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Buying a ring only for the stones?

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I came across a vintage piece that has lovely asscher/Carre cut diamonds, but the band they are in is atrocious (IMHO). has anyone ever bought a vintage piece with the intention to repurpose the stones? Trying to figure out how crazy of an idea it is haha.

Pic attached. Its 1ct total and I just love the cut of them. But maybe I should find a band I like because repurposing them might be more expensive than finding something new.

Screenshot_20210112-082232_eBay.jpg
 

ItsMainelyYou

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Not so crazy.
My hobby is looking for rings like this. Putting the gold scrap cost into it will help with reset costs. If it's cheap enough, it's worth it.
 

Lisa Loves Shiny

Ideal_Rock
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I think by the time you are done it will probably cost more than this James Allen 1 carat asscher diamond band. But maybe you have a specific design and would like to make something custom? If so, the idea does not sound crazy at all to me.

 

Tartansparkles

Brilliant_Rock
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I haven't, but I would if I thought I was going to get something better than I could buy ('better' is subjective but for me means designing something unique that possibility only I would like!). I spend a lot of time looking and like @ItsMainelyYou, the looking is a hobby.
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I think by the time you are done it will probably cost more than this James Allen 1 carat asscher diamond band. But maybe you have a specific design and would like to make something custom? If so, the idea does not sound crazy at all to me.


This is a good point. It is likely more $$ this way vs a premade band. I think the appeal to me is knowing I like the cut of these stones because they are unique. But i likely should focus on buying something already made.
 

YadaYadaYada

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You mean you wouldn’t rock it as is?? Why not, it is so....so...unique ;-)

I would do this although I haven’t. Consider the size difference between the diamonds in the ring you found vs the JA band. If the diamonds are bigger then they are worth more and a project may be worth considering.
 

Roselina

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Not so crazy.
My hobby is looking for rings like this. Putting the gold scrap cost into it will help with reset costs. If it's cheap enough, it's worth it.

It‘s my hobby as well. Admittedly an expensive one. Most of the time the custom project turns out quite expensive. But on other occasions not so much. But I did buy pieces before intending to transform just for falling in love with the thing and kept it as is
 

Roselina

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I came across a vintage piece that has lovely asscher/Carre cut diamonds, but the band they are in is atrocious (IMHO). has anyone ever bought a vintage piece with the intention to repurpose the stones? Trying to figure out how crazy of an idea it is haha.

Pic attached. Its 1ct total and I just love the cut of them. But maybe I should find a band I like because repurposing them might be more expensive than finding something new.

Screenshot_20210112-082232_eBay.jpg

The stones ARE lovely!!
 

kgizo

Ideal_Rock
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The cut on those stones looks lovely! I would worry about finding girdle damage when removed from that setting so the price would have to be very good for me. To answer your question, I have bought pieces in settings I didn’t care for intending to reuse the stones. One time I ended up falling in love with it and kept it as is, and the other I got overwhelmed at the idea of a project and ended up selling it. Let us know what you decide to do, cause those look like REALLY nice carre cuts.
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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You mean you wouldn’t rock it as is?? Why not, it is so....so...unique ;-)

I would do this although I haven’t. Consider the size difference between the diamonds in the ring you found vs the JA band. If the diamonds are bigger then they are worth more and a project may be worth considering.

They are smaller than the JA ones because there are 10 of them and total ct weight is 1ct (they look like graduated sizes in the pics). I don't even know what I would offer the seller for it, so might just forget it. But it's a ring that keeps coming up on my ebay window shopping and one I end up thinking about a lot.
 

Rfisher

Ideal_Rock
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It is a gamble because you don’t know the exact weight, dimensions, nor possible hidden damage.
But what a thrilling, addictive ride it is!
I sourced OEC for my sapphire halo from a bar brooch. It ended being more economical than if vendor supplied.
If the setting you really want isn’t readily available with similar stones - I say it’s worth it -
 

nala

Ideal_Rock
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I’ve done this and one time it was a waste of money and the other it was a fair price. How much are they asking? I paid 500 for a basic 9 stone semi mount in LA like two years ago. So a reset could easily cost you 500 to 700. You could scrap the current setting for gold at 33 so so a gram. Subtract that. If the price hits your budget, might be worth it!
 

