Great-Grandmother's Ring--Can I change the YG to WG?

[jessssica]

Hi,

My mother recently gave me her Grandmother''s engagement ring. I really know very little about it, but I think it''s a nice right hand ring (for now at least!). My other Great-Grandmother had a Big, Beautiful ring that I''ll get in about 15 years.

Anyway, I believe the ring is from the late 1920''s..maybe 1928? My grandfather (it was his mom''s ring) is 73 and I know they were married for a while before they had him.

Does anyone have any clue of the time period or carat size?
Also, my main question: I really like the setting, but I am NOT a fan of yellow gold. Is there ANY way to remove the diamonds and then plate the ring in white gold--or is it rhodium they use? Please help me, because I''d love to take a ring with some history and make it into something I really love.

 

[jessssica]

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[jessssica]

One more

 

[marriahlyn]

I''m not sure of the carat size and no one will be able to tell by a picture.....but I just took a YG ruby ring in to get rodium plated. I don''t wear the ring every day but after a month, just the bottom is yellowing. They don''t have to take the stones out to "dip" the ring (not sure if they really dip it or it''s just a term used). Beautiful ring!! MY GG''s ring was given to my brother for his wife that my grandmother hated and now they''re divorced. It''s 1/2 carat OEC that I''m thinking of buying from my brother.

 

[FireGoddess]

What a gorgeous piece of your family history! A jeweler should be able to rhodium plate the ring no problem, without removing the stones. I would go this route before resetting the stone....it would be a shame to take that gorgeous vintage ring apart!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I absolutely agree! Leave the ring as it is and have it rhodium plated! It is very inexpensive, too!

 

[Kaleigh]

Yup, leave it as is. Rhodium plating is very inexpensive and can last a good long time depending. What a lovely ring, thanks for sharing it with us!!!

 

[blueroses]

You should be able to get that baby rhodium dipped/plated for around $60-$70 bucks and that''s it!!! No taking stones out, etc. I had a YG 16th birthday ring that I loved but never wore anymore so I had it spruced up and plated and now it''s WG!!!!

Linky

 

[lizz]

Lovely ring. I agree, leave it as is. I love the fishtail prongs and would have prongs like those if I ever bought a round stone.

 

[blueroses]

p.s. LOVELOVELOVE the existing setting--it would look so lovely in WG!

p.p.s. this link is helpful getting an approximate idea of carat weight based on mm x mm
http://images.amazon.com/media/i3d/01/actual-diamond-size.pdf

 

[jessssica]

Thanks for all the help and compliments!

I had no idea it would be so cheap to get it rhodium dipped/plated, which is great because I really do like the setting. I think the carat weight is about .65 for the main stone ...which isn''t huge, but I have tiny hands (4.5 ring finger), so it looks quite sizeable. I will be sure to post pictures once I get it plated and cleaned. (You can''t even imagine how dirty it is/was when I took those pictures).

 

[conitta]

You are a very lucky girl to have family pieces given to you. I hope to a have some for my daughter someday....but not in a hurry..LOL!They heat the rodium and dip it and do not have to remove the stones.My jewelery explained to me how she did it.I thought you would have to remove the stones...it doesn''t stick to anything but the metal.Isn''t that amazing...I just wonder about other stones that are more sensitive to heat, guess you would have to remove the stone in that case.hmmm....

Please let us see pics after it is done...

Connie

 

[jessssica]

So I called a local jewler today and I was quoted at $12 for rhodium plating---which is DIRT cheap. I live in a smallish town outside of Pittsburgh, so maybe that''s why. However, when I told him it was YG he said that it wouldn''t last that long--I may need to get it done twice a year or something...but he said it wouldn''t hurt the ring and could be taken off easily, so I guess there''s not much to lose. I''m going in to talk to him tonight, so maybe I can see about doing a double dip--if that exists--so it will last longer.

