Cartier ruby art deco ring — fix or not

[cardamomcookie]

I bought and resized a lovely art deco Cartier ring. After resizing it, I started to notice that the central diamond, which was set in a pin, rotated in the setting. The jeweler thinks it was intentionally set this way. I don’t know enough about this type of setting — is it likely for something like this to be set this way on purpose (seems weird and yet charming?)? I don’t want to change it if it was intentional and the jeweler said I shouldn’t lose the diamond. They said they could laser it and fix it in place, so it seems like I have a choice. Thoughts? This is making me anxious because I feel out of my depth.

 

[RMOO]

What a beautiful and unique ring! I love the raspberry pink tone of the rubies (did the color photograph accurately?) I don't have the experience to allow me to answer your question, but I'm curious what the underside looks like. Could post a clear photo of the underside of the head of the ring?

 

[Ally T]

Beautiful ring! If it was meant to be a rotating part & has always been so, I would leave it as it is.

You could contact Cartier to ask. They keep a picture file of all of their designs.

 

[lala646]

Agreed. If you have concerns, Cartier are the ones to ask. If repair is needed, you'll want them to do it.

 

[RRfromR]

No clue but it's so beautiful

 

[LightBright]

I personally don’t believe the pin was meant to rotate, but this my unprofessional opinion. IMO if its rotating can harm the adjacent rubies, that’s the only reason to fix it.

I want to let you know that unless the jeweler who fixes it is top notch, you could destroy the ring or the stones. To me, unless the pin is rubbing something, it’s not worth the risk. There are several examples of antique restoration gone very wrong on Pricescope.

Gary Roe is someone who does antique jewelry restoration but he might be very $$.

Enjoy your ring, it’s fantastic!

 

[LilAlex]

Beautiful!

I agree that it does not look like it was not meant to rotate. When I zoom in, looks like it was designed to nestle right into the crown step cuts at a kite and not square angle. The base of the stalk was probably fixed to the basket. Hopefully, someone thought to have a flare or bell at the base of the stalk to keep it from slipping past the invisibly-set rubies even it if were to break free from the basket. But that seems like a lot of future-proofing to ask of a designer and setter.

I second Gary Roe for almost anything. It's hard to believe this could be addressed without unmounting all the rubies, etc.

 

[Lookinagain]

I think the best advice is to contact Cartier.

 

[cardamomcookie]

Thanks, all! This is all super helpful advice! I just showed the ring to the high jewelry manager at my local Cartier store (wasn't sure what to expect, since I'm not a high jewelry buyer, but he was super nice) -- he's sending pictures of the ring to the archivist in New York to see if they can discover the original design. This is feeling like a historical quest, which is fun. Stay tuned -- I'll report back when I hear anything.

 

[cardamomcookie]

Some additional pictures of the center diamond setting from my jeweler that shows why it's freely moving. The Cartier manager did say that he saw solder under the loup, which shows that the setting has been repaired.