Howdy

[Habo]

Hey, I just joined this board but have been reading here for a few weeks off and on. I have found myself in a possition where a greater knowledge of diamonds and jewelry would be handy so here I am...

I am looking into buying an engagement ring but haven''t really gone very far at this point. I figure it makes more sense to see what the people here thought about things before getting too far down any particular path. I have been offered a ring that was my great grandmother''s and that I have only seen once. It will be appraised soon and once that has been done I hope to know more about it.

We don''t know anything about it besides the obvious. It is a very simple ring with a platinum or white gold setting and a single medium/large(to me) diamond. It would date to sometime well before WWII. If I were to use the ring it would only be the diamond because my girlfriend really prefers yellow gold and I found the ring a little too simple for my taste.(plus I would like the ring to be something more individual rather than something that was just on hand, even if it is an heirloom)

Is using an existing diamond in a new ring generally much of a problem? Will an appraisal tell me everything I need to know about this ring? Obviously I have nothing like a certificate on it but that doesn''t really concern me. It is what it is afterall.

 

[MissAva]

I think that if you get a good appraisal it will tell you most everything you need to know, size, color, clarity, cut info, weather or not is has any strength issues. I don’t think having an heirloom stone will be an issue. I believe Mortica’s stone was and she had hers set is a gorgeous Ritani halo. What are you think for in terms of the setting? Ask away there is always someone on PS who will help you. Welcome.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I have an heirloom diamond for my engagement ring, but I changed the setting. It was in a platinum dinner ring. We had it put in a yellow gold Vatche x prong setting. My husband had a garnet put in the old ring so that I could still wear that one too.

As long as nobody in your family minds you removing the stone, I say go for it. My grandmother's ring would have gone unworn, and it wasn't a sentimental piece, so nobody minded. I like knowing that she or my grandfather picked out this stone, especially since the love of diamonds seemed to have skipped a generation (we can hardly get my mom to wear a wedding band at all -- says they bother her hands). It makes me feel closer to my grandmother since she died when I was 12.

You should be able to buy a setting locally and have it set, or buy a setting online and have it set locally. My husband found the Vatche setting at a store in the next state and had it shipped here, and then had a local jeweler set it.

All in all it was a great deal. For all my passion for diamonds, I am SOOO glad that we didn't have to spend thousands of dollars for the stone in my ring. I don't actually know how much the setting cost my husband, but I figure that all in all we spent less than $1000 on my wedding set (we didn't spring for the Vatche wedding band, so I just wear a 2.5 mm 18k yellow gold band from BlueNile.com that was less than $100). I am always getting compliments on my diamond and ring. In fact, the other day the girl in the gas station gawked at my ring and then asked (more like demanded to know) how old I was (I was wearing sweatpants and had my hair in a pony tail, so I guess I looked young). I thought, since when do they card people for Snickers bars? But she had just noticed my ring and thought I was too young to have such a nice one.

I've had the stone appraised twice for insurance purposes (once in the platinum setting and once in the new), but I've never sent it to one of the big labs to get a report. I don't think there's a need to as long as you get a very detailed description of the ring for insurance purposes (somebody here just lost a chunk of her diamond and is dealing with the hassle of having it replaced). You can add a personal article policy onto your homeowner's or renter's insurance once you have the appraisal (you'll have to get another one after it's put in the new setting).

It shouldn't be a problem to reset the stone as long as it is stable. The appraiser should tell you what kind of a girdle it is. If it is very thin or extremely thin, make sure the jeweler is comfortable removing and setting the stone. But this sort of thing is done all the time.

Good luck! Come back and tell us what the appraisal said and what setting you decide on!

 

[Habo]

thanks for the help,

I am hoping to come up with a unique setting of some kind, regardless of whether I use the heirloom or not. I really like some of the antique rings I have seen on here and in other places but I need to find one in yellow gold. Hopefully it won''t be too difficult to find something suitable.

