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Old Cut Challenge: help me find a wonky match

PreRaphaelite

PreRaphaelite

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3,564
Hello, @GliderPoss and others - perhaps there are PSers who might have spare time or interest to help me with my very odd quest!

I’m looking for a 5.8mm (average diameter) old cut, with kozibe and preferably good clarity EXCEPT large chips or inclusions on the outer edge. The color would be H or so. My budget is $750 out the door. Crazy, right?

Now, why on earth would anyone actively seek a diamond that so many people would consider a dog? Well, I’m trying to match this stone and make earrings, set in a (very) rustic silver Georgian style collet bezel.

2BD44580-4577-4F5B-8794-0B46C448C7E7.jpeg

97E1836A-7DC2-4B29-96E9-1DAC7D5C80D7.jpeg


5F6FA9AA-5C16-4A36-ACB1-0FBD207D5FA7.jpeg

D4B991B0-034E-435C-A418-BAD283096878.jpeg
 
just out of curiosity
do you have a story about this diamond you are trying to match to ?
is it a family diamond ?
i love stories
 
TLDR - I need earrings and it will cost about $1k US to make earrings with Charlotte, versus close to $5k US to match Edwina, and Edwina might be wasted as earrings anyway.
———————————————————————-
And now for a novella-length answer:


Hi Daisys,
Thanks for asking. This is the stone that brought me to Pricescope!

Here’s the thread. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-hope-youll-say-its-nice-i-love-this-ring.210296/

Once I had learned a bit about diamond grading, the fact that the seller had listed the stone as “SI3” started to annoy me. Needless to say, it has been a learning experience (as in, what *not* to do). I have tried to salvage a bit of that money by wearing the fragile stone daily (reset into a pendant) ever since and reframing the sunk expense with ‘cost per wear’ - a handy form of mental gymnastics.

I’ve been successful in that strategy as ”Charlotte” (named after the Georgian queen of England because of the collet setting, with thanks to @JPie for her graciousness as I flagrantly copied her style) is such a pleasure to wear. Every time I look at it, I just get drawn in by the depth and busy-ness of the facets. She is damaged, surely, yet still beautiful, and she lights up like a champion. One PSer called her setting outright Ugly, but I love it anyway. It’s an acquired taste. To paraphrase Henry V, it “hang upon my [heart] like a new-married wife about her husband’s neck, hardly to be shook off.” (Act 5 Scene 2) I’ve worn it on the beach in Bermuda, in the casinos in Vegas, to strobe-lit disco dance parties in Orlando, Ballrooms in Houston, through all manner of convention centers and airports, and of course, at home scooping kitty pans. It makes me very happy. Obviously.


BUT

[in the voice of Yoda]

THERE..... IS...... ANO...THER


You might have heard me natter on about Edwina. She’s my Honours student child, as it were. She’s bigger, clearer, finer, and much more up to PS standards. A beauty. A stone I could wear to a PS GTG, without the slightest whiff of shame. She’s in a temporary mount at the moment, while I decide how to set her. It’s a bit like deciding what university I want her to go to: a decision that will shape her character forever more, and will cost the earth, but will be tantamount to ’doing right’ by her. A result that I would be proud to hand down to my niece. I’m thinking maybe 18k unplated white gold, Edwardian in feel. It’s what she would look best in, I suspect.

Now, on to the challenge at hand: earrings. I sold my beautiful dormeuse earrings to fund Edwina’s reset, and immediately regretted it, as no other earrings I’ve tried *feels* right - truth be told, no other pair comes close. So, what to do? I’ve got two stones that hover around the one carat mark; surely one of them can be matched and away we go. Well... yes.

Matching Edwina can be done, certainly. Just call Adam at OWD and ask him for a few GIA 1.01 L VS2 OECs, send Edwina off to him, and wait a few months perhaps, and then surely she would have a new partner in crime. But the stone would be $2500 to $4000 and that doesn’t even include the mountings or labor. Making her one half a pair of earrings would be a chunk that I can’t justify spending this year - and with stones (IMO) that good, it would be a shame to look in the mirror and not be able to see much. It seems a better solution to keep Edwina a pendant. Right up front. Like a star pupil.

