Small OEC? How much is that worth?

[Cinna]

Hello!

I'm trying to start my quest into seeking out vintage diamonds and this is my first piece that I've ever bought. However I'm unsure and it seems that I might have gotten a bad deal. I figured that since I'm not a fan of the setting whatsoever I could mount the "OEC" (still not sure if it is, I'm taking it to a reputable jewlers in a couple hours) in someplace else and I would still get my money worth. What do YOU think?

I couldn't take any good pictures of the ring so I'm using the seller's pictures. It was described as H/I SI2 4mm 0.3 cts and the side stones are in total 6 of them, about .15 ctw. Paid 250$ but the centerstone seems smaller and the ctw doesn't seem to be 0.45 as it was described when asking an unprofessional second opinion. And due to the bezel I can't tell really much but it does seem to face up white.

 

[Cinna]

and... number five:

 

[panda08]

It's kinda hard to tell from the photos whether the center stone is an OEC or an OMC. I'm no expert but $250 for the entire ring sounds like a bargain to me, if the stones are eye-clean.

 

[Cinna]

The stones are a lot smaller in person and I'm unable to find any inclusions on the centerstone... frankly because it's very hard to see much anything in the stone besides tiny chunky flashes and a large culet. In my opinion it's closer to .2 for the centerstone and the sidestones are so small that I can't see anything in them much less an inclusion. But you also have to take into account that all of it is bezeled.

I didn't recognize anyone at the jewlery store I like today. The lady that helped me... was sad to say but completely unknowledable on OMC/OEC. She had no idea what they were but kept pretending to. When I asked her the difference between OMC and OEC (She asked what I meant when I used those acronyms and I explained) she just stayed silent and ignored my questions, then proceeded to say It is definitely an OEC/OMC interchangeably. In the end all she said was "it's definitely an older cut. I can't say anything more until you get it appraised with our appraiser who will be here in a month" A bit of a disappointing trip.

I would like to give this ring to my mother as a gift seeing as 6.5 does not fit any of my fingers except my thumb and I cannot see myself trying to resize or remount the stone at this moment in time. I explained that it's vintage, and when "persuaded" to tell the range of what I bought it for, I kept hearing "You got really ripped off, the diamond is so small and the ring sits so low that it's uncomfortable"... which I didn't think so. But alas, the fears were already implemented in my mind. Figured if anyone would know, it'd be a fellow PSer.

 

[LGK]

It's really hard to tell what the cut is from the pics, and smaller stones were often cut a little less precisely than larger ones. I do think it isn't .45cts, it looks a lot more close in size to my original e-ring, which was like, less than .20 cts for the center stone. Tough to tell in a bezel though- some bezels cover a lot of the stone's edge, especially in older pieces.

The price sounds right. Although it needs work- is out of round- I like the setting quite a bit and my (unsolicited ) opinion is you should leave it as-is. Resetting the center stone would probably cost more than the stone is worth IMO and it's lovely as is... just something to consider from the peanut gallery here, you know we're all full of "useful" opinions!

I would guess it's probably late '20s era, with a less precise cut that makes it resemble an OMC. But is more of the era that it may technically be OEC anyway. If it's really round and not cushiony in shape I'd call it an OEC even with the more rustic faceting. (The girdle's outline, round vs. faintly cushion shaped, is the real sticking point between the two from what I remember.) Smaller stones were just often not so perfectly cut.

One of my friends I work with has a gorgeous late '20s ring she got here that has a similar size center stone or maybe just a smidge larger- somewhere around .30 cts- with this same type of irregular faceting. But boy that sucker is a fireball, it looks amazing in the sun.

 

[Cinna]

Thanks so much LittleGreyKitten! That was very informative! i was just worried becaues I paid that thinking of a great deal for .45 ctw... but it doesn't seem like that whatsoever. So my great deal turned into a not so much of a deal.

I was looking at that and there is a tiny bit of space on the east and west of the bezel, but not north and south of the centerstone leading me to believe that it is either an oddly shaped bezel or it's not perfectly round, and more cushion shaped... but guess I'll never really know since I don't have any future plans to take it out!... unless it's very in the future and it finds it's way back to me. I had originally bought it thinking if the setting is horrible and it doesn't fit whatsoever, I could source 4 OEC/OMC more diamonds (over a very long time) as a hobby, and put them in a five stone. I'm tempted to go home and poke the dark sides between the bezel and diamond with a sewing needle to see it is a gap.

It sparkles, but it's nothing to write home about. Maybe I'm just spoiled and used to fireballs? My e-ring is my only good piece of diamond and it is a serious mad fireball. Compared to that it just doesn't hold up in brilliance and fire. Maybe if it wasn't bezeled all the way around there could be that chance since there is no light going into the diamond except from the top.

 

[reader]

Curious, and a childish question, but have you tried seriously cleaning the snot out of it? A lot of these rings are wicked hard to get fully clean, and ladies back in the day weren't as fastidious about rings as we are now. It might take a couple cleanings, but I am hoping you are pleasantly surprised.

 

[Cinna]

Reader:
I scrubbed like crazy yesterday with an old toothbrush and soap... and then was terrified that I might pop one of the smaller stones out. I tend to treat diamonds like they're glass even though I know they're much more durable.

Do you recommend any other cleaning methods/ materials? Because I think it might be rust/patina that makes it look "dirty" but am unsure of how to clean the pallidum/ white gold.

 

[reader]

I would get a cup of hot water, a teaspoon of ammonia and a couple drops of dish detergent with nothing added to it. Let it soak, scrub, soak and scrub.
If you use bar soap or toothpaste to clean the ring, it may have left a film that might dull the stones somewhat.