Bron357

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For those diamonds, being an unusual and harder to source shape, I would provided the price was good.
I’d work out the melt value of the gold, calculate a total cwt using mm size as a guide and give that a value = what I’d pay.
However, you need to keep in mind what the cost will be to make into a new ring. Not cheap.
 

Mrs_Strizzle

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I bought my red spinel ring just for the spinel, as the ring is not me at all. Having said that, I have worn it just about every day since getting it. Hubby wants me to leave it alone, but I'm definitely putting her in a new dress. 20201111_155302.jpg
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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For those diamonds, being an unusual and harder to source shape, I would provided the price was good.
I’d work out the melt value of the gold, calculate a total cwt using mm size as a guide and give that a value = what I’d pay.
However, you need to keep in mind what the cost will be to make into a new ring. Not cheap.

Bron since you are so experienced with ebay what do you think a fair price would be? It's 10 total stones which together add up to be 1ct
 

Bron357

Ideal_Rock
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Firstly I’d find out the rings weight in grams.
$34 a gram for 14k
$44 a gram for 18k
For the diamonds, not sure what a .10 carat Asher diamond is worth, say $100 each.
So if the ring is say 8 grams of 14k gold that’s say $280 gold plus $1,000 for the diamonds. I’d pay $1,300 or less.
you might need some more accurate data for diamond prices, maybe $100 per 10 pointer is $75 or maybe $150.
Generally when people are selling pre loved they look at the components value and add in $$ for the fact it’s a piece of wearable jewellery. In your case you don’t want to pay an extra amount for that as you’re scrapping the setting.
so it depends on how much extra the seller feels the item as a wearable ring is worth.
 

Daisys and Diamonds

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I bought my red spinel ring just for the spinel, as the ring is not me at all. Having said that, I have worn it just about every day since getting it. Hubby wants me to leave it alone, but I'm definitely putting her in a new dress. 20201111_155302.jpg

I would loooooove the setting !
its gorgouse
I hope you sell it for a good price and it goes on to have a 2nd life
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Firstly I’d find out the rings weight in grams.
$34 a gram for 14k
$44 a gram for 18k
For the diamonds, not sure what a .10 carat Asher diamond is worth, say $100 each.
So if the ring is say 8 grams of 14k gold that’s say $280 gold plus $1,000 for the diamonds. I’d pay $1,300 or less.
you might need some more accurate data for diamond prices, maybe $100 per 10 pointer is $75 or maybe $150.
Generally when people are selling pre loved they look at the components value and add in $$ for the fact it’s a piece of wearable jewellery. In your case you don’t want to pay an extra amount for that as you’re scrapping the setting.
so it depends on how much extra the seller feels the item as a wearable ring is worth.

That's super helpful, thank you! As per the listing it's 4.9 grams and 14k gold. If I round down and say it's 4.5 grams of gold for $34 per gram then that's $153. The ring is being sold for $1500, which I am not willing to pay, but didn't know what a more reasonable price would be. This definitely helps!
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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@Bron357 gave really wise advice about cost, so I decided to keep looking. I found this band that I also like. Platinum and total ct weight is 1.20. Less stones than the other one, but each one is bigger (8 stones total so each is about .15ish whereas the stones in the other were .1).

Trying to decide if I love the stones as much as the first ring (no idea why but those stones just grabbed me right away)

Screenshot_20210115-102255_eBay.jpg
 

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Rfisher

Ideal_Rock
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The channel set band looks to have a couple that are elongated instead of square?
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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The channel set band looks to have a couple that are elongated instead of square?

ugh I think you're right. Just looked at it on my computer (was looking at it on my phone before) and they aren't all square.
 

Rfisher

Ideal_Rock
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Perchance ivy/rose still has some loose. Worth a call?
 
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