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Inexperienced buyer needs help!

T

TKettle

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 29, 2024
Messages
6
Hello everyone, looking for some advice. I’m brand new to this site/forum. I was just in Vienna on vacation, where my husband bought me a pair of beautiful old earrings. The main stones are European cut diamonds roughly 1 carat each. This was a spontaneous purchase from whom we think is a reputable estate jewelry dealer in Vienna. At least the store seemed legit and she has been in business for 40+ years. I am now in the flight back to the US and I’m using the 10 hr flight to do some research and found your wonderful and knowledgeable community. I wish I would have found you long ago and would have done my homework before buying these earrings on a whim. We did research pricing before buying and I thought we got a pretty good price - about 40% less than the appraisal value on the certificate of authenticity they provided. I now realize that this really doesn’t mean a great deal because it is not a GIA certificate. I am planning on resetting the large diamonds as solitaires and so it’s been helpful looking at this thread with all the suggestions for settings. The main question I have is how do I get the diamonds GIA certified in the US? Is that even necessary? Or just taking them to a jewelry store to check that they are real is enough? I would appreciate any advice. I’m a little scared that maybe were a bit naive purchasing these earrings without really taking our time to research this properly.IMG_7196.jpeg
 

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If you're going to remove the diamonds anyways to reset, you could send them to GIA first for grading if having the official documentation and grading matters to you. If you don't plan on reselling and have a local jeweler you trust that's doing your reset, you could ask them to weigh and loupe the diamonds and give you the weight and their estimate of the color.

You mentioned resetting the larger diamonds, any plans for the smaller ones?
 
Those are beautiful earrings! Congratulations on your new treasure that will remind you of your trip, and a truly romantic gesture by your husband. Those things are priceless!

I can't tell based on your photos, but if those are truly antique earrings, then dismantling them will destroy part of their value. A premium is placed on whole antique earrings (meaning original diamonds in their original settings.) Also, many of us would cringe to have a little piece of history destroyed. But, they are yours to do with as you wish.

What about wearing them for awhile and seeing how you enjoy them as they are? Or enjoying them now and down the road purchase loose antique diamonds to have custom set in studs? There are a lot of vendors who sell loose old cuts that we can recommend.

If the settings aren't original, then there's less to lose by plucking out the diamonds.

Regarding value: remember, appraisals are for insurance purposes, so they are often significantly higher than what the item retails for. If you want to compare what similar loose diamonds are going for, check out the inventory at Old World Diamonds. But you'll need to know your color, clarity, specifics on cut quality, and possibly other factors to truly compare "apples to apples." And when most of us sell diamonds, we expect to get only about 50% of retail.
 
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Oh my goodness please don’t take those stunning earrings apart! They are rare and gorgeous like they are and far far more valuable as a whole antique piece than as component parts. Seriously you can buy loose OECs so easily. If you are a horrible person (jk) and take the diamonds out then please sell the mountings! Someone in PS would snap them up in a heartbeat.

There is not much worry they are fakes, though I suppose it’s possible they are paste. Any skilled jeweler can confirm they are diamond. It isn’t necessary to get GIA reports for them. Even insurance will take the specs on an appraisal as true. I would just enjoy them as they are!
 
Is that the original box, too? At the very least it looks like an antique box.

Antique earrings in original settings with original box? Big deal.

Whatever you decide, congrats! Hope you had a wonderful trip!
 
I agree with @Dreamer_D and @0515vision. Those are gorgeous original antiques in what looks like the original box! It would be so sad to turn them into something new and ordinary. They are so beautiful and romantic the way they are! What a beautiful souvenir of your trip with your husband, and what a beautiful gesture. I hope you keep them as they are.
 
It’s a no from me too.
A reasonable proportion of their value is in them being genuine antique diamonds still in their original setting complete with box equals rare and desirable.
And as for certification, is that to know their colour and clarity? Unless you must know these factors I’d keep my money and set it aside for another bling purchase!
 
