Engagement ring saved my finger, I am heartbroken! Repair SOS!!!

[denverappraiser]

I'm glad your finger is undamaged. The ring looks pretty beat. I suspect the 'repair' here would be to take out the stones, replace the missing one, and start over. Do you have it insured? This would all be a covered loss with most companies.

Another brief thought. Could you shoot us a better pictures of the marks inside? It's possible that the shank was supplied by an outside vendor and you may be able to order one.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Ouchee!!!
Thank goodness your finger is ok.....
We tell people stories about how pregnant women forget to take off their ring, the finger swells, and they end up in the emergency room.
A shame to cut off a finger to save the ring.....kidding!@@!!!

I haven't read all the responses.,....my gut:
It's not worth it trying to repair the setting.
Reusing gold is a messy affair- and costly.
The setting doesn't seem like one that would be very difficult to recreate......unfortunately that doesn't address the sentimentality issue....

 

[glitterata]

Here’s what I would do if this were me:
1. Thank the ring for saving my finger. It’s a hero!
2. Remove the center diamond and have a new setting made to hold it, in either the same or a different style.
3. Take the squished ring to a trusted jeweler. Ask them to find a pretty, inexpensive colored stone, such as an amethyst or a garnet, in the same size and shape as the center diamond, and set it in the squished setting. Have them attach a bail to the ring, and wear it on a chain for luck. The center stone will now face forward (if it doesn’t quite, have the jeweler bend it a bit more until it does). It will be a striking and meaningful piece of jewelry.

 

[RockOnReen]

I'm so sorry this happened to you. Several years ago I also damaged my ring beyond where it could be reliably repaired and I took it to Steven Kirsch in NYC for a reset. I had him take as much of the old platinum as he could to put in the new ring. He was very up front with me and told me it would be hard to reuse metal for all the reasons others have mentioned but I told him to do his best and as long as he got *some* of the old metal in the new ring I would be happy. Now when I look at the new ring I simply apply a bit of "willful suspension of disbelief" and think how nice it is that it was made of the metal in my original ring.

 

[MillieLou]

Just a thought, but...

The head looks surprisingly undamaged - though with the impact sustained you probably wouldn't want it to go through the wear and tear of being worn as a ring without a full remake. But turning the head into a pendant would probably allow it to be kept in its original form (with the stones checked / tightened of course). Just an idea, as I see that you have another lovely ring in your avatar.

 

[Aerielle Max]

Glad to know your finger is okay. The damage on the ring may hurt you but, looking at the brighter side, it can still be fixed and the memories are still there. By the way, we really have to be careful as always.

 

[PastryGirl]

P.S. Don't be surprised if the idea of reusing the gold meets with resistance or outright refusal. The ring can't be simply melted down (after removing the stones) and the gold used without further ado. There will be, e.g., impurities because of the solder. Here's one of the PS threads with greater discussion of the problems:

Which jeweler will melt and reuse metals?

Hi! I have some settings that I no longer wear anymore and am wondering which jewelers will reuse the metal? Any advice would be appreciated!

www.pricescope.com

Also, the sad reality is that there are some less-than-candid jewelers who say they will reuse the gold, but they actually send the stone-less piece, along with their other scrap metal, bench sweepings, etc. to a refiner such as Hoover & Strong for cash or a credit -- and don't tell the trusting customer that the new ring does not in fact contain any of the old ring's gold/platinum.

I'm not saying there's no way that it can be done. But wanted to let you know that it's more problematic than many people realize.

Thanks for this information! I know a lot of people think it is easy to reuse metal, I was one of them!

OMG, I'm very happy your finger is okay.

This kind of thing happened to two people I know: My mom, it was crushed in a window, before I was born, she had it maybe a year by then. And my best friend, in a car accident, shortly after she became engaged.

Both rings were taken back to the original jewelers and had to be remade. Both ladies chose to have an exact copy of the original setting. I know that's not your EXACT ring, but it would be made in the spirit of your original.

Whatever you decide, that's one lucky ring, or rather, it brought good luck to you.

This might be the route I take! I'm sorry that happened to people so close to you.

