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Tale of the Solitaire to Three Stone Ring Journey, Featuring a 3 CT OEC

Mrsz1ppy

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 23, 2012
Messages
1,530
As requested, I am going to tell the story of my OEC. It is a cautionary tale, full of things one should not do!

In my defense, I was a lapsed PS reader at the time I started in pursuit of a bigger, better OEC. I had a lovely .57 oec engagement ring, I VS2, from my DH. I had a windfall, and wanted to upgrade my ring. We had found my previous diamond at a pawn shop, but I doubted I could find a 3 carat that way, and I knew from previous experience that my size 8 finger suits a 3 carat.

I started my search and found what I thought was the perfect ring on The Real Real. Did I ask for feedback? Nope. I just scooped it up, thinking it was a find!257F5BFF-CB6F-4D29-83F8-548334C66927.pngD0635D5B-3F07-4935-91EC-A0BECE2DC8B6.png
 
I pulled the trigger on 8/18/2020. Some time after, I started reading PS again. (I always have to stop when I have to go to Ban Island, and I had been there for years!) Refreshing and enjoyable as always, I resolved to be a smarter jewelry consumer after getting reacquainted with PS. So I took my e-ring into my jeweler’s and had her unmount it and send it to GIA. Ouch. M, not H-I, 3.09 not 3.15. At least it is a VS2!image.jpgTo be continued…
 
So, next I decided to sell my diamond. As you can see, that did not work out so well!

First time poster on Preloved Destashing/OEC 3.09 M VS2 GIA Cert​

 
Dear reader, I got no private responses to my Loupe Troop post. So I contacted Grace and Lang Antiques. Grace was lovely and as I recall, offered to consign for what I had paid for the ring on TRR. Of course after commission, I would not be even. I did ask if I could wait until the Xmas season, to see if the value would be higher, and she sweetly agreed.

After reading the fine print on Lang Antiques, I offered them my stone and mounting on consignment. They do make offers to buy outright too, but money was more important to me than speed. However, I did not get an offer to consign, just an outright purchase offer of 33% of my purchase price. No thanks!

At that point I decided none of my options were optimal. Although JBG was my best option, and my backup plan, I decided to pivot. Meanwhile, I had bought another, higher color 3+ ct solitaire so I had my solitaire. Story here: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/gia-‘round-brilliant’-report-from-2011–critique-requested.273129/#post-5123043
 
What did I not have? A 3 stone ring, all oecs.

(I am a magpie and love jewelry, but had been on ban island in order to put kids through college as a single parent. I have been going a little bit crazy, playing catch up the last couple of years, and boy has it been fun!)

I started the search for a setting, pre-loved and vintage/antique being the ideal. The hard part is the size stone you have, matching to a setting that exists. On Etsy I found one that looked possible, and the vendor allowed me to buy it, conditioned on my jeweler saying that my stone would fit. This is what I found:
56351CAA-4206-4A52-A073-FB7D5734FAFC.png68F0103B-6053-4184-AC4A-AADE77660C3F.png
 
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I am hanging on to this story folding out
happily and with baited breath on seats edge

just like those gallery diamonds in the setting look to be. I’m sure it’s just a trick of the eye tho!


and hey. Is it really a preloved story that didn’t work out well if you happily get to keep the item In the end?
 
My local jeweler blessed the setting! So now I needed the side stones. This is April 20, 2022 btw. She found a beautiful stone to match my original engagement ring, and made gorgeous studs, so I asked if she could get some from her NYC sources.

No luck! Apparently oecs are extremely popular (as we at PS know), and her source couldn’t help (at a price she was comfortable with, I wonder?) So back I go to my internet searching. I didn’t find much. After much hemming and hawing, I took a huge chance and bought a pair of oec studs on eBay with terrible pictures.https://www.ebay.com/itm/1549969772692199D266-2973-4683-B6D4-EC8601B3E144.png
I relied on the appraisal because I couldn’t get much out of the photos and the seller couldn’t do any better.image.jpgimage.jpg
Dear reader, do not follow my example. This is not the right way to buy diamonds. I was just crossing my fingers that Joey the Jeweler was truly unbiased and good at his profession!
 
My poor, intrepid local jeweler. I ordered these stones, after showing her the eBay listing. She couldn’t make out anything from the pictures either, but we knew we could send them back if they weren’t as Joey said. When they arrived, I raced down to show her. They were oecs all right, but chipped. Not terribly, but we sent them to her cutter to get fixed before sending them to GIA. They only lost a few points, staying well above that all important 1 ct mark, and came back as J VS1-2s. The certs are with her now, so I can‘t be exact.

