Hi all,
I''m so happy I''ve found you! I have a complicated question (at least, I think it''s complicated) and I''m a little intimidated about just walking into a jewelry store.
OK, so here''s the setup.
My BF has proposed. We discussed ring options and made a few decisions. First, my wedding band has to be pretty indestructible because of my lifestyle (I am an adrenaline junkie - I do triathlons (swim in the ocean), race bicycles, ride motorcycles, jump out of perfectly good airplanes, and the list goes on). Second, my engagement ring needs to be fairly small, as I have tiny hands a a 1 ct diamond looks HUGE on me. We have been looking at styles and decided we like the look of pave'' and other intricate "dainty" styles. We had also decided we wanted color - possibly even a colored stone as the focal point of the ering.
So after all of this discussion, we have been blessed by the discovery of a family heirloom ring.
We''ve been told we can do what we want with it (include melt it down and use the metal to make a completely different ring).
So what is the problem, you ask?
Well, the diamond is an old miner cut (round), and is (I believe) just under a carat. No idea about any specs, and the weight may be off. That''s just my uneducated guess. I think diamonds can be recut, but I actually like this one and wouldn''t really want to consider that as an option. But that rules out a colored stone as the focal point, because I''m certainly not going to use something this big as a side stone. Plus the ring is yellow gold, while we had decided on white gold or platinum. Actually, BF is getting titanium (for several reasons) but we wanted white gold or platinum for me.
It''s very important to BF''s family that the ring be used.
So I guess I have lots of questions. Can a yellow gold ring be melted down and turned into white gold? Would a jeweler think I was insane for requesting that? Could colored stones be used in a pave'' type setting, or would that look ridiculous? Could colored stones somehow be incorporated to enhance an old miner cut center stone, or would that just not be good? And, given the sentimental value of both the diamond and the gold (the gold actually came from two sets of grandparents - two wedding sets were melted down and made into one ring, using the diamond from one of the wedding sets), given the sentimental value, how would I find a jeweler who is willing to help design something that will fit my lifestyle, make everyone involved happy, and understand the gravity of what this means? And, if I find all of that in a jeweler, is there any way to compare prices, or should I just trust that the jeweler will be honest and up front with me? Would a jeweler even be willing to perform this sort of task, knowing that probably the only money they are going to make is on labor, and maybe a few small stones if the pave'' thing works out?
I''m so confused. Any help/guidance/insight/whatever would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for your time!
Lost and confused in Dallas
I''m so happy I''ve found you! I have a complicated question (at least, I think it''s complicated) and I''m a little intimidated about just walking into a jewelry store.
OK, so here''s the setup.
My BF has proposed. We discussed ring options and made a few decisions. First, my wedding band has to be pretty indestructible because of my lifestyle (I am an adrenaline junkie - I do triathlons (swim in the ocean), race bicycles, ride motorcycles, jump out of perfectly good airplanes, and the list goes on). Second, my engagement ring needs to be fairly small, as I have tiny hands a a 1 ct diamond looks HUGE on me. We have been looking at styles and decided we like the look of pave'' and other intricate "dainty" styles. We had also decided we wanted color - possibly even a colored stone as the focal point of the ering.
So after all of this discussion, we have been blessed by the discovery of a family heirloom ring.
We''ve been told we can do what we want with it (include melt it down and use the metal to make a completely different ring).
So what is the problem, you ask?
Well, the diamond is an old miner cut (round), and is (I believe) just under a carat. No idea about any specs, and the weight may be off. That''s just my uneducated guess. I think diamonds can be recut, but I actually like this one and wouldn''t really want to consider that as an option. But that rules out a colored stone as the focal point, because I''m certainly not going to use something this big as a side stone. Plus the ring is yellow gold, while we had decided on white gold or platinum. Actually, BF is getting titanium (for several reasons) but we wanted white gold or platinum for me.
It''s very important to BF''s family that the ring be used.
So I guess I have lots of questions. Can a yellow gold ring be melted down and turned into white gold? Would a jeweler think I was insane for requesting that? Could colored stones be used in a pave'' type setting, or would that look ridiculous? Could colored stones somehow be incorporated to enhance an old miner cut center stone, or would that just not be good? And, given the sentimental value of both the diamond and the gold (the gold actually came from two sets of grandparents - two wedding sets were melted down and made into one ring, using the diamond from one of the wedding sets), given the sentimental value, how would I find a jeweler who is willing to help design something that will fit my lifestyle, make everyone involved happy, and understand the gravity of what this means? And, if I find all of that in a jeweler, is there any way to compare prices, or should I just trust that the jeweler will be honest and up front with me? Would a jeweler even be willing to perform this sort of task, knowing that probably the only money they are going to make is on labor, and maybe a few small stones if the pave'' thing works out?
I''m so confused. Any help/guidance/insight/whatever would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for your time!
Lost and confused in Dallas