What happens to the old setting in an upgrade?

[Love Street]

I''m sure you''ve all addressed this before, but my searches haven''t turned up anything exactly on point. I''m planning on my future upgrades but trying to be strategic regarding the setting.

I''m hoping to get a new e-ring for my 5 year: a ~1.5-1.8 ct cushion (and wear my orig as a RHR). I LOVE settings with pave/shared prong diamonds, I esp with raised shanks that go to girdle height (rather than low, with a tall basket - if that makes any sense), but not necessarily with a halo. I''ve drooled over lots of Leon Mege and custom rings on here. Here''s my question:

If I get such a setting what happens to it if, 5 years later, I upgrade the stone to something a carat larger (i.e. 2.5+)? Would a jeweler (or whoever I end up buying the stone from - WF, GOG or ERD) - be able to use the same diamonds in a new custom setting, e.g. if I had 1 pt''ers in a shared prong setting? What about the platinum - can they melt it down and use it for something custom? If so, would this reduce the price of the setting (or add to it, since it''s more work to undo something previously made)?

If there are links you know of that already address this, please point me to them!

Wow, I had forgotten how addictive PS is. I need to have DH block this site until the end of the school semester!

 

[Love Street]

oops - ok so I did another search including "scrap" and ah ha! Saw some posts that answered many of my quetions.

But to refine my question a bit: say, hypothetically, I purchased a stone and setting through the same vendor or in the same transaction (e.g., through ERD and had them work with Leon Mege for the setting). If the setting has shared prong diamonds on the shanks and, 5 years later, I upgraded the stone by 1 ct and needed a new setting, I''m wondering if those diamonds would be re-usable (thus reducing the cost of the upgrade setting, which would also have shared-prong diamonds on the shanks). What are your thoughts?

 

[adlgel]

I recently upgraded my e-ring and w-ring primarily because I wanted to go from yellow gold to platinum (which means there was no discussion about using the metal from my old rings to make my new ones) However, my jeweler was going to custom make my new w-ring using the small (not sure what size but I'd guess less than 5 pts each) channel set diamonds from my old w-ring. In the end however I bought a completely new e-ring and w-ring setting and didn't use the diamonds from my old setting. And I have no idea if I would have saved $ on the new w-ring if he made it using my old diamonds - I assumed yes since I wouldn't have been paying for new diamonds but it became a moot point so I never worried about it.

So, my old settings are now sitting intact in my jewelry box which I'm okay with as it leave me the option of going back someday and since those are the rings that my husband proposed with and put on my finger on our wedding day I'm kind of happy that they still exist.

 

[sera]

I know the cost of pave on a ring by Leon is mostly labor of doing the pave, not so much the cost of the 1 pointers in the pave... so, not sure if using 1 pointers from the old setting would really reduce the price that much (maybe it would even be more trouble than it''s worth?).

Personally, if I ever get an upgrade, I would just put a gemstone into the old setting.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I know you can''t reuse the platinum and you''d probably lose more by destoying the setting than you''d gain by having the melee taken out. The two smart choices are to keep your diamond in a simple, inexpensive solitaire until you get your final stone, or set a colored gemstone in the old setting if it is a halo setting or something like that.

 

[Allison D.]

If the melee isn''t compromised (chipped, etc) and it can be removed from the setting without damage, there isn''t any reason why you cannot reuse it in a new piece.

However, it won''t drastically reduce the price of the new setting; as Diamondseeker pointed out, most of the cost in melee settings is labor.

If your main goal was to reuse stones for sentimental value, there would be inherent value in doing that. If your main goal was to save a bundle on a new setting by reusing melee, it''s not likely to save enough to make it worth your effort.

 

[chrono]

With upgrades, I''ve kept the old settings and put a coloured gemstones into it. Small melees aren''t expensive (the bulk of the cost is in the labour) and the metal isn''t worth much as scrap (cannot be melted and reused due to the unknown combination of metal alloys).

 

[onvacation]

Date: 2/8/2008 12:08:44 PM
Author: Chrono
With upgrades, I''ve kept the old settings and put a coloured gemstones into it. Small melees aren''t expensive (the bulk of the cost is in the labour) and the metal isn''t worth much as scrap (cannot be melted and reused due to the unknown combination of metal alloys).

Can you do this with old settings that have the prongs cut off? Can you plant in new ones, or somehow add more metal to the existing frame? I sent a ring in to be remade and they partially cut off the prongs so that some prongs are just a bit shorter and some are completely gone. I''d really like to reuse the setting if possible, but it looks hard to do. I''ll try to attach a picture later tonight if that helps any.

 

[Allison D.]

Date: 2/8/2008 12:28:27 PM
Author: onvacation

Can you do this with old settings that have the prongs cut off? Can you plant in new ones, or somehow add more metal to the existing frame? I sent a ring in to be remade and they partially cut off the prongs so that some prongs are just a bit shorter and some are completely gone. I''d really like to reuse the setting if possible, but it looks hard to do. I''ll try to attach a picture later tonight if that helps any.

If you can find a good craftsman who can build prongs by hand, then yes, you could likely get that repaired.

 

[onvacation]

Thanks for the reply! I''m going to see if I can get myself a colored stone ring then