Estate ruby ring at Neiman Marcus

[Allisonfaye]

I am considering purchasing an estate ruby ring at Neiman Marcus. The problem is, they can''t give me much information about this ring. The only thing that they can tell me is that it is a Harry Winston. It was taken as a trade in apparently. It has a ruby center stone that looks to be in the 2 carat range with diamonds on either side. I can''t recall if she said the setting was platinum or not. She was able to verify a Harry Winston marking on it. The diamonds are something between a baguette and a trillion. Kind of a long thin triangle shape. She said the ring was from the deco era, around 1920-1939.

Should I ask to have it independently appraised before I buy it? I don''t think their price is unreasonable but I don''t want to be blind here. Can anyone suggest how one might approach this.

Also, I would presume that Neiman Marcus is pretty reputable but you never know.

 

[valeria101]

Btw. from the description, the sidestones might be step cut ''trapezoids'' for what that matters. And I can surely place such a shape in a Deco ring. The HW signature make great quality assurance any day. However, considering it is a valuable purchase, can''t imagine how the advice of an appraise could hurt

More or less for the fun of it, you might want to check this link:

2 carat emerald cut ruby, Cartier

''never know what lurks online these days!


In any case, signature or no signature my feeling is that not all 2 cts rubies ever sold by the like of Winston and Cartier are born equal. And this is why I would ask expert opinion about one any day.

My 2c

 

[elmo]

Definitely get it appraised.

Without knowing, my first thought would be that Neiman Marcus should have a pretty good return policy. If so, it's probably easier to just buy the ring and then have it appraised, then return if it doesn't meet expectations. Get them to put the return policy on the receipt.

Last time I looked at an estate piece like this, the appraiser said that there was absolutely no wear on the ring or stone - either it had never been worn or it was a good replica. Although I expect that Neiman won't sell fake HW pieces

, I'd still want a pro to look, and to tell me more about the ruby.

A ruby from 30s won't have the high-tech heat treatments that are common today. But there's no guarantee that the ruby in the ring is the same stone HW put there originally. Again, good reason to talk with an appraiser. Needless to say, you need someone very familiar both with ruby and estate pieces. Rich here fits that job description I think?

 

[Allisonfaye]

If I were to have it appraised, would the stone have to be removed? The saleslady advised against that saying something about possible damage to the ring or stone. Is that a valid concern?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 3/28/2006 11:48:19 AM
Author: Allisonfaye


If I were to have it appraised, would the stone have to be removed?

Not necessarily.




The saleslady advised against that saying something about possible damage to the ring or stone. Is that a valid concern?

Yeah... it would be somewhat unusual for the seller to allow the stone being removed for inspection from a vintage piece of jewelry, although not unheard of especially if the setting is simple, fairly recent (i.e. not valuable as an antique) and the stones vastly more valuable than the setting. I wouldn't really dismantle the ring unless there is reason (e.g. there is doubt about the integrity or treatment of the main stone upon inspection as is).

As much as I can tell

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Hi! If you''re anywhere near a Harry Winston store, you could take the ring there and have them check their archives. They probably have all the information about the ring.

 

[Allisonfaye]

Nah, I am in Chicago. The closest HW is in NYC. I did call NM and asked them what their policy was with regards to returns. She said that as long it was ''within a reasonable timeframe'', I could return it.

Now, where to do it? Someone mentioned someone by the name of Rich?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 3/28/2006 1:24:47 PM
Author: Allisonfaye

Someone mentioned someone by the name of Rich?

Richard Sherwood...

A quick search on this forum might give away a thing or two about his appraisal service

 

[Allisonfaye]

Ok. Thanks. So he''s the man to contact?

 

[DiamondExpert]

Without suggesting that anything untoward might happen, I suggest you move cautiously.

''within a reasonable timeframe'', is just the kind of verbal response you want to avoid in a situation like this.

As elmo says, get it in writing and for a specific time frame that you feel comfortable with...unfortunately, these kinds of "arrangements" are just the thing that can come back to bite you...you don''t even know if the person with whom you spoke is authorized to make such a statement, let alone back it up.

Protect yourself, others won''t!

 

[open culet]

I would ask Neiman Marcus to send the ring to AGL or GIA or AGTA and get the ruby certed. They should be willing to do this. It is the cost of doing business and they can well afford it.
NM is VERY reputable.

Hope it works out. The ring sounds great.

 

[elmo]

I agree that the store can get a report for the stone (AGL and I think AGTA will grade the stone in its setting for an additional fee). However, a lab report tells you about the stone but not the piece of jewelry. In this case, a vintage Harry Winston ring represents a significant part of the value of the piece. So, I wouldn''t bypass getting a top-notch appraiser to evaluate the piece.

 

[Allisonfaye]

So if I send it to the lab in Florida, should I ask NM to pay for it? Or should I ask them to send it somewhere else?

 

[Allisonfaye]

I just spoke with the manager at NM and asked if they would pay for it. He said no. It was worth a shot.

 

[valeria101]

Nothing much to say, other than I surely trust the value of this stone (price? well... different matter but it is orders of magnitude harder to find a ''well priced'' 23 carat ruby than a diamond of the same girth, so every signature on this ring makes perfect sense).

... and sure am curious about its story! - treatment, origin!, color (aside the wine-red I see on my computer screen, reminding of the finest Thai ruby I saw in person, but that''s on this computer

''bet it would look like Martian rock too if the monitor is tweaked a bit).

In fact, I can''t quite imagine what could the appraiser contain that would render this piece anything but desirable. Congratulations for the wonderful choice