A couple of rings that I have really liked were these two:
http://www.nelsonrarities.com/dir01-12/galleryimages/rwsfiligreediaring1.JPG
http://www.nelsonrarities.com/dir01-12/galleryimages/rwsfiligreediaring3.JPG
https://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/files/hty.jpg

I am not interested in copying either of these rings but they are both beautiful and I would like a ring that is similar in style. I really don''t know all that much about what it takes to have something like that made. With any luck it isn''t a huge ordeal.

I am not in a huge hurry but I would like to have something put together by late sept.

 

[Kaleigh]

Habo,
Hi and welcome to pricescope

I think that very nice that you''ll be using your grandmothers stone. An appraiser will be able to give you all the necessary information on the stone. That setting from Nelson rarities is very nice. Also check this site out:
www.faycullen.com Good luck and let us know how you make out!!!!

 

[MissAva]

Snow Happy''s Ring looks like it might be right up your alley. It is fantastic and was a custom peice.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 7/19/2005 8:37:03 AM
Author: Habo
thanks for the help,

A couple of rings that I have really liked were these two:
http://www.nelsonrarities.com/dir01-12/galleryimages/rwsfiligreediaring1.JPG
http://www.nelsonrarities.com/dir01-12/galleryimages/rwsfiligreediaring3.JPG
http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/files/hty.jpg

Yay! Those are awesome, ofcourse. The second (a vintage Tiffany piece) has been redone successfully by Quest for a fellow Pricescoper. They really turne it out rather well, so if you want a version it would give you some advantage to go with these guys that have by now went to that length once...Just one thing to consider.

That ring did take trial and error from the part of the maker and ended upentirely handmade after the usual CAD, cast & finish failed to render the fine deatail.

The filigree ring at nelson''s would be times harder to follow. I don''t even know who does platinum filigree anymore. Sure, there are castings made to look somewhat like a (messy, randomized kind of) filigree, but that doesn''t quite cut it. The exceptions could be found in sme exotic modern pieces (Beaudry) but even such tip top jewelry studio might find Edwardian pieces a challenge. Better known engagement ring makers like Van Craeynest and Whitehousebrothers and Simon G do filigree work. A couple of rings from the ''Serendipity'' line by Tacori could turn out inspiring too... who knows. I do like the first better, but this is your call. And there are some moern interpretations that might appeal to you.

There should be more on the designer sites, these samples come from a hub showing numerous designer lines from just a few representative pieces. Sites like weingband.com and kanemarie.com do just that. You might want to look up ideas, even if you ebd up ordering a custom design. That would be cheaper and better, but allot more ''information intenseive'' IMO - basically, for custom work the better you know what you want and the more you know about the particular maker''s strong points the better. And it can always turn out dissapointing.

For filigree, also try this: greenlakejewelry.com. Theirs is handmade, but the models are rather modern in feel.

Robbins Cllection Yellow gold by Van Craeynest


And some from Greenlake... I would have copied their entire collection ! The long list of rings on their site (all handmade custom orders) is really worth browsing, IMO. Allot of the interesting pieces are platinum and white gold, but a few yellow gold ones (one included below onpurpose) demonstrate that it can be done.

Hope some of this helps

 

[hoorray]

I think finding a way to keep the heirloom alive, but with an individual touch is so much more sentimental than just buying a stone. (Don''t get me wrong - I''m all for buying diamonds

.) To me there is something very special about reusing a grandmother''s stone.

 

[grambysuzanne]

Use the diamond! How cool is it that you would have a family diamond. Besides, when you buy a diamond, you will only get 1/2 of its value if you ever need to sell it for any reason. Save your money and put it into a home for youselves. Good luck!

 

[Habo]

thanks so much for the links, particularly the green lake people. They had a lot of really cool rings and some of them aren''t that far off from what I had in mind.

The diamond is actually my great grandmother''s ring and I intend to use it provided the appraisal comes up with no significant issues or damage that I was unaware of. My first priority is to give my girlfriend something she will really like but I would like to use the old diamond both for cost and sentimental reasons. I will let you know how things turn out.