is synthetic, so I'm not really sure if it's even worth bothering? If the stone should be replaced, what would you put in it's place?

Thanks so much for your thoughts. It's been fun shopping around for this sweet present.

 

[PieAreSquared]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

What a nice sister in law you are!
The profile is very good, no prongs to catch, protective bezel settings.
Amethyst itself is quartz and is easily scratched, even just jumbling around in a jewelry box.
Is she the kind who will notice the scratches you see? I ask because, sadly, it is going to get a lot more scratched with wear, especially as she is tough on her hands. If she is not fussy, this is a pick-me-up gift she will love!
Depending on your jeweler, it may cost more to repolish the stone than replace it, especially if he has to send it out to a lapidary.
Blue topaz is harder, and comparable in price to amethyst at 8mm. Still, it will eventually get scratched and worn too.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

Thank you for your reply

In an ideal world, I'd love to replace the "amethyst" with this RioGrande-sourced TorusRing citrine - the style seems like a nice match for the setting. The list price is $177, though, and that's roughly double what the ring cost. Any thoughts?

http://www.riogrande.com/Product/Lehrer-TorusRing-Round-Citrine-Faceted-Stones/0791328?Pos=104

 

[PieAreSquared]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

Citrine is also quartz, the same as amethyst.
I wonder if the stone will fit in the setting depth-wise, since the side view is not shown...

A 14KT white gold amethyst ring with diamonds, for 90 bucks? You got a cute ring!

 

[movie zombie]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

live with it! i'm betting she won't notice and if she does she'll appreciate the sentiment and your helping your brother.

btw: really nice find! I think you get shopper of the month award!

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

Thanks! It was less than $79 but I had to pay shipping.

I might have a **slight** shopping addiction.

I'll have to find the dimensions for the Torus stone and see if someone locally can get the stone at a better price. The only other thing I can think to do is cut the head out completely, leaving a kind of "torque" style ring with only the six itty bitty diamonds. Annina Vogel does the "torque" look sometimes, and her work turns out nicely. Here's one of hers:

Certainly it would be easy to do that.... if not as elegant. It'd be a shame to lose the gallery at the bottom of the head, though. It reminds me of LAX airport.

 

[chrono]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

Are those scratches or inclusions? I cannot tell from the picture.

Potential problems:
1. Both citrine and amethyst are quartz so they will get scratched up, regardless of the style of setting, given that your SIL has damaged a diamond melee.
2. The stone has to be removed from the setting to be repolished.
3. For most bezels, either the stone has to be smashed to be removed or the bezel setting has to be "destroyed" and rebuilt to put in a new stone. There are exceptions but this is the most common scenario.

 

[bobsiv]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

There are lapidaries who will repolish the crown without removing the stone from the setting. That said, I wouldn't bother in this case. It's expensive and t'll just get scratched again.

 

[digdeep]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

What's wrong with her wearing this ring and enjoying the color? I agree that there may be more scratches over time.........but the color is great and for an everyday in the trenches colored ring.......it works! Good value too......

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

Thank you all so much for replying. I think you're right, and maybe redoing the ring is more hassle than it's worth, and as long as she enjoys the sentiment behind it, delaying further in hopes of making it 'good as new' is misguided of me. She'll love having something to wear daily until its time to replace the stone anyway!! So I'll wrap it up and send, and hope for the best. Thank you folks so much!!

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

Just wanted to let y'all know that my brother's wife loved the ring and the scratches were of exactly Zero concern to her (just me being too perfectionist, I guess!) so it all worked out and it was a lot of fun! Thanks to everyone who encouraged me!

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

Excellent! Your sharp eye paid off and she has a beautiful ring for a bargain.

 

[chrono]

Re: Amethyst ring: cool auction find, but scratched. Now wha

Great news all around!