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Custom ring quote excluding material??

M

mgkush

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 28, 2012
Messages
1
Hello all! I'm incredibly new to this game and honestly have no idea where to start. My fiance's mother passed away 2 years ago, before I'd even met him, and willed her engagement ring and wedding band to him. He proposed in December last year and gave me her engagement ring which has a family heirloom diamond set as the center stone that belonged to her grandmother. I'll attach a picture of the ring here. I love the sentimentality of the ring, especially because I never got to meet the woman who made my fiance the man he is today, but the ring was her design and it's not very "me". I've always had a particular ring in mind when I thought of an engagement ring and while this ring is beautiful and meaningful, I'd love to have what I've always envisioned. The ring he gave me is a fairly thick band of 18k white gold with a .75 carat round cut center stone in a 4-prong open setting with 7 small baguettes on either side. I haven't seen the wedding band but I'm told it matches so I can only assume that means it's also a thick 18k white gold band with an estimated 15 baguettes along the top, give or take. What I'm hoping to do is use the materials from this ring to create the one I've always envisioned. I'll also attach a picture of that one. The one I've envisioned would utilize all the white gold and the center stone plus a couple smaller round cut diamonds that we already own. I intend to make a right hand ring out of the baguettes eventually, but that's another story altogether. So I was wondering if anyone could give me a ballpark estimate of what they think design and labor would cost for what I'm trying to achieve for my engagement ring redesign. I understand no number will be concrete until I find a jeweler and designer and get a quote from them, but I was hoping for an estimate. I wouldn't need to purchase any of the materials, which I assume should help me out with costs. So can anyone give me a number they might think my costs would be around?

imag3488_edit0_edit0.jpg

louisa_ring.jpg

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Diamonds recycle pretty easilly but gold is a different matter. There can be contaminants in the metal that the jeweler doesn't know about that can cause some significant problems later in the process and a fair number of them will flatly refuse to make a piece out of 'used' metal. That said, they are usually happy to trade in the metal for new so it will help defray the costs, just not exactly in the way you're thinking.

Different craftsmen charge different rates for their time and talents and there is no straight answer to what a custom job 'should' cost but most are happy to give estimates for free. Find a shop that seems like someone you want to work with and ask 'em.
 
Is your future hubby ok with the idea of dismantling the set? I'm not sure how attached he is sentimentally to it. I might suggest using the center stone and keeping the rest intact since, as the PP mentioned, reusing gold like that will have challenges. Might be easier to just start from scratch using the center stone.
 
My first thoughts... wow. Can of worms.
1. An incredibly sentimental piece
2. An even more incredibly sentimental piece because she has passed, and relatively recently at that
3. You are newly engaged
4. She did not give the ring to *you* specifically with instructions to do as you please, she willed it to her son who then gave it to you

I have to ask - you know that people can be hugely sentimental about keeping engagement rings in exactly their original form in general, and in this case... I can't imagine that some people aren't going to object strongly to this venture. Normally I'd say do what you want, it's just a ring and that's their problem, but... in this case the people most likely not to see it as just a ring and to be hurt, offended, and angry are the ones closest to her - and by extension to *you*. Is this truly something you want to risk? Is your FI supportive?
Honestly, I think it's much, much safer all 'round to just get a new ring of exactly the design you want.


As for the actual question - depends on the metal and the vendor I think. Metal can't just be re-used, it has to be re-processed and I assume the exact process, costs, and yield will depend on the metal itself. My understanding is that it can be a pricey process? So a design quote excluding all materials wouldn't be realistic.


ETA: just saw the other responses ::)
 
I think that since your fiance's mother designed a ring from a family stone SHE inherited at one point, you should be able too as well. I am not sure why that would be an issues for other people.

I think your design is pretty cool. Do you have a particular jeweler in mind to do this? I would suggest hand forged since it does have some sentimental value...that will cost you more! Maybe look into Ann McKay http://www.annmckaystudio.com/ or Caleb Meyer http://www.calebmeyer.com/
 
I'll agree with Yssie unless your fiance told you when he gave you the ring that he was fine with you designing another ring using the diamond.

I'd probably leave the set intact since it is a fairly classic set that would be fine to wear and just have an alternate standalone wedding band made in the design you like. Like others mentioned, it is really not practical to reuse gold since it usually has to be refined before using it again.

I actually think Greenlake makes more of the organic style you are wanting:

http://www.greenlakejewelry.com/

http://www.greenlakejewelry.com/gallery/gallery.aspx
 
mandasand|1340928094|3225577 said:
I was just checking out Caleb Meyer's archived section:

http://www.calebmeyer.com/detail.php?id=148832
http://www.calebmeyer.com/detail.php?id=148609
http://www.calebmeyer.com/detail.php?id=148595

Based on your drawing, seems like this designer would be right up your alley!!
Click to expand...

I think Caleb is a great recommendation. So is Greenlake. I can't tell you what it would cost, as I've never worked with either. But I would expect to pay somewhere around 3k for the set =as metal prices are really high. Possibly higher depending on how much the designer's charge. I can see someone charging 1800 for just the setting though.

They won't be able to recycle the gold.
 
I'm currently resetting my stone and asked if the old setting could be used towards the new one. The jeweler was happy to pay me for the scrap value, really just a couple of hundred bucks for a substantial platinum setting. But you can't just take the old setting and turn it into a new one, I don't think. My setting was broken, otherwise I would've kept it for sentimental value. It may not be worth it to dismantle it completely for you, I doubt it'll save you a substantial amount. What about just take out the stone and putting it into a new ring and perhaps putting a colored stone into the old setting for your right hand?
 
I'm with Alene on this one- just take out the stone and keep the set.
 
The majority of the cost of an engagement ring is in the center diamond and the labor. The metal and melee diamonds don't add that much in the grand scheme of things. I agree that the best thing to do would be to take out the diamond and use it in a new set, and put a colored stone or fakey in the old set so you can still wear it. Unless he has any siblings, in which case it might be most polite to offer the whole thing, center diamond and all, to them.

I love your idea for your dream set. It looks gorgeous and I hope you get it!
 
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