Help with new gemstone for old engagement setting

[mckenzie636]

Hello! I've been lurking and browsing these boards for a while and was hoping I could get some help. For our 10th wedding anniversary we are getting me a colored gemstone to put in my original engagement setting. When we first got engaged, I had a half carat diamond in a plain cathedral setting from Whitehall at the local mall since I wanted the ring asap and that was the biggest we could afford (without getting a horrible looking stone). Shortly before the wedding we had some extra funds and put my stone in a new setting with side stones, since keeping the same center stone was really important to both of us.

Well, I've had my original setting in the safe for almost a decade now and wanted to make use of it. This setting originally held a stone sized 4.20 x 4.19 x 3.3mm. How wide of a stone do you think I could fit in this ring? I was thinking of maybe doing a 7x5 mm oval.





These are some of the stones I've been looking at. I'm still pretty unsure about what to get. I'm interested in ovals mainly so I can get more size and still fit the width of my old setting. I'm really liking blues, greens, and purples and stones that have some kind of color shift:
https://www.mastercutgems.com/Products-263-Rare_Gems_and_Tanzanite/8195-TANZANITE_-_Unheated_1_20_ct-Gem.php?FromPage=1

https://www.mastercutgems.com/Products-263-Rare_Gems_and_Tanzanite/8346-TANZANITE_-_Unheated_1_70_ct-Gem.php?FromPage=1

https://www.mastercutgems.com/Products-250-Spinel/8750-South_East_Asia_Natural_Steely_Blue_Spinel_1_72_ct-Gem.php?FromPage=1

https://www.mastercutgems.com/Products-251-Ruby_and_Sapphire/8709-Natural_Sri_Lanka_Blue-Green_Sapphire_1_02_ct-Gem.php?FromPage=1

https://www.mastercutgems.com/Products-251-Ruby_and_Sapphire/8711-Natural_Green_Sapphire_0_81_ct_-Gem.php?FromPage=1


Any help and suggestions are appreciated!

 

[edelweissmaedl]

It looks like some of the prongs may be broken. Is that a correct assumption or just the angle of the picture?

 

[mckenzie636]

It looks like some of the prongs may be broken. Is that a correct assumption or just the angle of the picture?

Oh, yes..I'll also need to get new prongs. This is how we got the ring back from the jeweler. The prongs were platinum I think - I don't know if that is a problem when removing a stone.

 

[chrono]

Get a quote as to much it will cost to rebuild all 4 prongs. I think it might be less costly to buy a new setting. Whoever removed the stone was very heavy handed and didn't care about the condition of the prongs.

 

[mckenzie636]

Get a quote as to much it will cost to rebuild all 4 prongs. I think it might be less costly to buy a new setting. Whoever removed the stone was very heavy handed and didn't care about the condition of the prongs.

Do you think I would be able to have a prong peg setting put in there? Like this one?:
http://www.stuller.com/products/24061/?groupId=85789

We were wanting to keep this setting for sentimental reasons.

 

[chrono]

Yes, changing out the peg will work too and is probably a better option than trying to rebuild the prongs.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

And it will give you a lot more flexibility in the size of the new stone.

 

[Michael_E]

Do you think I would be able to have a prong peg setting put in there? Like this one?:
http://www.stuller.com/products/24061/?groupId=85789

We were wanting to keep this setting for sentimental reasons.

That would work, BUT I would suggest having a custom peg head setting made to replace your broken one, IF you choose one of those tanzanites. Tanzanite is soft and brittle, so should be in a much more protected setting than a basic four prong style.

 

[agingsparkle]

If you find yourself going full-custom, you could also potentially have the original setting melted down and used in a new one. My husband and I made our own rings (learned wax casting and everything!) but he lost his several years ago and I can't wear mine anymore after some lupus-related joint issues. I've been contemplating having it melted down and used in some way in new rings for both of us... presumably as detailing or an inset, since even though it's a solid, heavy ring for its size, it's not THAT big!

 

[AandCGemTradingCorp]

If you find yourself going full-custom, you could also potentially have the original setting melted down and used in a new one. My husband and I made our own rings (learned wax casting and everything!) but he lost his several years ago and I can't wear mine anymore after some lupus-related joint issues. I've been contemplating having it melted down and used in some way in new rings for both of us... presumably as detailing or an inset, since even though it's a solid, heavy ring for its size, it's not THAT big!

If the ring is of great sentimental value, then I would not recommend melting it down and hoping that your original gold will be used in the new mounting! Unless you are working with an artisinal jeweler, most times the gold is melted down in larger quantities and you would not be assured that your original ring is the source of metal for the new piece.

If you are changing the head, then the pearshape sapphire or oval sapphire would be beautiful options- and you could even use yellow gold for holding the center stone. As previously noted, I would definitely not recommend placing a tanzanite in the ring for an everyday option. It will not stand up nearly as well as the sapphire, to normal wear.

 

[evergreen]

It looks like the width of a peg head might be somewhat limited by the space between the cathedral-like shoulders (y'know, where the peg head is soldered) -- unless you want your new stone sticking up quite high, you may be limited to a narrower-cut stone, like a long oval or a marquise, with an east-west dimension of not much more than 4mm.

Plan to replace the head, which would also take care of the broken prong issue. But I do think your stone will be forced to sit quite high with a replacement peg head to clear those cathedral shoulders, unless you focus on slender stones. Something like this - http://www.stuller.com/products/283/?groupId=16725 - might sit OK between your shank's shoulders (notice it's for an 8 x 3.5mm marquise... about 0.5ct for a diamond). Check with your jeweler, though, so you know the limitations of the ring setting before you fall in love with a stone that can't be mounted sensibly on your shank!