I need help regarding reproductions

[justclueless]

I am looking for and engagment ring for my girlfriend who loves antique jewelry and has specifically mentioned cushion cut diamonds. In looking at this sight I found the ring below posted by mssalvo which is a reproduction of a ''20s or ''30s Tiffany. I love this ring but don''t know anything about diamonds let alone the settings.

Does anyone have advice regarding reproduction like this? Should I contact the same jeweler? Would it be more cost efficient to do this? Would a scquare cushion fit in here?

Lastly, how noticable is the difference between an F and an H color?

Thanks for your help.

 

[justclueless]

a second picture

 

[justclueless]

sorry for the error on the second picture

 

[Gypsy]

Definitely contact Quest, they did the first one... and they probably still have all the information on it. Do a search for them on here and see what other have had to say about them.

A cushion, as long as it''s a square one would look great in there. Actually an Old Mine Brillant Cushion would be my pic. I would get the cushion from ERD engagement rings direct... I would also ask them to qoute the setting for you as if you were buying both from them. It might be the most cost effective way to go. I don''t know how acurate Mark (ERD) will get to this setting... but he''ll be honest with you. Quest has great pricing though, so it may just end up MOST cost effective to get the cushion from Mark (ERD) and get the setting from Quest (especially as Quest has done it before).

As for F to H... in a CUSHION? Definitely a NOTICEABLE difference. BUT she wants an antique look and a little color gives a stone a more antique authentic feel. Call ERD about the cushion. And get qoutes from both ERD and Quest for the setting.

 

[mrssalvo]

I second everything gypsy said. Quest was absolutely wonderful to work with and their pricing is very good. I''ve not worked with Mark T but would in a heartbeat and he really is the one I''d go to for a cushion. I''d probably go with a G if if works in your budget but an H should be fine too. I personally woundn''t go any lower than an H though..

 

[justclueless]

Thanks to you both Gypsy and MRSSALVO. Hearing you still enjoy the ring sometime later is enough confirmation for me. I''ll call Quest soon. What should I be looking for in the pave diamons?

I am really concerned about buying a diamond on the internet knowing so little about them. Is the cost savings justified? As you can probably tell, I am really new to this. Your help is greatly appreciated.

I will surely stick with F or G. Any other words of wisdom on what characteristics I should put at the top of the list for cushion or Old Mine Brilliant Cushions? How large do I need to go for this setting?

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 7/31/2007 8:49:35 AM
Author: justclueless
Thanks to you both Gypsy and MRSSALVO. Hearing you still enjoy the ring sometime later is enough confirmation for me. I'll call Quest soon. What should I be looking for in the pave diamons?


I am really concerned about buying a diamond on the internet knowing so little about them. Is the cost savings justified? As you can probably tell, I am really new to this. Your help is greatly appreciated.


I will surely stick with F or G. Any other words of wisdom on what characteristics I should put at the top of the list for cushion or Old Mine Brilliant Cushions? How large do I need to go for this setting?

justclueless,

I actually ended up consigning the ring through Pearlmans b/c I turned my stone into my insurance company due to damage and I no longer needed it. another Pricescoper Chrono is now the owner and she had it sent back to Quest to have it turned into a bezel setting for her old stone. Quest was really wonderful though and they make a quality product. Don't worry about the pave stones, they will choose what will work best for the ring.

Most folks find buying through the net to be very cost effective as well as getting better customer serice in general. Cushions are very tricky so dealing with someone like Mark is great b/c he knows how to pick good one's, plus he's in the diamond district in NY so he has access to many more stones that most local jewelers would stock. My OEC stone was 6.5mm and it worked nicely.

 

[Ellen]

I ditto going with Quest. They did some repair work for me and were a real dream to work with (and I should know, lol, long story)

I also understand your apprehension, I was there too once. If you go with a well respected, trusted vendor (which both these places are), you will be fine.

Love your ring vision!

 

[chrono]

Date: 7/31/2007 8:57:00 AM
Author: mrssalvo

I actually ended up consigning the ring through Pearlmans b/c I turned my stone into my insurance company due to damage and I no longer needed it. another Pricescoper Chrono is now the owner and she had it sent back to Quest to have it turned into a bezel setting for her old stone. Quest was really wonderful though and they make a quality product. Don''t worry about the pave stones, they will choose what will work best for the ring.

