"Say Hello to My Little Friend" - She''s an OEC...

[vintagebling]

Hello,

I have lurked here for a little while. I really love this forum, its very educational, and full of EYE-CANDY! So without further ado here is my ring...

Old European Cut (OEC) - possibly Tolkowsky (based upon the facets shapes & proportions).
1.44 ct - though I had her re-cut (on the girdle only!! - so it is not razor thin - to prevent fractures).
She now weighs 1.43 ct.
VS Clarity
Believe it or not, L/M color (though she faces up very white!)
The setting is a custom design by my jewelers. There are 19 rubies, bead set, around the diamond. The shank is squared to keep the ring from tipping. Pretty much any band can go against it which is a real bonus!!

Here come the pictures:

 

[vintagebling]

here is another:

 

[simplysplendid]

Ooh, it is very beautiful... I love antiquey designs and this ring is just gorgeous..

 

[Gothgrrl]

It''s a beauty. I love the color of the rubies.

 

[vintagebling]

my stone matches the cut pattern on the one marked "Tolkowsky". I am going to have a GIA appraisal done one day and I will have them confirm or disprove my suspicions then. I think many vintage stones get lumped into OEC or OMC categories when there are actually many different kinds. There really needs to be a special book written about the history of these stones. I know that mine is old, just not sure how old. The previous owner died and left it to her nephew, whose mother (since he was very young) sold it to us.

 

[vintagebling]

some red, blue & green flashes

 

[dianne]

Welcome! Your ring is beautiful! It really does face up very white!

 

[vintagebling]

SanDiego, Thank you! Sometimes it shows a little warmth in the form of *pink* and I can''t say that I mind!

Gothgrrl, thank you! The ring is 18kt white and yellow gold, the rubies do seem to go nicely with it.

SimplySplendid, Thank you, who are aiden, genes?

Thank you gals for welcoming me and my ring thanks you too! She has so much character, I am actually thinking of naming her! Is that just way out in left field?? She''s a disco ball!

 

[Kaleigh]

I''m such a sucker for gorgeous OEC''s and your''s is just stunning!!! Can you tell us where you found it, etc?? I love the setting as well. Thanks for sharing this treasure with us!! And welcome to PS

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Your ring is beautiful! The diamond is fabulous!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

BEAUTIFUL! Love everything about your ring!

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Oh wow, your ring is gorgeous...and so unique!

 

[blingergrrrl]

ohhh! Yum yum yum!!

Love those antique cut rocks! The ring suits you very well (or it suits your hand very well, that''s all I can actually see of you

).

 

[surfgirl]

Your stone is fantastic! I agree, most people lump old cuts into OMC/OEC and that''s it. There are so many types though. I wonder if the old cut appraisers here (Dave Atlas & Rich Sherwood) can tell what specific types or if they also just say OMC/OEC. I was also wondering if the Tolkowsky is the same as Transitional Cut or if it came just afterwards...It''s all rather confusing. Can you show us a photo of the diamond head on so I can see the table pattern more clearly? Thanks! Lovely ring.

Oh, can you also tell us more about you having the thin girdle attended to? I''m wondering if you can tell any difference in how the stone performs after doing that. I''m very hesitant but my girdle is so thin...Who did this for you and how much did it cost if you dont mind my asking...? Thanks...!

 

[monarch64]

Wow, it is simply gorgeous, stone, setting, everything! Thanks for sharing your pics and some additional knowledge on OEC''s!

 

[door knob solitaire]

Hello

little friend of Vintage Bling...welcome to PS! You really have fabulous qualities...I hope to learn just what cut pattern you are. Please pose for more photos including a profie angle.

DKS

ps. She meant no harm when she referred to you a LITTLE...you aren''t little at 1.44 you are quite a honker!!

pss. And also the disco ball comment, is really a compliment. You see it sparkles like mad! Just like you!!

 

[DiaDiva]

Vintage Bling, your ring is amazing! I love it!!!!!!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Oh my goodness your ring is G O R G E O U S !!! How appropriate it is July''s birthstone. That finger coverage is phenominal

! More pics please

 

[Ellen]

Vintage, your ring is so unique, I love it!! The stone looks amazing, and the rubies REALLY make it pop!


Congrats, and lucky you!



p.s. Your av looks awesome.

Love that fire shot too.

 

[baby monster]

oooo...gorgeous ring

 

[mela lu]

Love love love it! and thanks for the diagrams!

So pretty!

 

[Catmom]

Vintage, your little friend is just gorgeous and the setting is TDF!!!! The color of the rubies is fantastic and I love that it is set in YG.....yumm!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

What a beautiful ring! The stone is just gorgeous and I really like the setting!

