Is rehabbing engraving a no no to you?

redwood66 · Mar 2, 2014

If you bought an early 1900's platinum ring that was obviously engraved with a pattern but is now almost completely gone would you rehab the engraving or leave it alone? I realize this is probably a very personal choice but I am interested in everyone's opinion. I see many antique and vintage rings that the engraving has weathered much better than others. This is likely from being worn all the time or hardly worn, or worn by someone working diligently or by someone who sipped tea.

Let talk about it!

Harpertoo · Mar 2, 2014

plse post pics!!

I sort of love the wear shown with older pieces. It's romantic to me. (I will say sometimes the design is so far gone it hardly matters.)
But I even like the old wedding dates on the inside and sometimes the inscriptions. Somebody, Circe I think, bought the sweetest baguette band with a lovely inscription : "Our Daughter, Our World, Our Life."
sorry - off on a tangent.

vinjewels · Mar 2, 2014

Sometimes I think polishing it can take away from value. I am interested in what everyone has to say here about touching up the engraving and value.
For me, I had the engraving touched up on the ring I just sold because it looked like someone had just polished over the engraving. I told them to do minimal retouching...just enough to not lose the pattern that was originally on it. The rest of the ring was in excellent shape. That being said, I knew the bench that was doing it and knew they would be very conservative. From what I understand, reworking engraving sometimes involves adding metal before doing the engraving and with certain metals (like platinum) sometimes that is tricky. I would just snap a pic and have someone do a repro if I wanted something that didn't look so worn. However, I tend to love the idea of the previous life that old piece had.

redwood66 · Mar 2, 2014

I bought the french cut from LT yesterday. It is beautiful just as it is but the wheat pattern is very worn or almost nonexistent. I have a vintage orange blossom band from 1923 that I have not touched other than sizing. Its engraving is gorgeous still and I will leave it. The french cut has a date 1917 and initials in it which I would never touch. I love that this band has been so loved which is apparent by how worn it is. But it could also be touched up and be beautiful. I am torn.

pyramid · Mar 2, 2014

I have my granny's keeper which she gave me when I was about 9 years old as I was going on that I would like
something that was real gold. She then asked my mother for it back when she was older, asked wonder where it
is, couldn't remember then about giving it to me, as she wanted to wear it to keep her wedding band on as her
finger was thinner and it kept coming off. She had years previously had to have it cut off and was wary about
resizing it smaller. My mother used to wear the keeper too in her twenties I think because it didn't fit my granny.

I have never seen it with the pattern as it was so worn when I got it and is still the same as it was as I have not
worn it after my granny died. I was told it once had a pattern of berries and leaves and could not really see
that from what was left of the pattern. It is 9 carat gold. Then one day I was on ebay and saw an antique silver charm heart
with an ivy pattern, no berries, but I could immediately see on the ring that what the 'leaves' were was ivy leaves and the
leaves on my ring had the same sort of etched lines around them.
I wish I had bought that silver charm but I didn't but I do have a picture of it on my computer. When my mother was
alive I said to her one day about getting the ring re-engraved but she didn't seem to think it would come right or was
a good idea.

So I have decided not to touch it and after all this time now, I feel like engraving it may not make it look exactly like it
did and also feel it would not be the ring I got from my granny all those years ago. I was keen at the time about engraving
it though, so I would give it some time and not just make a decision quickly as you may change your mind.

I suppose buying something with no sentimental value is different though, but I bought a ring off ebay which has like gadrooned
milgrain on it and it is worn in places and I don't want to change that ring as I feel it was once someone's ring and I should not
change it - funny thing I know.

P.S. All that is left of the leaves on my ring is the veined insides of an ivy leaf, not the outside shape so it just is really that the
pattern is all but gone on the ring.

Harpertoo · Mar 2, 2014

redwood it's beautiful!
I can see why you're torn. I would just be careful who you trust any repairs or refurbishment to....

I saw a lovely antique sapphire French cut eternity over the weekend and was a little sick when I saw the dealer had re-plated the rhodium. He seemed very pleased and the ring was at least a size too small for me -- but I was sort of crestfallen anyway. The ring was at a good price, but between the rhodium and the size, I figured it would not be a bargain for me.
I may have bought it to see what could be done with it had it not been re-plated. not sure if that is a majority opinion though.

redwood66 · Mar 2, 2014

Pyramid that is a great story and I can see why you think that about your granny's ring. This ring will have no sentimental value to me so that makes it a bit easier.

Harpertoo I hear you about the plating. I had to have my orange blossom band sized when I bought it out of a tray of old settings at out local jeweler. It never dawned on me to tell them not to plate an old ring after sizing so when I picked it up I immediately noticed it. I was not happy but they said they do that automatically. Flash forward about 6 months and they were tightening my OEC3 stone with a loose stone. I should have remembered the plating because when I picked it up it was PLATED!!!!! My purposely unplated 18k ring! I was so mad! Well this prompted having the setting redone because I had been thinking about doing it anyway. I will never go to the local HIGH END shop again.

Harpertoo · Mar 2, 2014

redwood66|1393811554|3626128 said:
Pyramid that is a great story and I can see why you think that about your granny's ring. This ring will have no sentimental value to me so that makes it a bit easier.

