Hi everyone,
I've been reading some of the forum posts on here about diamonds generally and particularly about OECs. With all the helpful advice people here offer I wanted to seek some input on a family ring I am considering giving to my gf when I propose.
By way of a little background, my gf and I have been to Tiffany's and a few other stores and it seems like she has a preference for a round brilliant style diamond, about 1.5cts, and particularly liked Tiffany's novo setting (though not the cushion cut stone). Recently, my cousin got engaged and I learned that there are a number of "family" rings which had been passed down from my great grandmother to each of the families of her grandchildren. I asked my parents whether there was a ring for our family and it turns out there is one. They sent me pictures (attached below), and initially I was a bit hesitant as it seemed to be a rather "dull" diamond and not as wide as a RB 1.5 ct like my gf wants. I was home for Easter last weekend though and had the chance to see the ring in person. In brief, the pictures don't do the ring justice, the stone literally jumps out at you and makes the pearls on either side and the rest of the setting look incredibly dull. My mom took the ring to a jeweler this week who did an informal appraisal and estimated that the ring, as set is worth about $14k and the center diamond is 1.33cts.
Based on the price and having looked at what OECs typically sell for, this makes me think this may be a rather rare, high clarity, high quality OEC (I think this is certainly a possibility as my great grandparents were rather wealthy and the ring has stayed in the family).
I know that pictures are hard to judge from and absent a formal appraisal or GIA etc certification, it may be difficult to provide some feedback, but my primary question is whether this ballpark value sounds completely out of line, esp for a smaller OEC diamond?
I know that on a certain level, when giving a family heirloom as an engagement ring, value shouldn't matter, but there's that part of me (and my gf) where if it is actually just a low value/low quality old diamond, looking for something new may be a better option.
I would plan on having the stone reset, and would appreciate any thoughts people may have on good settings. As I said above, my gf really like the novo tiffany setting (diamonds around the band, "clean" setting of the stone on top, aka no little triangles when you look at the ring from the loop side). My slight concern there is that getting a new setting with RBs, the RBs may seem to "outshine" the OEC.
Thanks in advance for your help!




I've been reading some of the forum posts on here about diamonds generally and particularly about OECs. With all the helpful advice people here offer I wanted to seek some input on a family ring I am considering giving to my gf when I propose.
By way of a little background, my gf and I have been to Tiffany's and a few other stores and it seems like she has a preference for a round brilliant style diamond, about 1.5cts, and particularly liked Tiffany's novo setting (though not the cushion cut stone). Recently, my cousin got engaged and I learned that there are a number of "family" rings which had been passed down from my great grandmother to each of the families of her grandchildren. I asked my parents whether there was a ring for our family and it turns out there is one. They sent me pictures (attached below), and initially I was a bit hesitant as it seemed to be a rather "dull" diamond and not as wide as a RB 1.5 ct like my gf wants. I was home for Easter last weekend though and had the chance to see the ring in person. In brief, the pictures don't do the ring justice, the stone literally jumps out at you and makes the pearls on either side and the rest of the setting look incredibly dull. My mom took the ring to a jeweler this week who did an informal appraisal and estimated that the ring, as set is worth about $14k and the center diamond is 1.33cts.
Based on the price and having looked at what OECs typically sell for, this makes me think this may be a rather rare, high clarity, high quality OEC (I think this is certainly a possibility as my great grandparents were rather wealthy and the ring has stayed in the family).
I know that pictures are hard to judge from and absent a formal appraisal or GIA etc certification, it may be difficult to provide some feedback, but my primary question is whether this ballpark value sounds completely out of line, esp for a smaller OEC diamond?
I know that on a certain level, when giving a family heirloom as an engagement ring, value shouldn't matter, but there's that part of me (and my gf) where if it is actually just a low value/low quality old diamond, looking for something new may be a better option.
I would plan on having the stone reset, and would appreciate any thoughts people may have on good settings. As I said above, my gf really like the novo tiffany setting (diamonds around the band, "clean" setting of the stone on top, aka no little triangles when you look at the ring from the loop side). My slight concern there is that getting a new setting with RBs, the RBs may seem to "outshine" the OEC.
Thanks in advance for your help!



