Inherited e-ring might be old European Mine cut

[thisiswater]

I've inherited my mother's engagement ring. About 20 years ago I remember some conversation about my mother switching out her original diamond for this "old mine cut" that my grandfather gave my dad. I'm not sure whether they did this or not. I know I need to have the stone
graded, etc., but I feel kind of guilty focusing on money when this is a treasured sentimental piece. Also, I think I'll go to Boston's Jeweler's building rather than a big retailer. Search for who has the best Yelps, etc. Any thoughts about what to do if this is this type of cut? Are they generally more or less valuable? Also, I'm ambivalent about resetting it for sentimental reasons but it's just not my style: yellow gold w/ 6 prong white gold/plat prongs.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts -- especially about inherited jewelry. I didn't think it would be so emotional!

 

[ChristineRose]

Old mine cut is kind of a loose term, but it's pretty easy to tell a stone cut to old standards from a stone cut to newer standards.

Many people prefer antique stones in older styles:

More metal.
With colored stones.
With more, smaller stones.
In yellow gold.
With a lot of detailing on the metal, like milgrain or carved flowers.
Halos and pave tend to be use fewer, and larger stones, and are generally less "blingy."
Emphasis is on the presentation of the whole piece, as opposed to a showing off a spectacular rock.
A lot of labor-intensive details in the finishing and less cost in the stones.

You can find lots of antique ring styles online; see if there's one that appeals to you.

 

[kenny]

Forget about it and buy from Whiteflash or James Allen instead.

 

[Luce]

Can you post a picture of it? I love the old mine cuts! It is so special to inherit your mothers ring.

 

[pyramid]

Forget about it and buy from Whiteflash or James Allen instead.

Please don't forget about Good Old Gold or basically anyone I am buying from at this minute is good, CvB or Victor are the best.

 

[tyty333]

Do you have any up close pictures of the stone where we can see the faceting pattern? We might be able to tell you what it is.
Dont feel bad about resetting. Just keep your Grandmother's setting intact and if there is ever a reason you regret resetting
it you can always put it back in the original setting. You are very lucky to have inherited a family heirloom...all my grandmothers
ever had were plan gold or platinum bands although either of those would have been nice to have inherited for sentimental reasons.

We would love to see pictures. If you dont know anything about the stone it would be good to find an appraiser who deals with
old stones to evaluate it for you. You might want to have the stone removed before you have it appraised because it will be easier
for the appraiser to weigh and determine a color on it.

You can see some old stones for comparison sake at these websites or on ebay if you search for OECs or just old diamond.
http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/
http://www.loveaffairdiamonds.com/

Post pictures if you can...love to see old stones!

 

[MollyMalone]

Would you kindly clarify something for us: are you thinking you might sell or trade in the stone (which is what your comment "I feel kind of guilty focusing on money" suggests to me, but perhaps I'm misunderstanding it) or would you like recommendations re a Boston-area jeweler to set the stone in a different mounting because you do actually like it?

 

[VRBeauty]

Old mine cuts are generally less symmetrically cut than their newer cousins, Old European cuts. The difference can be subtle though - I have a few OMCs that are pretty "wonky" and easily identifiable as OMCs, but I've also seen diamonds called OMCs that are hard to distinguish from OECs. Generally OMCs will sell for less than OECs of a comparable weight, and almost all will sell for less than a well-cut modern round brilliant or cushion of a comparable weight. However, OMCs can still be beautiful stones that have nice light return in addition to their abundant "personality." It sounds as if your OMC might be in a newer setting, which probably isn't the best match.

In addition to LAD and JBG mentioned previously, you might want to look at OldWorldDiamonds.com to see examples of OMCs versus OECs and transitional cuts.

JBG also has some OECs in settings, I think. They recently had a OMC in a modern belcher setting, which is a very traditional setting for this cut.

 

[kenny]

Forget about it and buy from Whiteflash or James Allen instead.

This post was intended to be humor and was a response to a now-deleted post.
A poster with (IIRC) 14 posts posted something like, "Don't bother asking here. They'll just say, forget about it and buy from Whiteflash or James Allen instead."

So I posted that.
After I did he/she deleted his/her post.
Must have gotten a big laugh!
Cute!

I should have quoted the post.

 

[AdaBeta27]

Old mine has chunky facets and is more square or cushion shaped. Old European cut is round with chunky facets. Transitional is round but probably has proportions closer to a modern round brilliant. "European cut" is a 20th century diamond style that is round and has a shallower crown, huge table, and possibly also is very shallow in depth.

Here are some old threads:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/european-cut-diamond.3875/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/european-cut-diamond.3875/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/transition-cut-vs-european-cut.67695/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/transition-cut-vs-european-cut.67695/[/URL]

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/another-oec-question-pics-included.165266/page-2']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/another-oec-question-pics-included.165266/page-2[/URL]

From Rich Sherwood:

1860-1900 Old Mine Cuts (cushion shaped outline)
1900-1915 Old European Cuts (round outlines)
1920-1935 European Cuts (more streamlined)
1940-1950 Transitional Cut (transitioning from European
to Round Brilliant Cut)
1950-2003 Round Brilliant Cut

These dates are not absolutes, but generalities.

Old European Cut characteristics- High crown, small table, short star facets, very large to extremely large culet, very large lower girdle facets, symmetry poor to good.

European Cut characteristics- Lower crown, larger table, larger star facets, medium to large culet, smaller (but larger than modern RBC) lower girdle facets, symmetry usually better (fair to very good).