Inherited Diamond Engagment Ring??

[NJGirl08]

Hello All,

I have a question that I can''t seem to find the answer to on the internet. I inherited a diamond ring from an aunt of mine (I am the only female niece/grandchild) It is set in 18 carat gold, it has, and I''m estimating, 1.25 carat round center stone and probably another .25, maybe a little more in baguettes and round side stones.

I''m not a diamond expert but I did work for a jeweler before. It seems to have great color prob a D,E,F grouping and it is very brilliant.

I don''t know if it is certified, my aunt passed away and she was never married... so I''m guessing she got engaged when she was younger but never went through with it? I asked my mother if she knew of her sister being engaged and she said she was not speaking to her for a good number of years when they were younger and she never spoke of being engaged or getting married once they did start speaking... anyway so I have NO IDEA where this ring was purchased, if it is a certified stone or what.

My question is, how do I go about finding out if this stone is certified? If it was and there are no papers and I nor anyone in my family knows where it was purchased does that mean it is an uncertified stone?

Should I get it appraised? Will a jeweler know it is certified? Or will I just have to trade/sell it in for its face value?

Is there anyway to track down which stones are certified and where they were purchased or am I just gonna have to see what the market value is for this stone?

Please let me know if anyone has any answers. Thanks.

 

[neatfreak]

The only way to know if it''s certified is to have the papers or if it has an inscription on the girdle (unlikely unless it was done in the past few years). Otherwise you could get it certified if you really wanted to, but it isn''t cheap.

 

[anangel]

neatfreak is right; without paper work or an inscription on the stone, you''d just have to get it re certified.
If you''re really curious, it might be worth your time- especially if you plan on insuring it.
Good luck, and I love antique jewelry, so if you have pictures, I''d love to see it!!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 11/22/2008 1:48:05 PM
Author: anangel
neatfreak is right; without paper work or an inscription on the stone, you''d just have to get it re certified.

If you''re really curious, it might be worth your time- especially if you plan on insuring it.

Good luck, and I love antique jewelry, so if you have pictures, I''d love to see it!!

Actually I wouldn''t really recommend bothering to get it recertified just for curiosity. A great independent appraiser could give you much more information for a lot less $.

 

[Moh 10]

Time is money.
I wouldn't spend too much time researching this beyond interviewing all your relatives, and perhaps contacting the jewelers in the city she lived.
Seems like a lot of work with little chance of results.

I doubt if it is possible to determine whether a stone has ever been graded if there is no report number laser inscribed on the girdle.
I don't think they have been laser inscribing girdles for very long, and certainly not a generation ago.

Just have a trustworthy jeweler take it out of the setting and send it to GIA or AGS and be done with it.
I'd guess this will costs around $200, and hopefully a pro here will correct my price estimate if wrong.

 

[LGK]

I''d just take it to an independant appraiser (that is, one that does NOT sell jewelery). Certifying it is unlikely to be worth your while- reselling a stone is a money-losing enterprise anyway, and spending hundreds to certify is unlikely to make a huge difference in what you get out of it anyway. Just knowing what you have is really what you need- and also, you can tell your appraiser your intentions: to keep it and insure it, or to sell it. I was able to get some info like that during an appraisal... I''d been condsidering selling a stone, and I told her that. So she gave me a number of prices- a realistic retail replacement (insurance) cost, a wholesale price, and what I might be likely to get selling it to a jeweler myself. I found it very helpful, and ended up keeping the stone.

 

[swingirl]

First of you need to decide what you want to do with the ring. Keep it as is, have the stone reset, sell it, etc. If you like it as is will you wear it? Is it your style? Are you sentimental towards your aunt?

I wouldn't bother having it taken out of the setting to get certified. An appraiser can tell you a fair amount of details without damaging the setting. If the setting isn't to your liking and it's not an "antique" you could have the stone reset or recut (if it turns out the stone isn't well cut).

Many options! What do you want to do with it?

 

[MMT]

It''s kind of nice to have a familiy diamond. Can you reset it for a RHR or a pendant. Do you have a picture you could post?

 

[arjunajane]

What kind of cut is it?I agree take it to an independent appraiser, not much point in paying extra to have it certified.
There are a list of recommended appraisers under ressources at the top of this page.

We would love to see pics if you can !