Just want to add that I adore the cut on those old mine cuts!
 
Antique earrings are my kriptonite so please don't destroy them. Are you open to selling them for a loose stone? They look similar to mine, but mine are much smaller. I personally don't send old cuts to gia, only colored stones. I buy with my heart. Screenshot_20240630_223525_Photos.jpg
 
Hello all! I’ve had a few busy days after getting back from Vienna so I just now got a few free minutes to myself and took a look at all your responses. Thanks so much for the advice. You guys have given me a whole new appreciation for what these earrings are and I plan on leaving them as they are!!!
 
I loved the suggestion to buy loose stones for my studs and leave my Vienna beauties intact. Old World Diamonds was mentioned as a place I could find loose old cuts diamonds. Any other suggestions?
 
TKettle said:
I loved the suggestion to buy loose stones for my studs and leave my Vienna beauties intact. Old World Diamonds was mentioned as a place I could find loose old cuts diamonds. Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Old World Diamonds and Jewels by Grace are my go tos for retail old cuts. There are sellers on IG with better prices but it’s a high stakes buying context where usually you have to pounce in a second and maybe you don’t want to do that yet.

If you aren’t interested in old cuts per se, you can of course also look for modern rounds. Some people think they are better optically for earrings than old cuts. I don’t know if I agree necessarily. And of course for those of us who just love old cut diamonds, it doesn’t matter.
 
I agree with everyone else.

These are like the Holy Grail for many of us. Diamonds match the period style of the settings (collet style Georgian early 19th century if true antique). I think the cut is old mine like LuluMA suggests, though since yours has a slightly squared off shape I wonder if that pushes them to old mine cushion. They are not Old European Cuts, as OECs represent a much later cut style. I wouldn’t get the diamonds certified, but I might see if you can attempt to authenticate that they are true antique. It’s likely they are true antique because it’s pretty difficult to find and match diamonds like that. (I have been rightfully corrected even recently on my assumption that it’s too hard to make good replicas, however!) They seem like true antique cuts to me. You can also post more close ups here of the cuts and the front and back of the settings.

Here’s a thread from my Pricescope hero Gemfever, about her collet set hopefully but “not confirmed” antique OMC earrings that are the same size as yours. Gemfever’s earrings are my dream earrings and you have found a sister pair, yours have additional diamonds. You do not see true antique collet earrings often. Enjoy them in good health.

~2ct OMC earrings

Dear PSers, After all my threads about the OMC earrings, finally here are the pics ::) Thanks for all your advice during the purchase process! I got an EGL (USA) report for them, here are the stats (they were not removed from settings, so carat weight is estimated at 1ct): Measurements -...
www.pricescope.com
 
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Here are some other educational threads from Gemfever involving research and history of Georgian collet earring settings. With close up photos of her earrings.

Did my OMC earrings come in Georgian era settings?

Dear PSers, About two weeks ago I went to my first Intergem show and fell in love with a pair of OMC earrings. I put down a deposit and now I’m paying them off… and of course counting the days until they are in my hands (if all goes well, just 7 days left!). While I’m waiting, I started doing...
www.pricescope.com


I think I found "my" OMC earrings in an RT thread from 2009

Dear PSers, I posted a few days ago about making an impulsive (but happy) purchase of a pair of OMC earrings from a vintage jewelry vendor at Intergem in Maryland. Since I couldn't afford to buy the earrings on the spot, I'm going to pay them off over the course of some time. Currently the...
www.pricescope.com
 
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LightBright said:
I agree with everyone else.

These are like the Holy Grail for many of us. Diamonds match the period style of the settings (collet style Georgian early 19th century if true antique). I think the cut is old mine like LuluMA suggests, though since yours has a slightly squared off shape I wonder if that pushes them to old mine cushion. They are not Old European Cuts, as OECs represent a much later cut style. I wouldn’t get the diamonds certified, but I might see if you can attempt to authenticate that they are true antique. It’s likely they are true antique because it’s pretty difficult to find and match diamonds like that. (I have been rightfully corrected even recently on my assumption that it’s too hard to make good replicas, however!) They seem like true antique cuts to me. You can also post more close ups here of the cuts and the front and back of the settings.

