Newbie w/ a mystery heirloom ring

[Bex215]

Hi all! I am a longtime lurker and I just inherited a family ring that I was hoping to make into an engagement ring. It''s been in the family for awhile and I''ve always lusted after it and this weekend, my aunt finally passed it on to me.
I have no idea what kind of stone it is, how old it is or how large (carat wise). What I DO know: my dad purchased it about 15 years ago from a jeweler who specialized in antique jewelry who has now passed away. The stone is an old European cut. It looks like it has a pretty sizeable window, but the ring is a little small for me and the bottom of the stone presses against my finger so I don''t know if it would be less visible in a new setting. I think it may be a pink tourmaline, possibly a sapphire, maybe something in the morganite family-I really don''t know. I would guess its around 4-5 carats. The setting looks antique, I would guess around 1930''s from what I have found to compare it to online. It is white gold and has a halo of tiny threaded pearls around it, with a tiny yellow gold bow at the front of the setting. I LOVE the setting and have a feeling it is worth something, but I think its a little too delicate to be worn often.

We plan on taking it to the jeweler sometime this weekend, but I thought I would toss it out to you all first, since the knowledge here is pretty comparable to that of a jeweler''s and I am so anxious to have more opinions about it. Knowing what kind of stone it is will be really helpful in determining what kind of setting it gets put into and how careful I will need to be with it (probably VERY careful!)

I will try and post some pictures and I''ve never tried before, so bear with me. Any comments, opinions and the like are more than welcome (and definitely appreciated!)
Thanks!

 

[Bex215]

another...

 

[Bex215]

in the box.

Sorry these are so big. I have a couple more if anyone wants to see them...

 

[Tuckins1]

Wow, it''s lovely! You''re right, I do see a window in it... But you can either leave it because it''s an antique and enjoy it''s beautiful sparkle how it is, or you could have it re-cut. Either way, it''s pretty! I can''t help you on what kind of stone it is either... Good luck with everything!

 

[T L]

Pretty ring, but the only way to know for sure what kind of stone it is, and if it's a natural stone (not man made), is to take it to a gemologist or lab that specializes in colored stones and has the proper equipment to make a definite dertmination on it. A typical jeweler usually doesn't have the proper equipment or knowledge to do this. Most jewelers only specialize in diamonds as well.

From the picture, it could be glass, tourmaline, sapphire, man made sapphire which has been around for eons and is cheap, man made spinel (another inexpensive stone). If it were a sapphire with natural color, it would be very valuable. However, it is too difficult to make a determination from a picture.

 

[Elegant]

Wow, I really love how pretty the ring is. I love seed pearls, I love the bow on the bottom of the ring, and I fancy pink stones in general. Very pretty and it looks good on your finger. I wouldn''t have it recut myself - I think I would leave it as it is.

 

[ma re]

My first thought after seeing the color, clarity and size was kunzite. Of course, you don''t usually find them in OEC, but it''s not impossible I guess. Morganite rarely comes in this color, it looks large for a typical pink sapphire or spinel (although that doesen''t mean it''s not one) and most pink tourmalines are not of this high clarity. Some rhodolites look similar, but usually are what you''d call dirty pink in color and some amethysts can be light like this, but much more lilac.

A chance is, of course, that it''s not a natural stone and there are many synthetics and other materials that could look like this.

When talking about a setting, it depends what you choose to do. If you decide to keep the current setting take it to a jeweller that has experience working with antiques - either sells some or makes reproductions. Such a person will know what needs to be done, maybe some parts need to be replaced, repaired or the whole thing properly and safely cleaned. Of course, such a ring will not be suited for daily wear and caution will be necessary, simply because it''s been worn for decades. If you choose to make a new setting, take the stone to a gemologist to check for any damage you might not notice with an unaided eye. After such a long use in jewellery the stone might have a small crack, a fissure opening or something else that might require more attention. If the stone is in good condition you can set it in a proper setting and maybe even wear it daily (depends on the stone, you''ll find out what it is after identification by a gemologist).

 

[coatimundi_org]

So many variables for the id of the stone--will you have it appraised?

It''s a darling ring--love the bow and the seed pearls.

 

[Catmom]

Oh I love everything about the ring! If it were me I would leave it as is as it has such charactor and is a family piece. Please let us know what it turns out to be.

 

[innerkitten]

Wow great ring. I bet thoe are natural pearls ( not cultured ). Whatever it turns out to be, I would also leave it a is. It''s such a nice piece with the pearls and the cute bow!

 

[loriken214]

WHAT A BEAUTY......CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR AWESOME RING!!!

Lori

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Your ring is so drop dead gorgeous!!!!

I love the cute bow in the setting. How wonderful that you have on your finger an antique heirloom ring. I totally understand your caution to wear it too often. I have (my most favorite ever) my grandmother''s ring and found out in a bad way that the top of the ring was 22k gold. Yep- it has a nice scratch on it from something that occured on a normal days wear.


I can''t wait to find out what the jeweler says. Do you have a good gemologist appraiser who can look at it too? Your local lapidary club can most likely recommend one if you are interested. I just love your ring in so many ways. Please update us.

Lisa

 

[Bex215]

Thank you to everyone for the compliments! I really adore the ring too!
I took it to a gemologist today and he told me that it is a synthetic sapphire.

I am pretty disappointed but he did tell me that the setting is antique and that even if the stone were valuable, it would probably not be a good idea to remove it at the possible risk of damage to the setting.

I also took another antique ring that I have (but wasn''t sure of the stone) and he told me it was a tourmaline. It''s a really neat blue-green color, so maybe I will post some pictures of that instead!

I''m pretty bummed but it''s still a pretty ring so I''ll just have to use it as a RHR.

The good news is that we did look around at some other jewelry stores and found a GREAT local jeweler where I fell in love with some (real) pink sapphires! So hopefully I will end up with a pink engagement ring afterall...

 

[glitterata]

I think that ring is very pretty, and I don''t see why you couldn''t still use it as an engagement ring. You love the way it looks, it''s no different chemically from sapphire that came out of a mine, and it comes to you with love and memories.

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 12/27/2008 11:34:04 PM
Author: Bex215
Thank you to everyone for the compliments! I really adore the ring too!

I took it to a gemologist today and he told me that it is a synthetic sapphire.

I am pretty disappointed but he did tell me that the setting is antique and that even if the stone were valuable, it would probably not be a good idea to remove it at the possible risk of damage to the setting.

I also took another antique ring that I have (but wasn''t sure of the stone) and he told me it was a tourmaline. It''s a really neat blue-green color, so maybe I will post some pictures of that instead!

I''m pretty bummed but it''s still a pretty ring so I''ll just have to use it as a RHR.

The good news is that we did look around at some other jewelry stores and found a GREAT local jeweler where I fell in love with some (real) pink sapphires! So hopefully I will end up with a pink engagement ring afterall...

I''m sorry to hear about the news from the jeweler. I can relate. I took a family heirloom cocktail ring into my jeweler to have it appraised for insurance purposes and it turned out to be synthetic. Here I was thinking I had a gorgeous huge amethyst on my hands! I still love to wear it though.

Congrats on finding a jeweler you''re comfortable with. I look forward to seeing your pink engagement ring.