 

[FireGoddess]

Wow - that is insanely cheap. Even doing it at that price 3x a year is still cheaper than it would cost me to do it once!! Well worth it.

 

[blueroses]

Such a deal!! Awesome! And this way you''ll automatically have a 6 month check-up check the prongs/get the baby cleaned appointment....for cheeeeap!

 

[jessssica]

Yay! Great news, I took the ring in tonight...and apparently it''s actually (originally) WG! I thought something was weird, because in the areas where it was worn, it looked like WG and I assumed it had something to do with the age or the way they used to make YG. I guess she decided to change it to YG at some point and had it plated. This means that they''re going to take off the YG and then rhodium plate it to brighten it up. Now I won''t have any issues with it wearing off! All that for $12!
The jeweler said that the center diamond is an OEC, which I had figured, is about .65-.75 carats (it looks smaller, because OECs are cut a lot deeper), and is definitely older than the 80 years I thought.
He pointed out that one of the tiny side diamonds was very cloudy from damage, so he said he would replace it for the cost of labor, $25. Jeez, I usually hate living in my small town,(I''m from Miami, FL)although it''s only for 2 years, but hey, I won''t complain about the prices. My ring should be back in a week, and I will definitely post some new and improved pictures. Again, thanks for everything! You guys are great!

 

[Shay37]

Oh, I can''t wait to see it. Don''t forget to post your jeweler''s name. That kind of reasonable service should be rewarded.

shay

 

[SuzyQZ]

Jess:
Wow, that''s terrific news. What a happy ending, it was meant to be WG all along! Can''t wait to see the finished product. Remember pics, lots of pics when you get it back!

 

[conitta]

Glad to hear the good news about your ring...Waiting for pics.

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi Jessssica ~

Oh you are a very luck girl! I love the unique sparkle of OEC''s & OMC''s!

Congrat''s on a beautiful family ring!

I think is will be stunningly beautiful in WG!

I have always been partial to the "Fishtail prongs"!!! Just love them!

Post lots of

''s for us when you get your beauty back!

Take care, and have a wonderful weekend!

 

[bmathews]

that is great that you got such a deal and a good jeweler. Where outside of Pittsburgh are you from? I am from right near Pittsburgh as well, in the south hills though. Also, if you really need a good jeweler one can easily be fund in the clark building in downtown Pittsburgh.

 

[widget]

I''m subscribing to this thread so I won''t miss the "after" pix of that wonderful heirloom...can''t wait!!!

widget

 

[jessssica]

I live about an hour from Pittsburgh--in Indiana, PA. I go to Pittsburgh often, but it''s just a lot easier for me to use a local jeweler. I used Lorelli''s Jewelery, since it''s one of the few non-chain stores, and a friend of mine had used them with good results. And obviously, they''re VERY reasonable!
I took in the ring on Wednesday night, and I was told the turn-around time should be a week, so I should probably get it this Thursday or Friday. I''m so excited... to see the new and improved ring. The first pictures I took look awful because the ring was ridiculously dirty. When it was cleaned at the store it looked so much better and full of sparkles! Of course, I will be so honored to take lots of pictues for you guys. I know it''s not a very big stone, especially compared to the rocks I see on here, but I just really love it, and I feel so lucky to have it. It has a much better home on my finger than sitting alone in a dresser.
Oh I also wanted to ask what you guys thought on what finger I should wear it on. As is, it fits very well on my middle finger, which I like, but I think I also might like it on my right ring finger. I wasn''t sure what to do when I brought it in, so I left the size as is. I''ll have to see if I even can size it down to my ring finger, since it''s a 4.5. I guess I''ll figure it out.

 

[jessssica]

It''s done and it looks great! Let me know what you think!

 

[jessssica]

Yay

 

[Kaylyn]

Oh wow, that''s absolutely stunning! I love antique pieces like that!

 

[jessssica]

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[jessssica]

side

 

[jessssica]

You can see how white it is now:

 

[jessssica]

Sparkly!