Here’s a thread from my Pricescope hero Gemfever, about her collet set hopefully but “not confirmed” antique OMC earrings that are the same size as yours. Gemfever’s earrings are my dream earrings and you have found a sister pair, yours have additional diamonds. You do not see true antique collet earrings often. Enjoy them in good health.

~2ct OMC earrings

Dear PSers, After all my threads about the OMC earrings, finally here are the pics ::) Thanks for all your advice during the purchase process! I got an EGL (USA) report for them, here are the stats (they were not removed from settings, so carat weight is estimated at 1ct): Measurements -...
www.pricescope.com
Click to expand...

Thanks LightBright. This is all fascinating information. Here are some additional pictures of the earrings as requested. Let me know what you think. IMG_7365.jpeg
 

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Stunning. The diamonds are very old indeed. I agree that they look like old mine cushions. And I am no expert on antique mountings but these seem both period appropriate for these very old diamonds and they were obviously made for these diamonds specifically the way the mounting perfectly hugs the outline of the stones. Truly spectacular! And absolutely a holy grail for many of us.
 
OH those are SO WONDERFUL! You lucky, lucky lady! Thank you for keeping them in their elegant period settings!

They look like genuine collet settings, where they made a collar of metal and pinched it tight against the stone in a number of evenly spaced spots (where the ridges are), then polished it down around the stone, sort of like a modern bezel setting. Repro "collet" settings tend to just use prongs attached to a bezel.
 
They are your earrings so of course you are free to do as you wish, but I won't lie, I was really happy to see you're keeping them intact! I'm not an expert but I would bet money they are antique. They are gorgeous and as others have said, dream earrings for a lot of us!
 
glitterata said:
OH those are SO WONDERFUL! You lucky, lucky lady! Thank you for keeping them in their elegant period settings!

They look like genuine collet settings, where they made a collar of metal and pinched it tight against the stone in a number of evenly spaced spots (where the ridges are), then polished it down around the stone, sort of like a modern bezel setting. Repro "collet" settings tend to just use prongs attached to a bezel.
Click to expand...

Thanks for info on how original collet settings were made which explains why the look the way they do. These earrings demonstrate that technique. Very cool.
 
Actually, I may be wrong about the folding part. This tutorial shows the prongs being carved out of a bezel/tube:

Georgian Collet Making

This antique georgian collet is a free jewelry making tutorial. The prongs of Georgian collets are filed out of a piece of tubing. The tubing is shaped in a bulbous form.
jewelry-tutorials.com
 
glitterata said:
Actually, I may be wrong about the folding part. This tutorial shows the prongs being carved out of a bezel/tube:

Georgian Collet Making

This antique georgian collet is a free jewelry making tutorial. The prongs of Georgian collets are filed out of a piece of tubing. The tubing is shaped in a bulbous form.
jewelry-tutorials.com
Click to expand...

I think you might be also right and the “folding and crimping” technique is older. TKettle’s earrings (see side profile photo) have prong placement as if they were “folded over” silver. The silver comes up to the edge of the stone covering the girdle. It’s kind of a bezel in that sense, but it’s also built in prongs from the folded metal.

Here’s another true antique Georgian collet setting with a similar setting of crimped silver. It seems to me that the prongs are crimped metal - not added, not soldered on. Interesting!

memorystation2013.com

Antique Georgian 14K Gold Silver Collet Set Rose Cut Diamond Dangle Drop Earrings, Lever Back, Wedding Bridal Jewelry, Pierced Earrings

This marvelous pair of antique rose cut diamond dangle drop earrings is from the Georgian Era (over 200 years old!). There are five glittering rose cut diamonds on each earring. The rose cut diamonds (esp. the two major stones on the dangle drop) generate tons of magical sparkles. The charming...
memorystation2013.com
 
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