Newbie''s Antique Engagement Ring Concerns

[laurajuiceplus]

Hello everyone,

I'm a super newbie, but long time lurker! I obviously have some questions about antique engagement rings...and since I've been so impressed with responses others have gotten and given, I decided to come here to see what your thoughts/opinions are...

Recently, my boyfriend and I have been looking at engagement rings, and I'm almost positive that I want to get an antique ring. My mom and I accidentally found an antique jewelry store in the Chicago Suburbs, and while we were looking, I saw a ring that I fell in love with, but was unable to get due to my boyfriend’s no-money-just-yet situation – we both just graduated college, so we’re staying afloat via living in our parent’s homes!

Pam Benson was the owner’s name and she said that the ring was Edwardian and about 100 years old. The diamond was .3 carats, I believe, round, and I cannot remember what the color was. It was set in 14 carat white gold and the face of the ring was an octagon shape, which made the diamond look bigger than it actually was, and she had it priced at 750 dollars, which is absolutely amazing to me because the rings that I had liked in jewelry stores were 1200 and up! Can you tell that I’m a cheap date?

It looked somewhat similar to this ring, except the sides had a “leafy” design, there were not any side stones, and the diamond was a lot smaller!
http://www.faycullen.com/edwardian_engagement_rings/800/c526r6d.html

Now, if I were to get an antique ring, would I be able to wear it every single day? I realize this obviously varies from ring to ring, but for those of you who have an antique wedding/engagement ring, do you wear it all the time or only on special occasions? I would like to wear it everyday, but if it wouldn’t last, I’d be nervous to. Now that I’m typing this out, I realize I could just wear it and get it repaired if anything were to happen…but what are your thoughts?

Also, concerning “wearability,” if the underside of the ring were to start wearing thin, is getting that repaired an easy or costly process? I have not had much experience with jewelry in my life, and I’ve been self-educating myself on the internet, but I haven’t come across anything regarding the process of repairing the underside of a ring…I don’t even know what’s it’s called or if it had a name!

When my mom and I were speaking to Pam Benson, which we did for about an hour, she seemed like a very reliable woman, obviously, people can be sneaky liars, but from a first impression, she was ok! She let us play with a handheld instrument that had a tiny little point on the tip that tested whether or not a stone was a diamond by the heat that was conducted through it, and we tested it out on several rings in her store, including the one I was looking at, and the ones that were supposed to registered as real diamonds. I didn’t remember to ask whether or not rings she sold came with certification, and if I were to buy from her, I would find out about her return policy and get the ring appraised. How long does an appraisal usually take?

Hopefully everything makes sense, if it doesn’t, holler! Also, thank you in advance for helping!

 

[mrssalvo]

My grandmother wore here plat/pave antique ring for 60 years, everyday, 24/7. It was passed on to her and is about 100 years old. Other than needing to be cleaned a lot more often than she did, that ring held up better than many modern made rings we see today. I urge you to take any ring you buy to an independant appraiser, preferalby before you buy, or during a return period and have it checked out. This way you know you are getting what you pay for and they will be able to advice you on durablility issues.

 

[KittenKat]

I know plenty of people who wear their antique rings every, single day. It''ll be fine.

My stone is an old european cut, and it never leaves my hand. (When it was in it''s original (antique) setting, I wore it daily, as well.)

Good luck to you!!

 

[decodelighted]

A few years back I re-sized an antique ring passed down from my maternal g-mother & her mother probably too ... they thickened up the back of the ring a bit as it was almost razor thin ... but that was after a hundred years of daily wear! It was not a hugely expensive fix (can''t remember exact amount ... less than $100?) but I think it would be your future daughter''s daughter paying it!

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

Hi, and welcome!

When I (yes I!) asked my boyfriend to marry me eleven years ago, we didn''t have enough money for diamonds and jewelry, so we just were plain old bared-fingered engaged. A month later my husband was given his great-great-great grandmother''s early 1800''s ring, which he gave to me. I love this ring! It is a diamond encirled by a moon of smaller diamonds--it''s like a crescent moon of diamonds around a star. It''s in a delicate gold setting with hand engraving on the sides, but the shank is plain gold.

I needed it sized several sizes down, so the shank was cut and remade to fit. After about a year, the shank snapped at its repair site because the metal was very thin. So then I had the entire bottom half of the ring replaced.

I wore the ring daily for about four years before a side diamond fell out. When the jeweler was looking for a replacement diamond (old mine cut), he told me that this was not a ring designed for daily use. Its handmade prongs were simply not cut out for the abuse of daily wear. It was originally part of a brooch-earring-ring set, and was more for special occasions. After hearing that, I stopped wearing it on a daily basis.

Long story short, I think there is a big difference between antique engagement rings, and antique rings. Engagement rings are designed, whether in 1800 or 2006, to be worn daily, while decorative rings are not. A good jeweler or appraiser can tell you how sturdy the prongs are, and how vulnerable your diamond is.

All of that said, I don''t think there is anything that beats a lovely antique ring. If you are assured that it is strong, you might be wearing that baby for decades!