Well, there’s Charlotte, I suppose. She is odd, and soulfully broken, full of melancholic beauty, and lush (drippingly so), and elemental, like magic. She’s the right size for earrings... So in the distracted banality of daily life, I gently lift Charlotte in her heavily rusticated silver setting to my ear... and... BOOM. The answer becomes clear. I’m imagining a pair of Charlottes, in black silver collets on gold shepherd hooks, and suddenly WHOOSH, I will wear them everywhere, with little regard to fastidiousness that PS quality diamonds require, with no fear of losing them, with quirky fashionable earthiness, and unmatched by any of my colleagues in their own admirable default Tiffany classicism. The cost is still rationalised away by amortisation and the poetic salvage of this old stone is still enjoyed. Decision made.

After all, it seems better to have a stunning Edwina pendant on center stage, and two soulful Charlotte earrings as supporting cast, than the other way around. I’m not sure I’d ever wear them together. It would be like trying to combine Edith Wharton with WB Yeats; one might invite them both to the party, but they wouldn’t share a drink.

And so the challenge begins. The silver collet will cost $240 and gold ear wires will be a few dollars more, but the overall budget is $1k US and so it comes down to about $750 US for Charlotte’s match. It’s an odd and unrepeatable goal, but once achieved, forever and daily enjoyed.

Who‘s with me?
 
You’re a wonderful story teller! I really enjoyed reading about Charlotte and Edwina.

I’m no help in the hunt, but I’ll be cheering you on and I can’t wait to see how your earrings turn out!
 
JPie said:
You’re a wonderful story teller! I really enjoyed reading about Charlotte and Edwina.

I’m no help in the hunt, but I’ll be cheering you on and I can’t wait to see how your earrings turn out!
Click to expand...

Thanks JPie! You’ve got more style in your pinky finger than I have in my whole body = and that’s a lot of real estate.

hahahaha :)
 
I’d add the Real Real to your search list. They often have old platinum OEC and OMC solitaires for under $1k, around the .5 carat mark or slightly higher. (< Did I post that? No I didn’t. That poor diamond. Bless it’s heart). If you find one around $1300 you like, watch it for a markdown. I got a .8 antique marquise from them for $600 in a platinum setting on super markdown (but they sold it to me as J and it’s definitely an “EGL J” at best).
 
I think unless you are willing to take significant chips, which you may, your budget may be too low for a stone.

DavidJThomasJewelry on Etsy always has lovely old gals with a few life scars.
Liking a lovely one, but maybe not a great choice to give you the store link.

RESERVED Tr .67ct J VS2 GIA Diamond. Antique Old European Cut - Etsy

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a reserved listing. Please do not order this item unless it is reserved for you. Old European cut Diamond .67ct GIA diamond report J VS2 5.37-5.53mm. Natural antique Loose diamond. This is a risk-free purchase guaranteed to be as described and your complete satisfaction is
www.etsy.com www.etsy.com

IvyRoseVintage on Etsy always seems to have a supply and might have a match for your stone. I did not see anything in their online inventory,.

Linking a wonky old dear, mostly to give you the seller's link.

Gia Certified 3/4ct I Si2 Old European Cut Diamond Vintage - Etsy

This gorgeous 0.74ct Old European cut GIA certified diamond is 100% eye clean, beautifully white, and dazzlingly brilliant. Cut by hand a lifetime ago, it is completely unique, guaranteed to be 100% conflict free, and full of old world charm. Historied and full of life, this diamond will make an
www.etsy.com www.etsy.com
 
Thank you Rocky!

You're exactly right about the budget. This is truly a crazy challenge.
 
@rockysalamander I contacted David Thomas with this bizarre quest, and was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and kind his response was. I expected that he might have been a bit offended, but so far, nope!