Her setter is off this week, but I am promised that the ring will be ready this next week. I am nervous that the M will look odd, in between the Js, but when we set all the stones in the ring, to look at them, it didn’t. Fingers crossed I’ll feel that way in all lighting. If not, I do have the J transitional…and could swap.
 
Meanwhile, you may be asking, what did the OP do with the original setting her solitaire from TRR came in? She found a lovely to her Madagascar Blue unheated AGL certed stone and popped it in!97251A0C-A347-4B28-8B68-116ABA51DC12.jpeg
 

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Meanwhile, you may be asking, what did the OP do with the original setting her solitaire from TRR came in? She found a lovely to her Madagascar Blue unheated AGL certed stone and popped it in!97251A0C-A347-4B28-8B68-116ABA51DC12.jpeg

This is absolutely gorgeous!
:love:
it’s paired beautifully with your band, too.

any chances you have pictures of your sidestones next to your center?
and any pictures of your sidestones before and after their recuts?
:)
 
This is absolutely gorgeous!
:love:
it’s paired beautifully with your band, too.

any chances you have pictures of your sidestones next to your center?
and any pictures of your sidestones before and after their recuts?
:)

I am in love with the new sapphire. I am nervous wearing my Kashmir, and love this one just as much!

No pictures yet…the whole kit and kaboodle is down at my local jeweler’s, including the side stones and their certs.
 
And? And?! I can't wait a whole week. :lol:
That sapphire solitaire, though. Gorg.
 
Meanwhile, you may be asking, what did the OP do with the original setting her solitaire from TRR came in? She found a lovely to her Madagascar Blue unheated AGL certed stone and popped it in!97251A0C-A347-4B28-8B68-116ABA51DC12.jpeg

Love this!! It’s gorgeous! You were able to return your stone to TRR, correct?
 
Love this!! It’s gorgeous! You were able to return your stone to TRR, correct?

I could have, had I resized the setting from an 8 back to a 3. I have a return authorization, but honestly I didn’t want to go to the extra trouble of returning it to original condition. So it’s the original stone from TRR that I am trying in the new-to-me 3 stone setting.
 
I could have, had I resized the setting from an 8 back to a 3. I have a return authorization, but honestly I didn’t want to go to the extra trouble of returning it to original condition. So it’s the original stone from TRR that I am trying in the new-to-me 3 stone setting.

Oh! I don't know why I didn't realize this from the beginning - duh! Ok got it; for some reason I was originally thinking you were starting from scratch for the three stone. Anyway I cannot wait to see the result :)
 
I’m captivated by your story, the stones and your new solitaire - can’t wait to see what comes next!
 
Dang, it’s going to be a long week! I love the setting you found and can’t wait to see the end result!!
 
(I am a magpie and love jewelry, but had been on ban island in order to put kids through college as a single parent. I have been going a little bit crazy, playing catch up the last couple of years, and boy has it been fun!)

Can we see some of these beauties while we wait?
Also :appl:kids through college is no small feat!
 
Can we see some of these beauties while we wait?
Also :appl:kids through college is no small feat!

Twist my arm!

And thanks. I wanted them to start adult life debt free, as my parents had done for me. Not easy!
 
I agree! The waiting is the hardest part! I bet it will be spectacular!
 
I love the reset of the sapphire in the other setting! Looks gorgeous with your band!!
 
That sapphire ring, though..................................:kiss2::kiss2:
 
To amuse both you and me while we wait for the e stone ring, I will tell a tale of another ring.

I have always been drawn to jewelry, but my professional life was focused on real estate. I see parallels between the two: I am a better remodeler than I am a developer. So it is with jewelry. I am better at ‘marriage’ as they say in the antique business, putting 2 separate parts together, than designing from scratch. I have tried, once, to commission a settting for a stone, but I am not as happy with it as I am moving things around. That is a tale for another day.

I checked into PS, as one does, last June and was riveted by this thread on silky stones: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-me-your-silky-sleepy-stones.273955/#post-5140105
 
I must have one or two…how lovely are these silky stones. Sapphires, spinels and diamonds, oh my! Happily searching away, I found a fancy white diamond with blue and orange flashes on Etsy with a GIA cert.

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I found some sapphires, too, but they are not today’s topic because they were either already set or I haven’t figured out how to set. Of these three, 2 are back from AGL with ‘no heat.’ Waiting on the other.6D005F9A-5567-4862-A422-D278452EB2C1.png
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