Establishing Tiffany Provenance...

[lizzyd]

Hi All,

I have a sapphire ring that was either my grandmother''s (c. 1926) or my greatgrandmother''s (c. late 1890''s) from Tiffany & Co. in NYC.

It''s in pretty rough shape. The sapphire has some chips out of it, including in the girdle. Also, it''s been worked on by other jewelers who obliterated the Tiffany hallmark and the platinum stamp.

I''d like to:

1.) Have it''s provenance established through Tiffany, so that they can restore it to it''s original condition. Anybody have experience with this?

2.) Is there anything I can have done to fix the chips (polishing or something?), short of recutting the stone. If so, is there a really good person to have this work done by or could I trust Tiffany with that part of the job?


(picture here https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-need-photos-of-oval-sapphire-ring-with-diamond-side-stones.25884/)

Thank you,

LizzyD

 

[widget]

Hi, Lizzy...

I''m pretty sure the sapphire could be ''spruced up'' a bit by repolishing, which I don''t think is too big a deal, or too expensive. If the ring itself needs repair/refurbishing, I''d look for a jeweler who specializes working with older pieces.

Regarding establishing provenance...maybe someone else knows, but it seems to me that since the stamp and maybe serial number are gone, and it looks from the picture to be a pretty ''generic'' style, that may be impossible. You could sure call or take it into Tiffany''s and ask.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that T&Co charges $500 to do a trace on a piece, even if they have enough information about it.

I''m posting your picture from the other thread. I noticed that I begged you over there to post more pictures of this treasure.....can I beg again?

widget

 

[lizzyd]

Widget,

You''re becoming my gem stone guru/go-to girl

I called Tiff''s in Boston, they sent me to NY. Mr. Brioni in NY said I have to bring the ring to the Boston store, Boston will send it to the NY Service Center where they will do some research on whether it''s something that Tiffany''s ever made.

Unfortunatley he said they don''t keep records back as far as this ring goes. Oh well.

I next time I go into town I''ll drop it off.

As for the pics, I''m SO, SO sorry. I''m pathetic. I don''t know how to post. I don''t even know how to get pics from the camera to a place on my computer where I can find them again. I''ve tried several times and they just go somewhere

and I can never find them again. That''s why I just keep posting links to pics from last year when I knew how to do it (dh changed the photo software on me). He''s tried to teach me a few times and for some reason I just can''t get it to work. Once I learn how to get the pics from the camera to the computer, then I''ll ask here (you maybe?) how to get them from my computer and onto a post. Pretty pathetic, huh?!

If dh is home tonight, I''ll try again. I have a few pieces from my grandmother (diamond/platinum bracelet, huge oval/cushion kunzite ring, same shape, even bigger, aquamarine ring, 125 year old pocket watch, etc.). Anyway, thanks again.

Best,
LizzyD





LizzyD

 

[RockDoc]

I would suggest you NOT let anyone but Tiffany restore this item.

But before you do that I''d want to be certain that the authencity of the item be established.

When someone else works on a valuable Tiffanfy item, it CAN seriously affect the value and provenance of it.

Rockdoc