I'm glad your finger is undamaged. The ring looks pretty beat. I suspect the 'repair' here would be to take out the stones, replace the missing one, and start over. Do you have it insured? This would all be a covered loss with most companies.

Another brief thought. Could you shoot us a better pictures of the marks inside? It's possible that the shank was supplied by an outside vendor and you may be able to order one.

Thank you. I think we will have to start over too. But like @Rockdiamond said I don't think it will be difficult to recreate. The inside has my jeweler's initials in it.

Ouchee!!!
Thank goodness your finger is ok.....
We tell people stories about how pregnant women forget to take off their ring, the finger swells, and they end up in the emergency room.
A shame to cut off a finger to save the ring.....kidding!@@!!!

I haven't read all the responses.,....my gut:
It's not worth it trying to repair the setting.
Reusing gold is a messy affair- and costly.
The setting doesn't seem like one that would be very difficult to recreate......unfortunately that doesn't address the sentimentality issue....

LOL! Thank you. I trust your response as an avid lurker of your website (and fan of your descriptions!)

Here’s what I would do if this were me:
1. Thank the ring for saving my finger. It’s a hero!
2. Remove the center diamond and have a new setting made to hold it, in either the same or a different style.
3. Take the squished ring to a trusted jeweler. Ask them to find a pretty, inexpensive colored stone, such as an amethyst or a garnet, in the same size and shape as the center diamond, and set it in the squished setting. Have them attach a bail to the ring, and wear it on a chain for luck. The center stone will now face forward (if it doesn’t quite, have the jeweler bend it a bit more until it does). It will be a striking and meaningful piece of jewelry.

Great idea!

I'm so sorry this happened to you. Several years ago I also damaged my ring beyond where it could be reliably repaired and I took it to Steven Kirsch in NYC for a reset. I had him take as much of the old platinum as he could to put in the new ring. He was very up front with me and told me it would be hard to reuse metal for all the reasons others have mentioned but I told him to do his best and as long as he got *some* of the old metal in the new ring I would be happy. Now when I look at the new ring I simply apply a bit of "willful suspension of disbelief" and think how nice it is that it was made of the metal in my original ring.

Thank you. I recently reached out to SK for a quote and never heard back. Nothing. It has been about a month, so I don't think I will be working with him.

Just a thought, but...

The head looks surprisingly undamaged - though with the impact sustained you probably wouldn't want it to go through the wear and tear of being worn as a ring without a full remake. But turning the head into a pendant would probably allow it to be kept in its original form (with the stones checked / tightened of course). Just an idea, as I see that you have another lovely ring in your avatar.

I actually thought of this yesterday and held the ring up to my neck. A pendant would be gorgeous! But I will miss looking down at my hand to see it way too much. Maybe I'll make a matching pendant! I do have another ring, just got it last week. What timing!

 

[PastryGirl]

@ProfessorBling - Congratulations on still having all your digits! Good job, little ring!

But massive commiserations on the state of your lovely ring. I'm so sorry!

I would *heartily* suggest David Klass Jewelry to fix this - mostly because I just had a repair done on my wedding ring - made in 1910. It looks *so* much better than it ever did! It's just a slim row of 6 point diamonds, but one was shattered and cloudy, the prongs had worn right down, it had a weird, different colored, insert where some jeweler had done a resize and used a different alloy gold, and the whole thing just looked dull and the worse for wear. DKJ swithced out a couple of diamonds for me, rhodium plated THREE times, retipped a bunch of prongs, and just worked a little magic. And yes, they WILL use your gold, if you request that.

Whoever reworks it, make sure you get someone with the skills to do it first go. The more times someone works it over, the more difficult it will be for the next person to fix it, if the person before didn't do it correctly. You need someone who a) has the skills to repair it and b) will treat the project with the respect and effort you'd like to see.

One last thing that just came to mind - I started using DKJ for my very first project because of a thread I read on this board about a remake/repair/rehab somebody did with them - on an eternity band, as I remember. I wish I could find it and I'm sorry I can't. It was a very old ring, and the before and afters were just incredible.

Good luck with this - and, again - well done, little ring!

