Is this 1920s Art Deco Ring Hand Made or Cast?

[sapphirering]

Hi All,

This is my first thread, but I've been completely addicted to this website and have been lurking for months. I hope you wonderful experts can chime in. I recently purchased this ring on eBay and it's on its way. The ring has a green sapphire center stone which I will replace with a blue sapphire. I'm just wondering if there are ways to tell if the ring is hand made (by that I mean forged by hand), die struck, or cast? The ring is made in the 1920s, platinum. The method in which it was created will not sway my decision to keep it (I have 7 days to return it), but I'd like to find out more about the ring if I can. Once I get the ring, are there ways to detect how it was made?

Thanks for any comments!

 

[stci]

I'm not an expert but I think this ring is a beautiful repro. Never saw an old ring (1920) in perfect condition like this one!

 

[sapphirering]

Thanks stci. The seller has a similar green sapphire ring on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/300615954339?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 He's a power seller so I assumed that his descriptions are accurate? I'm going to take the ring to a local jeweler that does a lot of antique repairs and hopefully they can authenticate this ring.

 

[sparkle-magpie]

Hi Sapphirering!!

Looking at the shank of this ring, it doesn't display much wear...or the shank was rebuilt. I can't tell you much more than that- maybe it was a rarely worn treasure, or maybe it is a reproduction. At any rate, it is a lovely piece.

Let us know what you find out!

Take care!


ETA: rebuilt idea didn't occur to me until after I posted....

 

[sapphirering]

Hi Sparkle-Magpie!

Thanks for responding! I just emailed the seller to see if he knows more about the history. I remember he wrote in the description that he picked up this ring and the other ring (link posted in my previous post) in an estate sale. But when I went back to see the description, he has either changed it or I confused it with another item. Anyhoo, it's not really that important to me that the item is a true antique, as long as it is well made. It's scheduled to arrive later this week and I can't wait to get it.

I'll also check the side diamonds to see the cut. I'm assuming that a reproduction will be made with modern cut diamonds, right? Unless the ring is from a specialized vendor like Single Stone. I did get a quote from them a while back and all their stones are old cuts unless you specify otherwise.

 

[NE Jewels]

The easiest way to tell is to have the vendor take a photo of the inside of the ring on the back. Underneath the center stone. A real hand made estate piece will have very sharp angles where the different parts were used to build the piece. The metal will be without blemish. A cast ring will not have super sharp angles (where the different parts intersect) and will also have blemishes in the metal since tools wouldn't be able to reach those areas to file them down and clean them. It might have a slight molten metal look in there from the casting process. Either way though it's an attractive ring.

Cheers.

 

[sapphirering]

Thanks so much NE Jewels for your input. I should get the ring by the end of the week, and once I receive it I will take photos of the interior. (I'm actually a bit peeved at the seller- he shipped the ring almost a week later than he said he would. He is offering me full refund + $100 "hassle fee" if I decide to return it.)

 

[sapphirering]

Finally the ring arrived! I was getting so worried and paranoid since this was by far the biggest item I've purchased on ebay. (And it's only my 4th transaction to date.) Soooo...

The good news is that this ring doesn't look like a repro to me, since the condition is not pristine. There are some minor dents and scratches on the bezel, and one of the prongs is pretty worn down. I looked at the underside of the centerstone and it is as NE jewel stated, the joint where the pieces meet is in sharp 90 degree angle. I've never seen a hand forged ring before and now I know what people mean when they say that a hand forged ring is just... clearer and sharper.

The ring is far more delicate in real life than the photos suggest. My main worry before buying the ring was that it looked kind of masculine but IRL the shank is quite dainty. The side diamonds do sparkle quite a bit but they seem cloudy. I'll give them a good scrub and see if they improve. If not, I might consider getting them replaced with single cut melees. The ring is very flattering on, and the stone looks huge (ring size is 6.25).

The green sapphire is a nice surprise- much prettier IRL than the photos suggested! No hint of brown at all- but I'm not sure if it is synthetic or not so I'm not going to get too excited about it. If it's real, I'll set it in a plain bezel yellow gold setting.

I'll take it to the jewelry store tomorrow and see if they can swap out the sapphire. My blue sapphire is .5mm larger, hopefully that won't pose a problem. Thanks for reading if you're following this!

 

[sapphirering]

 

[sparkle-magpie]

Lovely!

 

[Mrs.W 514]

that is a lovely sapphire ring! I really like the detail on the gallery. Please post more pictures when you have the blue sapphire set, i bet it will look gorgeous!!

 

[sapphirering]

Thanks sparkle-magpie and Future Mrs. Williamson!!. Unfortunately, I decided to return the ring. It would cost more than what I want to spend to restore it to the condition that I want it to be. So.... I decided to go with a highly-customized Beverly K setting. I am working with GOG and have just mailed them the sapphire. I am really excited about it since I had been working on this setting for a while, and was temporarily seduced by this find on ebay, but now I'm back to what I had started.

 

[sparkle-magpie]

Keep us posted!

Take care!

 

[shortee78]

Hi Sapphirering! Just decided to pop into one of your posts

It's so funny that we both bought something on ebay (ruby lane for me) and then returned it. For what it's worth, I think the green ring was really lovely!

I love Beverly K. I'd love to get one of her milgrained bezel bands one day. Care to share the setting you selected?