My grandmother's wedding set - something is strange

[MoJingly]

Howdy all, long time lurker.

My boyfriend and I have been engaged for almost three months now (yay!). He proposed with my grandmother's engagement ring so it is really meaningful. They were married for almost 70 years before she passed away, so that is a good precedent!

We have the wedding band too, and they match. We think that my grandfather bought these in the 1940s or 50s. The engagement ring has an illusion setting and I LOVE it. Perfect size for me and so so so shiny.

The band, however, has me confused. There is this strange hole underneath the top "plate" or whatever this thing is. To me it looks like there was a stone here that fell out and was covered up. Even stranger, there is an arrow on the inside of the ring pointing perpendicular to the band, like it is indicating which side should go "up?"

Does anybody have any idea what this might be? It doesn't seem like it is centered, so I'm wondering if I should fill it in with gold, or if that is possible. Any advice or insight you can provide is SO appreciated.

(I love this set. I try to get information from my 95 year old grandfather and he doesn't remember a thing about it haha).

Thanks all!
Molly


Inside the engagement ring:

Inside the wedding band:

The "arrow" thing (hard to see, sorry) :

The "notch":

 

[VRBeauty]

This is just a guess...

maybe there at one time there was something protruding from the head of the engagement ring that slid into that hole, so that the pattern on the two rings would remain aligned when the rings were worn together. If the protruding thing had a bit of a hook at the end so it would catch under the lip of the opening, and you had to put the two rings together before you slipped them on your finger, that might actually work...

But no, I've never actually seen anything like that.

That's a very pretty set, by the way!

 

[stracci2000]

I think both rings started out as shanks. Shanks and head mountings are molded separately and soldered together to create engagement rings.
Maybe the bride saw a shank at the jewelers that she liked.
So the jeweler made 2 matching rings. The shanks are molded with a notch where the head mounting is to be soldered into.
In one shank, he soldered the head mounting where the diamond is set.
In the other, he modified the notch in the shank to complete the oval design across the top of the band.
Does the oval across the notch look like it was soldered in separately? In other words, does it look a little different than the other ovals?
This would account for the square opening in that band.

 

[MoJingly]

I think the shank is probably the answer! I had a feeling it would be something like that but never knew the term.

Yes, the oval piece over the notch does look slightly different.

Do you think it would be possible for a jeweler to fill that notch in with gold?

Thanks for the help!!

 

[stracci2000]

A jeweler could certainly fill that in and make it look great.
Antique/vintage jewelry is so interesting! It's fun to try and figure out the mysteries!

 

[VRBeauty]

I think both rings started out as shanks. Shanks and head mountings are molded separately and soldered together to create engagement rings.
Maybe the bride saw a shank at the jewelers that she liked.
So the jeweler made 2 matching rings. The shanks are molded with a notch where the head mounting is to be soldered into.
In one shank, he soldered the head mounting where the diamond is set.
In the other, he modified the notch in the shank to complete the oval design across the top of the band.
Does the oval across the notch look like it was soldered in separately? In other words, does it look a little different than the other ovals?
This would account for the square opening in that band.

I have to say - this makes a lot more sense than my guess!

 

[the_mother_thing]

I seem to recall my grandmother's rings having something similar, where one of them had a little piece of 'hinged' metal that linked into the other ring in the hole to keep them together/prevent spinning when worn together.

 

[VRBeauty]

Aha! (See the illustration near the bottom of the page):
http://www.jewelry-secrets.com/Blog/interlocking-wedding-sets-and-bridal-rings/

 

[stracci2000]

But guys.....
The "hole" is in the OP's wedding band, not the diamond ring.
The male part(so to speak) would have to be on the diamond ring.
The illustration that VR posted shows the male part on the band, and the hole on the diamond engagement ring.
Egads, this is getting confusing!!! And still a mystery.
Good job VR, for digging up that info!
I guess anything is possible. Only the original owners can say for sure!

 

[MoJingly]

OP here.

This is interesting. Thanks for the help, guys! I wish this was something I could ask my grandmother; my mother inherited the rings when she passed away. My grandfather doesn't even remember them (my grandmother's hands got pretty arthritic at an early age and she wore different rings). I know that they didn't have a lot of money, so I don't find it surprising that they would just lay a bar over the shank and call it a day.

The hook thing does make sense. I found this ring that looks like a similar setup. This would mean that there was once a little hook where the notch is and it fell out. The engagement ring has a place that a hook might go, but it really looks like it's just part of the setting.


Still a mystery, I guess. I will report back once I take these to a jeweler to have that little notch filled in.

 

[unsettled]

I had a little "hook" on my previous setting. It was only on the band and it hooked into the basket.
I can't seem to find a picture of it.

I think it's amazing to use your grandmothers rings! I love vintage jewelry!