Pre-owned Tiffany Solitaire Ring - Next Steps?

[DCC]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to ask to see if anyone might be able to give me advice on the recent purchase of an engagement ring for my girlfriend. I will soon be receiving a Tiffany Solitaire Ring (0.73ct, I/VS1) from a person which wanted to sell their mother's engagement ring from the mid-1970s. With my purchase, I will be receiving the original receipt and valuation report which was performed in May 2012 upon the installation of a new platinum band by T&CO. My question now is--what steps do I need to take when I receive it to ensure that I've covered all of my bases before I pop the question? I apologize for making this such a vague question, but I wanted to determine what your recommendations would be since the nearest T&CO retail store is about 90 mins from here and the big day is quickly approaching. Any help would be greatly appreciated--thanks!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Will the ring be her size? If not, you'll need to make the trip to Tiffany's to have it sized. But my understanding is that they will send it to NY, so it could take weeks to get it back. You might want to call and ask about that. I assume you have confidence in the validity of the paperwork.

Since that valuation report is less than a year old, you probably can use that for insurance. Best to insure in her name but do it as soon as possible.

 

[DCC]

The ring should be close enough to her size (it's 6.5, and she tends to hover around 6.5ish so I'm going to hold off on resizing for now). I'm reasonably confident in the validity of the ring, so I'm not going to be super-paranoid about it turning out to be a fake. Will T&CO confirm anything over the phone if I were to call and ask if the ring is, in fact, registered in their system?

I was curious about the valuation report and whether or not it would be sufficient for insurance purposes since it is less than a year old and not performed myself. Is there any reason at all that I should have it independently appraised in the immediate future? Thanks for the advice!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You know, I might want to take it to a jeweler JUST to make sure the diamond matches the description. I am not certain if your insurance will care that the Tiffany valuation is not in your name or not. My understanding is that Tiffany will not do another one in your name, and I don't really think it matters. So really, you need to figure out where you'll insure the ring and then ask if the valuation is sufficient. A lot of people here use Perfect Circle/Jeweler's Mutual.

That is super that her ring size is close to the size of this ring!!! I never recommend sizing in the winter since rings are looser in the winter and tighter in the summer. So it should be a little loose now. Wait and see how it is in the hottest part of the summer. In addition, adding a wedding band makes the e-ring fit more securely.

Are you going to get her a Tiffany wedding band? I hope so! I wear the Tiffany Legacy 2mm band with mine!

 

[ame]

I THINK if you have the original paperwork and receipt they WILL do a verification of authenticity. Esp if you might know the original name. But I do agree to get it checked out so you know you're getting the stone you're expecting.

 

[VRBeauty]

Apparently Tiffany's recently changed their authentication policy:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/has-tiffany-changed-their-authentication-policy.183472/

Get it insured and have a the prongs checked. If the receipt or valuation report indicate that the stone is engraved, the jeweler will be able to check that for you if you can't find or read the engraving on your own.

 

[DCC]

I figured I would try to drive down to my local jeweler whom I've known for a while to have it inspected. I'm not sure whether or not there will be any engraving on the stone (did they do that in the 70s or if the diamond was put in a new setting?), but it would at least be good to have them identify it for my own sake. I'll have to check about the insurance bit, but it shouldn't be a problem to get a proper appraisal either.

I'll have to admit, I was surprised to find a ring that matched her size so well! Thanks for the advice on resizing the ring--as long as it will fit the first time she wears it, hopefully we can manage for a while until she's had time to get more acquainted with it. One of the reasons I decided to go with the pre-owned e-ring was to save a little money (and she likes the idea of the "history" associated with older diamonds) and to use it for a nice wedding band. Since I've decided to stick with Tiffany for the e-ring, I'm sure I'll be going for a matching band soon (if she says yes, that is)!

 

[JulieN]

Don't think they had laser engraved stones in the 70s.