I am the happy owner of the ring. Quest was able to resize the ring, put in a slightly smaller stone (6 mm vs the original 6.5 mm) and bezel set it. The ring is holding up well with all the original pave still intact, none have fallen out. Here''s a picture of the "new" ring

 

[justclueless]

Date: 7/31/2007 12:03:31 PM
Author: Chrono

Date: 7/31/2007 8:57:00 AM
Author: mrssalvo

I actually ended up consigning the ring through Pearlmans b/c I turned my stone into my insurance company due to damage and I no longer needed it. another Pricescoper Chrono is now the owner and she had it sent back to Quest to have it turned into a bezel setting for her old stone. Quest was really wonderful though and they make a quality product. Don''t worry about the pave stones, they will choose what will work best for the ring.

I am the happy owner of the ring. Quest was able to resize the ring, put in a slightly smaller stone (6 mm vs the original 6.5 mm) and bezel set it. The ring is holding up well with all the original pave still intact, none have fallen out. Here''s a picture of the ''new'' ring

Chrono,

That''s an intersting story and a creative change in the ring. If I were to buy the setting from Quest and the diamond either through your recommendations or here at home in Atlanta, which comes first, the diamond or the setting?

I can''t thank you all enough for you input. This might not be as difficult as everyone says. Hardest part will be ponying up the $$$$.

 

[chrono]

The setting is custom made, therefore, Quest will be able to make it to fit whatever size diamond you purchase. So, diamond first!

 

[justclueless]

Date: 7/31/2007 4:25:21 PM
Author: Chrono
The setting is custom made, therefore, Quest will be able to make it to fit whatever size diamond you purchase. So, diamond first!

Can they make it for any size diamond? I probably should have started out with theis question in the first place, "Can I purchase this setting and a quality diamond for it with a budge of $10k to $12k?".

What are your thoughts?

 

[Gypsy]

I think it''s doable. Depending on what size stone your lady wants. What size stone are we talking about?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/31/2007 5:13:11 PM
Author: justclueless

Date: 7/31/2007 4:25:21 PM

Author: Chrono

The setting is custom made, therefore, Quest will be able to make it to fit whatever size diamond you purchase. So, diamond first!

Can they make it for any size diamond? I probably should have started out with theis question in the first place, ''Can I purchase this setting and a quality diamond for it with a budge of $10k to $12k?''.


What are your thoughts?

Depends on what SIZE quality diamond you want! But yes, it should be no problem as long as you are flexible on the size/color/clarity combos to get the most out of what you want, regardless of what your personal preferences are.

 

[justclueless]

I am thinking at a minimum it needs to be 1.25. I would like to be able to shoot for 1.5 but given the searching I have done it looks like 1.5s start out at $9,000 for F-G , VS, and VG/VG. It sounds like I need a square (something as close to 1/1 as possible). I can''t tell what it the right depth and table are.

For instance, this is what I think I need. Am I on the right path?

http://engagementringsdirect.com/loose_detail.php/session/6451db7e53c154453a2b880ca395f940/id/1281524304/sz/150

 

[flash407]

There is a great jeweler in New Orleans called Symmetry Jewelers. The owner is wonderful. I worked with them concerning upgrading my ring. They have been in business for a long time and do beautiful work.

http://www.symmetry-jewelers.com/

 

[justclueless]

I just talked with Pete Tain of Quest Fine Jewelry and he was very helpful. He indicated the ring would be between $2,900 and $3,200. That puts a serious dent in my budget but I still really like the ring.

Looks like I will only have enough money to put a 1.25 or so diamond in it with my budget.

I have some serious thinking to do. Thanks again everyone.

 

[mrssalvo]

wow, that is quite a price. i would email Mark T for a quote as well. he also gives a 2% discount when you buy a stone from him and get a custom setting so that might help get you a bit closer to the size stone you want. Feel free to email him any pics of the ring that were mine. have you seen the pics of the original tiffany that I used as my inspriration? You might send those to him too.

 

[justclueless]

Thanks for the feedback MRSSALVO. I emailed Mark T. I travel to NY quite often so I might just hold off and see if I can''t meet with him.

I would like to get the ring as competitively priced as possible so I can have more left over for the center stone.

Thanks,

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 7/31/2007 8:58:07 PM
Author: mrssalvo
wow, that is quite a price. i would email Mark T for a quote as well. he also gives a 2% discount when you buy a stone from him and get a custom setting so that might help get you a bit closer to the size stone you want. Feel free to email him any pics of the ring that were mine. have you seen the pics of the original tiffany that I used as my inspriration? You might send those to him too.

Yeah... that''s higher than I was expecting too. I''d get a hold of those pics MsS was referring to of the original Tiffany and send them to Mark for a qoute.

