Have you heard?

[nir]

Hi,

My girl and I were talking the other day... I mentioned that I heard once somewhere that some people have an imitation ring made to look alike the real expensive one they got, and that they wear it as a symbol of the engagement/wedding/committment/etc.. while keeping the real one in a safe or safe deposit.

Has anyone heard of this or of anyone doing this? If so, are there companies who do this service?

Feel free and reply if you heard of this before, or not, cause I am also curious how common it is.

Thanks in advance

Nir

 

[valeria101]

Not common... I would think.

This habit of wearing imitations of jewelry one owns is honorable tradition that you may trace back in detail a few centuries while a brisk market for such "stand in" items flourished. This was definitely more common BEFORE insurance became available

It may still make sense to do this if the ring you have in mind truly is irreplaceable, but wearing some out of this world bauble every day does not strike me as an obvious issue, however. Otherwise, I might not have understood this right maybe ?

 

[nir]

Hi Valeria,

Thanks for your response. It appears you understood me. I was just asking, because I know I have heard of it somewhere. I remember someone telling me that person has some priceless jewel, and when I asked to see it they said they ware the imitation of it, as to not take any risks.

So I was just curious if you, and other members of the board, know or heard of this habit before.

Anyone else who has heard of this, or has examples they can point out to, let me know.

Nir

 

[Mara]

If you do have a piece that is particularly valuable or rare, some people do have imitations made and wear that while traveling. I don't know about *Everday* wear...I mean what would be the point...but while traveling I could see wearing an imitation. However, most of these pieces would probably be insured and also people would have a safe in the house for their valuable items...or keep it in a safe deposit box if it was not a ring (e.g. a priceless pendant). Common? Probably as common to do this as it is common to find people with items like that. So probably not common, but I'm sure it happens.

 

[pyramid]

I believe I have heard this topic discussed before on QVC in the UK and I think if I remember correctly Joan Rivers said it about the Hollywood stars.

I think I also heard from somewhere that Oprah does this.

I agree with Mara, for travelling yes. Otherwise unless the diamond is huge like say 10 carats plus and liable to be knocked in everyday wear or is an antique to be passed down the generations, I don't think it would be common. Expensive stones should be insured.

 

[hoorray]

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On 2/19/2004 7:43:43 AM pyramid wrote:

Expensive stones should be insured.
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And enjoyed! I would hate to have mine locked away.

 

[NY SPARKLE]

My friends mother has a 3.8 carat round (love is in the air

) that she keeps in a safety deposit box.

She only takes it out and wears it for special occasions. (waste of sparkle) She has a replica that she wears everyday. In her defense it has been stolen-twice. So thank god it wan't the real deal. After the replica was stolen she just had another one made up. But in a safe deposit box.........a least keep it home in a safe to look at daily....my precious......

 

[tessa]

I have a replica of my DVatche™ Xprong with an Asha 1.5

It looks very similar to my DVatche™ 8* but I hardly ever wear it.
For traveling it is a good idea but I still prefer to wear the original.

But NOT to keep in a safe deposit box.
That's not what great diamonds are for.

 

[luckyhonu]

This reminds me of a story I heard about Joan Collins. Apparently a wealthy Arab sheik gave Joan a beautiful diamond necklace. Her husband at the time did not approve so she had a replica done in CZ, brought it one to the beach with her husband, told him "I love you this much!" and flung it into the ocean.

 

[Bagpuss]

----------------
On 2/19/2004 11:49:29 AM NY SPARKLE wrote:


My friends mother has a 3.8 carat round (love is in the air

) that she keeps in a safety deposit box.

She only takes it out and wears it for special occasions. (waste of sparkle) She has a replica that she wears everyday. In her defense it has been stolen-twice. So thank god it wan't the real deal. After the replica was stolen she just had another one made up. But in a safe deposit box.........a least keep it home in a safe to look at daily....my precious......
----------------

I imagine that she was VERY VERY glad that she was wearing an imitation/copy. I think that if you live in an area where mugging etc is rife then it might be a good idea to wear a replica in public or when travelling.

I have LOTS of sim pieces which while not exact replicas of my diamond pieces do look very good to most people and so I wear those in places when I would feel at risk wearing my real diamonds. I'm not terribly wealthy or famous, but I would hate to lose my much cherished and hard-earned diamonds to a thief when I could have avoided it by wearing sims.

 

[Nicrez]

Insured or not, some people are more risk averse, like Moi...and when you have a rock that is unique, irreplaceable and/or hard to find in the first place, add to that the fact that if they are careless or live in a place that is more likely to get stolen or get mugged for...like NYC, yeah I'd get a copy!




For years I had a ring that my mother gave me that I wanted to wear, but was afraid of getting mugged or losing it, so I wore "faux" items with sparkle. If I had a 3 ct + I would probably get a faux in case. You spend that kind of money, if it's really valued, you get nervous...

 

[Mara]

I guess I would understand if it was a one of a kind thing, say an antique ring from 1920 that was handed down generation to generation. But if it is technically replaceable, wear it proudly and just get it insured.