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whats wrong with this OEC

hippi_pixi

hippi_pixi

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
639
this ring has been for sale for ages so I'm wondering why? whats wrong with it? is it likely to be J-K VS2 as stated?

http://www.rubylane.com/item/812742-DR-3x2e07/1910-Edwardian-3-07ct-European

and I've been looking at a few antique stones some in settings, if you were going to buy a stone in an original antique setting would it be worth taking the stone out to have it graded? i wouldn't be interested in the stats as much as doing some imaging to assess the light performance of the stone. would that be possible to do without ruining the setting?
 
IMO nothing wrong with this ring and stone! Simply beautiful!
 
Nothing wrong but a couple of the photos do suggest the coloring would be lower than advertised. The culet is a bit larger than some people prefer, but that's highly subjective. The photo of the stone in the pictured appraisal is not very good, but who knows what kind of set up they have for their photography. I really don't like when antique stones are advertised as looking 'larger than their weight' - makes me think there is some mass missing where it counts, in terms of light performance. Overall, it's a stone I would take a chance on, seems fairly retail priced to me, with the setting included. Not a bargain, but probably comparable to what you'd get from OWD.

You can get ASETs done on mounted stones, but not Sarins. If you want to try it out, get it to one of the excellent PS appraisers for their opinion on retail value to get an idea if what you paid was fair. When Neil did my appraisal, his suggested retail value was spot on.
 
I like that stone and think it could be worth evaluation. I am sure its color is much lower than graded, which is the case 9/10 with estate sellers. So the price is not actually super great for the estate market in my opinion. It is estimated 2.77ct, the title is the total carat weight.

In my opinion you do not need to dismount the stone to assess its optics. With old cuts, I have not yet seen a case where an ASET told me anything I could not judge with my own eyes. Ideal perfection and the fine nuances that obsess me about MRBs are not the goal with old cuts -- though you can certainly find stones with better optics than others! Now, I have owned many old cuts and so have seen a wide range of optics which may help, but I recommend if you want to buy from an estate seller you either a) train your own eyes by seeing many old cuts and/or b) have an appraiser help you. But either way, you need to see it with your own eyes. If you cannot train you own eyes, or don't trust your judgement (fair enough!), or just plain want someone else to judge the cut for you, then do not buy from an estate seller on Ruby Lane or ebay where they not only will mislead you but don't know anything about old cuts; rather buy from a vendor who offers full service and evaluation who can *be* your eyes.

If you want a lab report, then obviously it needs to be taken from the mount, though EGL will offer appraisals of mounted stones. As will appraisers. I like Dave Atlas for this stuff based on knowing a few people who have had old cuts appraised with a few different appraisers.
 
so if it is offered as a J/K then its likely to be say M/N? This one caught my eye because it looks white face up but maybe I'm looking at it through rose tinted glasses? I'm definitely after something that faces up white. I have a small J color OEC (0.37) from OWD that i had put in a pendant which looks white to me. now and before it was set

I am considering buying and having it sent to AUS so i can see it in person. how would it work if i had Dave atlas look at it? would i have to buy and have the seller ship to him to appraise? how much is that likely to cost? i would have to pay 15% taxes to bring into australia to see the ring but i believe the taxes are refundable if i returned it

I have been in contact with Jonathan but apart from a lovely AVR i haven't seen a good contender for an OEC yet. this had been my plan but I am temted but what looks like a good 2.77 OEC conveniently already in a setting that i like
 
I can't say for sure just based on those pics, but I think the crown seems a bit shallow. Maybe that's why it faces up larger than its carat weight.

Anne
 
I had this ring on my watch list forever.
 
hippi_pixi|1353366748|3310486 said:
so if it is offered as a J/K then its likely to be say M/N? This one caught my eye because it looks white face up but maybe I'm looking at it through rose tinted glasses? I'm definitely after something that faces up white. I have a small J color OEC (0.37) from OWD that i had put in a pendant which looks white to me. now and before it was set

I am considering buying and having it sent to AUS so i can see it in person. how would it work if i had Dave atlas look at it? would i have to buy and have the seller ship to him to appraise? how much is that likely to cost? i would have to pay 15% taxes to bring into australia to see the ring but i believe the taxes are refundable if i returned it

I have been in contact with Jonathan but apart from a lovely AVR i haven't seen a good contender for an OEC yet. this had been my plan but I am temted but what looks like a good 2.77 OEC conveniently already in a setting that i like
Click to expand...

Those taxes are NOT REFUNDABLE!! Do not purchase something and have it sent to Oz without knowing it's something you definitely want!!

The best way to handle it is to have it sent to a middleman for evaluation, like Dave or Neil. I've recently learned that you can even have it sent to Jon at GOG to have him run all of his magic machines on it. :bigsmile: You will have to trust their eyes and machines, or end up losing out on a lot of cash by trying to return (the shipping and insurance alone from Aus would be hundreds of dollars).

The good news? Thanks to the Aus/America Free Trade arrangement, that 5% import tax is not applicable. You would only be responsible for 10% GST. You may have to pay the 5% extra at first, but with the correct paperwork lodged, it would be refunded to you. :))
 
And I forgot to mention, appraisal is based on carat weight sometimes. Looks like Dave is around $275 for that size ring, but offers a PS discount. Neil's site suggests that it's $75, plus another $55 for a Sarin if you want one. I had him do a super rush job for me earlier this year and he did a FANTASTIC job, very honest and accurate. Think for my 4.65 antique cushion it was around $150.
 
Thanks justginger! that makes it very difficult to give something a go :( 2 grand in taxes is not something i would risk unless i was 100% sure.

do you have to buy it first before sending to an appraiser or would you organise with the seller to send it there and pay shipping costs?
 
When I bought my latest ring, I had Adam send it to Neil on contingency of appraisal. So I didn't have to pay for the diamond or even the shipping until Neil had a look and told me what he thought. I'm not sure if I would have been responsible for the shipping in the case I had decided not to buy it after all. Regardless, shipping from Neil to Adam (which I did pay for) was something like $20. Not a big deal.

I had no issues, thought Neil did a great job of taking care of the time-sensitive situation for me, and am still thrilled with my purchase. I have a friendly relationship with a local antique jeweler, who flat told me that if I had purchased my ring here, it would have been AT LEAST $15,000 more than what I paid, if not closer to $20k. So...sometimes good things come from taking a bit of a risk. It's just up to you to choose a good appraiser who will minimize the severity of that risk. :))
 
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