fountainfairfax
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2005
- Messages
- 1,199
Hello all! If you''ve seen any of my other posts (mainly on the "are we there yet?" threads) I recently inherited a less-than-perfect (hence wabi-sabi) OEC/OMC (?) diamond from my beloved Aunt/Godmother. It was her engagement ring (although she changed the setting more than once) and it was her mother-in-law''s e-ring before, so it is from the 1920''s at the latest.....
My story begins with a family fight, because while the ring was left to me, my sister feels that it is obscene to take the stone out of my Aunt''s setting. The setting is a yg tiffany solitaire- I''m a wg, platinum kind of girl and I tend to like vintagey things...my parents hold onto the ring for months until my sister and I can come to an agreement...over the months my boyfriend and I become more serious, he moves in and we start the marriage talk. In the back of my head I''m thinking "I would love to wear Aunt Ann''s stone in my engagement ring" 1st because it really does mean a lot to me and 2nd-hey, free diamond!!! I approach my sister, explain my intent and after listening she agrees that as long as I do not compromise the yg setting and save it for her daughter (bf & I are not going to have children) she''s ok with it. So I get the ring and begin to obsess...
I find price scope where I learn way more about diamonds than I ever thought I would and still can''t get enough!
I have to accept that my stone, while measuring almost 8mm across, has a carbon inclusion visable from the side only, isn''t round like I always thought (although I believe it''s rounder than a cushion cut,)has what y''all refer to as a "sewer-pipe" cutlet and in its yg setting is, well, yellowish. On the good side, hey its a good size stone for big ole me (size 7 ring, 5''9" tall) it throws off light and color and reflections that are really beautiful, it belonged to someone I love dearly and will always miss...wabi-sabi: finding beauty in those things flawed...
So the plotting begins...take picture and try to post...no luck, files too large...more pictures, wear the ring on a chain around my neck and spend way too much time both at work and at home staring at it.
I become crazy about the color, the flaws and my inability to take a decent photo or even post a bad one (and I was a fine art photo major in college!)
I decide that what I need to satisfy my curiosity and obession is an independent appraisal and start looking...Oldminer would be my first choice but my email goes unanswered so either the attached files were too large and my email went undelivered or my wabi-sabi stone really doesn''t require that kind of skill
using the resources link I find Jewelry Judge and I have an appraisal appointment for March 17th! Yeah, first step taken....
then I discover that BF and I have very different general tastes in e-ring settings- he likes thick bands, I''m looking at micro pave. I love Sheldon Speyer and Richard Landi vintage-style settings, he calls them "grandma rings" but one night while staring at my computer monitor he leans over my shoulder and says "hey, go back to that other ring" its the Vatche X prong. I love it! He''s about excited as he''s ever gonna get...but will it "go" with wabi-sabi? what if wabi-sabi appraises at an M color? Lets face it, this sucker has to come out of the setting...
Today I went to the GOG storefront for the first time, wabi-sabi on my pinkie and ask them to take it out of the setting..they are very nice, no comments about the stone but no charge for removing it. I get out to car, can''t resist, take out the paper and while it''s no D color it''s not as bad as I thought and it throws reflections and colors all over the steering wheel and dashboard.
Wabi-sabi or not I love it!
My story begins with a family fight, because while the ring was left to me, my sister feels that it is obscene to take the stone out of my Aunt''s setting. The setting is a yg tiffany solitaire- I''m a wg, platinum kind of girl and I tend to like vintagey things...my parents hold onto the ring for months until my sister and I can come to an agreement...over the months my boyfriend and I become more serious, he moves in and we start the marriage talk. In the back of my head I''m thinking "I would love to wear Aunt Ann''s stone in my engagement ring" 1st because it really does mean a lot to me and 2nd-hey, free diamond!!! I approach my sister, explain my intent and after listening she agrees that as long as I do not compromise the yg setting and save it for her daughter (bf & I are not going to have children) she''s ok with it. So I get the ring and begin to obsess...
I find price scope where I learn way more about diamonds than I ever thought I would and still can''t get enough!
I have to accept that my stone, while measuring almost 8mm across, has a carbon inclusion visable from the side only, isn''t round like I always thought (although I believe it''s rounder than a cushion cut,)has what y''all refer to as a "sewer-pipe" cutlet and in its yg setting is, well, yellowish. On the good side, hey its a good size stone for big ole me (size 7 ring, 5''9" tall) it throws off light and color and reflections that are really beautiful, it belonged to someone I love dearly and will always miss...wabi-sabi: finding beauty in those things flawed...
So the plotting begins...take picture and try to post...no luck, files too large...more pictures, wear the ring on a chain around my neck and spend way too much time both at work and at home staring at it.
I become crazy about the color, the flaws and my inability to take a decent photo or even post a bad one (and I was a fine art photo major in college!)
I decide that what I need to satisfy my curiosity and obession is an independent appraisal and start looking...Oldminer would be my first choice but my email goes unanswered so either the attached files were too large and my email went undelivered or my wabi-sabi stone really doesn''t require that kind of skill
then I discover that BF and I have very different general tastes in e-ring settings- he likes thick bands, I''m looking at micro pave. I love Sheldon Speyer and Richard Landi vintage-style settings, he calls them "grandma rings" but one night while staring at my computer monitor he leans over my shoulder and says "hey, go back to that other ring" its the Vatche X prong. I love it! He''s about excited as he''s ever gonna get...but will it "go" with wabi-sabi? what if wabi-sabi appraises at an M color? Lets face it, this sucker has to come out of the setting...
Today I went to the GOG storefront for the first time, wabi-sabi on my pinkie and ask them to take it out of the setting..they are very nice, no comments about the stone but no charge for removing it. I get out to car, can''t resist, take out the paper and while it''s no D color it''s not as bad as I thought and it throws reflections and colors all over the steering wheel and dashboard.
Wabi-sabi or not I love it!
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