 

[chrono]

$3K is really a lot of money, especially as Quest has already done some legwork on it like CAD drawings as such. Do you all think it's because of the price of platinum, and side details? If it really is THAT expensive, I'd better up my insurance coverage.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 8/1/2007 8:34:22 AM
Author: Chrono
$3K is really a lot of money, especially as Quest has already done some legwork on it like CAD drawings as such. Do you all think it''s because of the price of platinum, and side details? If it really is THAT expensive, I''d better up my insurance coverage.

chrono, it might be (and i''m just guessing) the price is higher b/c that setting was actually handmade and not cast. they could never get it to turn out right using cads and then casting after 2 trys and ended up making the entire ring by hand so that would really add to the labor costs that would be there when casting, along with the plat. price increases

 

[justclueless]

Pete at Quest mentioned the price of platinum is up but then again he said he has made two of these rings now so I would hope extra hours wouldn''t be in the pricing. Perhaps he saw a chance to get a little bit out of someone who obviously knows little at this point. I got the used car salesemen hard sell and pushed on a diamond he wanted me to commit to today. Not a good feeling.

I may take the original Tiffany ring and yours MRSSALVO to the Mart here in Atlanta and get some thoughts from a couple of jewelers some co-workers have been happy with. If I could get this down in the $2,300 to $2,400 range then I could get the diamond I would really like to buy.

MSSALVO, your ring is only a 3 something size but my gf wears a 6 1/2. How much more platinum are we talking? Is this the big discrepency?

Thanks,

 

[justclueless]

I have found a jeweler, H&A International, with an excellent reputation here in Atlanta to reproduce this ring for just over $2,100. I am going to have a chance to review the wax before committing to it but having looked at some of his other reproductions I am quite confident they will do a good job.

They also had a stone in stock which they said the domentions are more of an antique style cushion. I want to post it to see what you think but the pricing on the stone seems right. It is a 1.5, F, with VG polich and Good symetry.

If anyone has any words of wisdom of what to look for when looking at a wax, please let me know. As always I am clueless.

Thanks,

 

[mrssalvo]

sorry I missed your post from a couple of days ago. I honestly do not think Pete would jack up the price b/c you are a newbie. they run an honest business and just wouldn''t do such a thing. But, i do believe plat. has increased quite a bit since I had my ring made.


I''m glad you found someone local to make it for you. As for the wax, you''ll want to make sure the design and flow of the ring is what you are wanting. waxes are big and bulky and the ring will be thinned out once cast so don''t let that scare you. see if they''ll let you take pics and bring them here. we''ll help give you advice if anything looks way off or not.

 

[mymodog]

http://www.faycullen.com/engagement_ring_settings.html

This site has good reproductions.

 

[mymodog]

http://www.faycullen.com/antique_engagement_rings/800/d513r1d.html

This is a nice setting and is similar to the one you like.

 

[mymodog]

http://www.faycullen.com/antique_engagement_rings/800/e423r2d.html

http://www.faycullen.com/antique_engagement_rings/800/d707r3d.html

http://www.faycullen.com/antique_engagement_rings/800/d1020r8d.html


http://www.faycullen.com/discounted_rings/800/d619r2d.html


Here are some more nice options. They will sell any of these settings. Some people who like the antique look do not mind a little color in their diamonds.

 

[justclueless]

Thanks mymodog. I will do just that. I like the second one of the rings you linked to.

Thanks for the offer for the wax. I will post it within the week. I would like to post the specs on the stone they have shown me to get your thoughts as well. Probably like 98% of guys looking for the right engagement ring I am going to probably sacrifice some imperfection for size and clarity but I want to get the right shape (table and depth) to get the most sparkle. I talked to a couple girlfriends of mine that have near perfect clear diamonds with VVS or VS diamonds which apraise very well but they both said they would rather go for the size for their first ring. I bet your either laughing or sighing at that comment.

I tend to agree and want to get the 1.5 with F. I looked at an F next to a G and think I should go with F. I understand the antique and a little color but I know she wants a big, clear diamond.

Thanks again. You guys and PS have been a lifesaver.

 

[chrono]

With a round cut stone, I'd go for CUT first. Cut is what makes the stone sparkle. You can drop down on clarity to a VS2 or eye clean SI1 because there is no need to pay for what you can't see. In terms of colour, G and H are the sweet spots to maximize your budget since they are still very white.

Remember, you don't want a CLEAR diamond, you want a SPARKLY diamond. Don't forget CUT.