 

[vintagebling]

Wow! Thank you all for the wonderful response! I (and my little friend) are overwhelmed! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

She is in a re-mount. And she is not my original e-ring. Here is the proposal story if any of you are interested:

My husband proposed to me with a princess diamond (exactly what I had hinted at) much to my surprise! He took me camping one weekend to the Great Smokies. I was totally Clueless! He kept ranting and ranting about this waterfall! "We have to get to this waterfall before its dark"...blah blah. At the time I smoked cigarettes (blah, how could I?). At least they were fancy ones (Nat Sherman's). Anywho... we finally got to the trail head for the waterfall and started hiking....40 minutes later! I am huffing and puffing and saying to my man "why don't you go on ahead, I will wait for you here"! Yeah right!

H got me to keep going, we finally arrived... the waterfall was amazing! There were these huge flat rocks that I sat down on and said "I need some kind of reward"! My man was smiling. A moment later he was on his knee and pulled something out of his pocket. He so subtly said "You are my world, I want you to be my wife, will you marry me?"

I was of course in shock and smiling with glee, totally forgetting to answer the question. He laughed and said "you haven't answered my question". I exclaimed "Hell Yeah!".

A year later on the same day, we were married.

So back to the Ring!!....

 

[KimberlyH]

Your ring is absolutely fabulous. It''s the first halo I''ve fallen absolutely in love with!!! YAY for you...nd it''s not "little" by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[ML2014]

Your ring is GORGEOUS.

I have officially become a convert to the older cuts- there is something so unique and special about them. Every one I''ve seen here on PS is spectalcular in its own right (yours very much included here) and even though they can be white, they have such a warmth to them (does that make sense?).

I love the colors that are reflected in your stone, and your ruby halo is stunning.

ETA: Welcome to PS!

 

[vintagebling]

For my original e-ring my honey had set up an appointment for me to design it with a specific jeweler in town who he had purchased and selected the princess diamond from. To make a long story short, I was disappointed with how the ring came out. I felt the jewelers didn't listen to my requests and the ring ended up being more about their design than what I had in mind. So... three years later I found out about OEC's and fell in love. Turns out I am more a circle than a square person.

We decided to remove my princess from that ring and have it put into a necklace (melting down the original gold and using it for the necklace). This way the jewelery (diamond and metal) that I wore on my wedding day will remain close to my heart (physically and mentally!).

My husband and I searched for an OEC that would go into my new wedding/engagement ring. Believe it or not, I found it on Ebay! The woman who had it was across the country, but her aunt (whose ring it was originally) had left it to her & her son, and the aunt had lived her whole life in the city I live in! So the stone made its way back home.

She had an appraisal done on the stone, not GIA but a very good appraisal by a senior member of the Arizona Gemological Laboratory (AGL). The appraisal summarized:

1 Old European Cut diamond which is set in a six prong white gold Tiffany head. The diamond measures approximately 7.31mm-7.32mm in diameter x 4.3mm ind depth (by table gauge) and weighs approximately 1.40 cts (by formula). The clarity grade is VS2. The color grade is L/M. The cutlet is large. The girdle is extremely thin to slightly thick, unpolished. The polish is good. The symmetry is good. The over-all proportions are fair-good. He estimated the value at $6,100.

Turns out that the stone weighed 1.44 rather than the calculated 1.40.

This is soo much info! I take a long time to get to the point! We got the ring for a Really good price! A fraction of the appraised value.

I wore it in the tiffany solitaire for awhile, and believe me, it was gorgeous! But I was very concerned about the v.thin girdle. So I took it to my jeweler to have it set in its current ring. They told me they wanted to send it away to their cutters to have the girdle re-cut. They said that even in a bezel it would not be safe from fracturing if it were hit the wrong way. So I reluctantly let my stone leave for a month while their cutters re-shaped the edge to modern stone standards. The reward for this was that I now have peace of mind, and my jeweler said I can place the stone in any setting and it will be safe! Of course I only chose this bezel setting for the safety factor, but it has turned out to be quite beautiful regardless.

Well I need to go take a break now...that was a lot of typing!! Its that darned morning tea!

 

[surfgirl]

Thanks for the added info! But what about re-cutting the girdle??? Did you see any differences in how the stone performs after re-cutting? Or does is look exactly the same? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[vintagebling]

There is No difference! The only difference I am seeing is that it is because it is in a bezel now instead of a 6-prong. This cut has A LOT of light return. I will show you an example in a picture. And there is no difference in that regard. My jeweler is "Jewels that Dance" in Asheville. They sent it to their cutters who they have a very long relationship with. They were Very reasonable. They set my stone, sized the ring, shaped the band into a square, and had it re-cut for under $400!

Hope this helps SurfGrl, ps I love your ring!

 

[vintagebling]

Before Photo...in the 6 prong that it arrived in.