Harpertoo I hear you about the plating. I had to have my orange blossom band sized when I bought it out of a tray of old settings at out local jeweler. It never dawned on me to tell them not to plate an old ring after sizing so when I picked it up I immediately noticed it. I was not happy but they said they do that automatically. Flash forward about 6 months and they were tightening my OEC3 stone with a loose stone. I should have remembered the plating because when I picked it up it was PLATED!!!!! My purposely unplated 18k ring! I was so mad! Well this prompted having the setting redone because I had been thinking about doing it anyway. I will never go to the local HIGH END shop again.

yikes! redwood, I had no idea any jeweler would take it upon themselves to plate! (not even a re-plate!) beyond frustrating! (I once buffed out a plated WG ring myself to get the rhodium off. I'm not a fan.)

The dealer who had the eternity I was looking at was clearly not that interested in my idiosyncratic preferences. He sort of acted like I was a total idiot asking about French cuts in the first place - I did lean a new term though - Scissor cuts.

vinjewels · Mar 2, 2014

With channel setting, I wonder if eventually you will have to have the setting rehabbed anyway (one setting I had, the metal on the channel was wearing off). I would call Ari or contact JbEG or a dealer in antiques for their opinion. They would also be able to steer you safely to a bench that was capable of the work if you choose that route.

redwood66 · Mar 8, 2014

Well I got it today and it is quite lovely! Too small right now but that will be part of the rehab. I got quite nice suggestions from EricaD and have decided to rehab it. She said this:

I highly recommend rehabbing it! Antique pieces are meant to be worn, but the old gals need a nip and tuck every now and again, to be restored to their former glory. We save them so that we can wear them again and again, and pass them from generation to generation - touching it up won't take away from that.

I do think that it depends on who wore the ring before, too. If it belonged to my grandmother, and the wear shown is from her wear, and tells her story, then I'd leave it alone out of sentimentality. If I purchased it, I would rehab it so that I can wear it down with my own life story, to one day pass along to a loved one. Hope that makes sense?

So I am going to have it checked out, sized, and a touch up on the engraving.

Pics

redwood66 · Mar 8, 2014

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patricias · Mar 8, 2014

Please keep in mind that engraving removes some small amount of the metal from the piece. If there's enough material left in the ring to spare, go for it, but have your engraver check the thickness of the sides of the ring first.

redwood66 · Mar 27, 2014

Ring rehab is done and will be on its way to me! David Klass has an antique specialist that used a microscope to find the details of the original engraving and only what was original was redone. It appears there were traces of mil grain so he made it look like it was when new! None of the original inscriptions inside were touched and it was sized to fit me. I am so excited to get it here.

Pic of ring before

Harpertoo · Mar 27, 2014

Just gorgeous!

redwood66 · Mar 27, 2014

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MMtwo · Mar 27, 2014

Wow, that was a fantastic renovation job.
Congrats!

Circe · Mar 27, 2014

That. Looks. AMAZING! I will look forward to seeing many many many more pics ...

vinjewels · Mar 27, 2014

OH.MY.GOSH!!!!!!!!! I am so glad you came back to post the after pics. That is good to know that it can come out this perfect and also good to know the vendors who have the expertise to give her the little 'nip and tuck.' And I love and agree totally with what Erica said. Those ladies always have a way of putting things

The transformation is unbelievable. Congrats on your new ring

redwood66 · Mar 28, 2014

Thank you all so much for the encouragement!

vinjewels it made me happy to get these pics today after missing out on yours yesterday! I am happy that you got your sale so fast. I had an email ready to send to just buy all six but could not push the button.

vinjewels · Mar 28, 2014

Well, from the looks of your new ring, everything was already working out. Don'tcha just love it when that happens?

Definitely post more pics if you can. I eventually will need to get my e ring rehabbed and saw a band on here that David Klass engraved (was it yours?) from a plain band. After the FC project, I may contact them.

redwood66 · Mar 28, 2014

Yes it all works out for whatever reason.

David did engrave a plain 18k rose gold band I already had and his high bench did the engraving on my sapphire vintage style ring as well. They are excellent and for rehabbing his prices are very reasonable. I am confident in his antique expert if I buy any more antique or vintage rings. And it seems the more work you send him the better deal you get but he knows I only want the best bench to do my projects.

vinjewels · Mar 28, 2014

redwood66|1396023753|3642915 said:
Yes it all works out for whatever reason. David did engrave a plain 18k rose gold band I already had and his high bench did the engraving on my sapphire vintage style ring as well. They are excellent and for rehabbing his prices are very reasonable. I am confident in his antique expert if I buy any more antique or vintage rings. And it seems the more work you send him the better deal you get but he knows I only want the best bench to do my projects.

Amen to that. I haven't even posted about finding out that when I took my 18k antique Ering in to have the prongs retipped, the same place that did my band used 10k yellow gold. I swear I have only a few vendors I would let touch my jewelry at this point.

redwood66 · Mar 28, 2014

Wow and just wow! I love it so much! The rehab was absolutely just right and makes the band sparkle and stand out so much that it even works on its own. I am going to enjoy this band for a long time.