His other stones on the Etsy shop are beautiful so perhaps he is a ‘kindred spirit’ - certainly he seems to have a sympathetic eye for wonky old cuts. It may take a while but we’re off to a great start! Thank you so much!
 
You could also look at the offerings of Parks Fine Group. He’s bad at customer service it seems but does offer bubbly OMCs at very good prices from time to time. Also send an email to Sako at Cicada Jewelry on Instagram. He sometimes encounters these types I’m sure. Ebay sometimes has bubbly OMCs. Good luck.
 
Possibly, if you are up to contacting another vendor ( like DavidThomas) to see what they might have not listed, is RothschildTrading.
 
PreRaphaelite said:
@rockysalamander I contacted David Thomas with this bizarre quest, and was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and kind his response was. I expected that he might have been a bit offended, but so far, nope!

His other stones on the Etsy shop are beautiful so perhaps he is a ‘kindred spirit’ - certainly he seems to have a sympathetic eye for wonky old cuts. It may take a while but we’re off to a great start! Thank you so much!
Click to expand...
I always look at his stones. They often show their lifetime scars, but I am always charmed by true antiques...even with a few blemishes.
 
What a wonderful story. I love your project. The stone is endearing. I am sure it sparkles well. Good luck!
 
Hmmm you have certainly set us a challenge!!! :wavey: I think it's hard to find old cuts over new. Although I think the Ivy & Rose link above looks like a good bet. Let us know how you go... :pray:
 
I have asked to see close up pictures of stone #9 and #12, as they are the closest match to Charlotte’s dimensions. Ilya has already responded once but I imagine it must be late wherever she is, so it’s a lot to ask of her. At any rate she seems very nice. I”m leaning toward stone #12

5B5D0A37-2BA0-4D4A-954F-F8E36ECB3788.jpeg
 
Last edited:
So after taking a really in depth look at both stones, they are just too nice. Maybe, If they come across a stone that is more ‘rustic’ they’ll let me know.

i expect this challenge to take quite a while....
 
#10 and #13 look the most like your old mine cut.
 
#10 is stunning but out of reach right now. I’m still looking. : )
 
PreRaphaelite said:
#10 is stunning but out of reach right now. I’m still looking. : )
Click to expand...

You may want to up your budget or maybe see if Ilya would take an offer. I don’t see bubbly ones like yours too often. Yours is beautiful!
 
Thanks Lightbright!
 
PreRaphaelite said:
TLDR - I need earrings and it will cost about $1k US to make earrings with Charlotte, versus close to $5k US to match Edwina, and Edwina might be wasted as earrings anyway.
———————————————————————-
And now for a novella-length answer:


Hi Daisys,
Thanks for asking. This is the stone that brought me to Pricescope!

Here’s the thread. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-hope-youll-say-its-nice-i-love-this-ring.210296/

Once I had learned a bit about diamond grading, the fact that the seller had listed the stone as “SI3” started to annoy me. Needless to say, it has been a learning experience (as in, what *not* to do). I have tried to salvage a bit of that money by wearing the fragile stone daily (reset into a pendant) ever since and reframing the sunk expense with ‘cost per wear’ - a handy form of mental gymnastics.

I’ve been successful in that strategy as ”Charlotte” (named after the Georgian queen of England because of the collet setting, with thanks to @JPie for her graciousness as I flagrantly copied her style) is such a pleasure to wear. Every time I look at it, I just get drawn in by the depth and busy-ness of the facets. She is damaged, surely, yet still beautiful, and she lights up like a champion. One PSer called her setting outright Ugly, but I love it anyway. It’s an acquired taste. To paraphrase Henry V, it “hang upon my [heart] like a new-married wife about her husband’s neck, hardly to be shook off.” (Act 5 Scene 2) I’ve worn it on the beach in Bermuda, in the casinos in Vegas, to strobe-lit disco dance parties in Orlando, Ballrooms in Houston, through all manner of convention centers and airports, and of course, at home scooping kitty pans. It makes me very happy. Obviously.