Thank you. I am going to see my jeweler today. He said it can be fixed, but I'm not sure what that means. If this doesn't work out, I will definitely check out DK!

 

[PastryGirl]

What a gut and heart-wrenching experience!

Do you live/work in or near NYC; I think maybe you do because you've mentioned a Diamond District vendor. If so, may I suggest that you make an appointment to confer with Greenwich St. Jewelers in lower Manhattan:

Services | Greenwich St. Jewelers

Services | Greenwich St. Jewelers

www.greenwichjewelers.com

Luxury Jewelers | NYC Jewelry Store | Greenwich St. Jewelers

Discover Greenwich St. Jewelers, your premier NYC jewelry store. Shop online for exquisite jewelry pieces from top designers.

www.greenwichjewelers.com

They have their own, in-house bench (so won't be sending out the ring to have the work done elsewhere) with years of experience with laser welding (eliminates having to use a torch), restorations, and repairs. And they do design and fabricate jewelry pieces as well.

I've only had them do more minor work (re-sizings and mounting a colored gem into a vintage setting I found on eBay), but I was there when another customer picked up an antique ring she had had them repair and restore & they'd done a wonderful job (she showed me the before pics she had taken). Plus, imo they are a terrific brick-and-mortar jewelry store where it's fun to simply browse because of the eclectic nature of their merchandise & non-pushy sales staff.

I would not use DanielM for this kind of project. Leaving aside my own feelings about how he left a number of PSers "in the lurch" 4-5 years ago, if you take a look at his etsy ring inventory, you'll see nothing there that resembles your e-ring:

View r i n g s by danielmjewelry on Etsy

Shop Daniel M by danielmjewelry located in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Top shop for gifts. Buyers bought gifts from this shop and gave them 5-star reviews!

www.etsy.com

He may be capable of handling the work you'd want him to do, but because his etsy listings do not demonstrate that this kind of work is "in his wheelhouse," I would eliminate him from consideration were I in your shoes.

Born and raised!
I think I have been in that store before, I'll check them out too. Thank you.

 

[steviedsgirl]

Thank you. I'm trying to think of where I could have that done using the same gold. I wonder if this is even possible.



Thank you. I appreciate what you said. We really were broke, I just spent so much time lurking on PS that I taught him well enough to know what to do with a limited budget.

Another option may be Heirloom Revival (find them on IG). I just used them to make a custom piece for my husband. The process took a while, but it was well worth it.

 

[PastryGirl]

My ring is back! I picked it up the other day. It is still MY ring, I can tell from wear on certain parts. It is polished and very clean; some of the stones were not put back in the same place so it does look a little different. And a little crooked too. I can tell that it has been "repaired."

But it IS quite sturdy and I am glad that it is still the SAME ring I've had on my finger for so long. That is what mattered most to me.

Some of these pics are screenshots from a video I took in a store, it was on FIRE!

Thanks everyone for your help and well wishes!

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

How very, very nice. Your ring protected you and now you have it back!

 

[Sprinkles&Stones]

wow! whoever repaired that did a wonderful job! so happy for you!

 

[YadaYadaYada]

So glad you could get it repaired, looks great!

 

[junebug17]

Wow, it looks great! I'm so glad it was able to be repaired. It is a beautiful ring

 

[mrs-b]

That's great! Congratulations!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

So happy its back on your finger
Its a really awsome sparkly ring now with a story of how it saved your finger

 

[Searchingforering]

So I was closing the trunk of my car about 15 minutes ago when my hand (mostly right ring finger) got slammed in it. I screamed because it hurt like hell. I look down at my finger to see my ring warped. Small cut on my swollen finger.

My heart is broken because this ring means the absolute world to me. My husband bought it while he was in school and we were pretty broke. He told me that love saved my finger to try and make me feel better.

The jeweler who made it also made other rings for us. He is great and I enjoy buying from him. Repairs are a different story though, I am not sure I trust him to do a good job. I know this from experience, it is not him it is the person he outsources the work to. I already have one ring that looks black on the shoulder from where it was cut in the wrong place and then sloppily put back together.

Any advice? I am literally crying right now. I know PS would feel my pain.

Thank you.