BUT

[in the voice of Yoda]

THERE..... IS...... ANO...THER


You might have heard me natter on about Edwina. She’s my Honours student child, as it were. She’s bigger, clearer, finer, and much more up to PS standards. A beauty. A stone I could wear to a PS GTG, without the slightest whiff of shame. She’s in a temporary mount at the moment, while I decide how to set her. It’s a bit like deciding what university I want her to go to: a decision that will shape her character forever more, and will cost the earth, but will be tantamount to ’doing right’ by her. A result that I would be proud to hand down to my niece. I’m thinking maybe 18k unplated white gold, Edwardian in feel. It’s what she would look best in, I suspect.

Now, on to the challenge at hand: earrings. I sold my beautiful dormeuse earrings to fund Edwina’s reset, and immediately regretted it, as no other earrings I’ve tried *feels* right - truth be told, no other pair comes close. So, what to do? I’ve got two stones that hover around the one carat mark; surely one of them can be matched and away we go. Well... yes.

Matching Edwina can be done, certainly. Just call Adam at OWD and ask him for a few GIA 1.01 L VS2 OECs, send Edwina off to him, and wait a few months perhaps, and then surely she would have a new partner in crime. But the stone would be $2500 to $4000 and that doesn’t even include the mountings or labor. Making her one half a pair of earrings would be a chunk that I can’t justify spending this year - and with stones (IMO) that good, it would be a shame to look in the mirror and not be able to see much. It seems a better solution to keep Edwina a pendant. Right up front. Like a star pupil.

Well, there’s Charlotte, I suppose. She is odd, and soulfully broken, full of melancholic beauty, and lush (drippingly so), and elemental, like magic. She’s the right size for earrings... So in the distracted banality of daily life, I gently lift Charlotte in her heavily rusticated silver setting to my ear... and... BOOM. The answer becomes clear. I’m imagining a pair of Charlottes, in black silver collets on gold shepherd hooks, and suddenly WHOOSH, I will wear them everywhere, with little regard to fastidiousness that PS quality diamonds require, with no fear of losing them, with quirky fashionable earthiness, and unmatched by any of my colleagues in their own admirable default Tiffany classicism. The cost is still rationalised away by amortisation and the poetic salvage of this old stone is still enjoyed. Decision made.

After all, it seems better to have a stunning Edwina pendant on center stage, and two soulful Charlotte earrings as supporting cast, than the other way around. I’m not sure I’d ever wear them together. It would be like trying to combine Edith Wharton with WB Yeats; one might invite them both to the party, but they wouldn’t share a drink.

And so the challenge begins. The silver collet will cost $240 and gold ear wires will be a few dollars more, but the overall budget is $1k US and so it comes down to about $750 US for Charlotte’s match. It’s an odd and unrepeatable goal, but once achieved, forever and daily enjoyed.

Who‘s with me?
Click to expand...
i love this post
well not about where your sold your earings and now regreat it
i always worry when people sell beautiful or even quirky things that regreat will come calling
 
This is such a romantic story. I love the Ballad and Charlotte and Edwina
 
Thanks cspan:-)
 
lydial said:
This pin is up for auction next week at my local auction house with an $800 reserve and house premium of course ... It could be a long shot but may be worth the risk? I am thinking of bidding but thought I would mention it because of the challenge.... https://bid.bunchauctions.com/lots/view/4-6XQGI/unmarked-14k-yg-bar-pin-w3-round-diamonds
Click to expand...

What a pretty set of stones!
I hope you go for it!
Unfortunately the online bidding buyer’s premium is 23% plus sales tax, and then shipping, so I think it will go way beyond what I can afford. But in-person is only 15% so if you go, you might get a great deal! Those side stones would make for amazing earrings! The settings for the stones are gorgeous too. Thanks so much for thinking of me! :)
 
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