Reset ideas for 1.63ct OMC

springsparkle · Feb 16, 2023

How would you reset this chubby 1.63ct JVS1 OMC? She faces up more like a 1.4ct because of that delicious crown. I bought this vintage ring recently, and I don’t like the contrast of the center stone with the whiter side stones.

The seller is offering to reset the center stone for me. At first I was thinking about getting it gypsy set into a wide 8mm band. However, I have the feeling that I’ll miss seeing the full profile of this cupcake shaped diamond. It’s not an engagement ring, and I’m open to all options. I’ve even considered a pinky ring. Maybe a low crown-shaped 6 prong solitaire? I know for sure that 14k yellow seems to compliment the color the best.

What would you do?

maryjane04 · Feb 16, 2023

I actually love this style and the three stone. I wish you could change the side stones.
For me, I would probably opt for like a cut down collet style like this but with a more exposed profile. It might not be your cup of tea though hehe.

elizat · Feb 16, 2023

What are you doing with the sides? Could you sell and buy a matching set in color? I do like three stone rings though.

springsparkle · Feb 16, 2023

maryjane04 said:
I actually love this style and the three stone. I wish you could change the side stones.
For me, I would probably opt for like a cut down collet style like this but with a more exposed profile. It might not be your cup of tea though hehe.

I’m not a big fan of three stone rings for myself- totally bought the ring just for that diamond! I love love love cut down collets. They would be perfect for this purpose. I love bezels but want to expose the girdle. Thank you for reminding me!

springsparkle · Feb 16, 2023

elizat said:
What are you doing with the sides? Could you sell and buy a matching set in color? I do like three stone rings though.

The seller will keep the side diamonds and refund me for them. I am not a big fan of three stones in these proportions.

Mreader · Feb 16, 2023

I love the collet look too and I also love the setting that this PSer recently sold:

22K CVB_ID Yellow Gold Andraste Signet Style Setting

This is a beautiful 22K Yellow Gold Setting. I am only selling the setting and not the stone. This was a piece that I wore on my journey to my dream setting that is in the works. It has been a little bit of a Goldilocks type of situation and I am finally in production with that project and it...

www.pricescope.com

HS4S_2 · Feb 16, 2023

Mreader said:
I love the collet look too and I also love the setting that this PSer recently sold:

22K CVB_ID Yellow Gold Andraste Signet Style Setting

This is a beautiful 22K Yellow Gold Setting. I am only selling the setting and not the stone. This was a piece that I wore on my journey to my dream setting that is in the works. It has been a little bit of a Goldilocks type of situation and I am finally in production with that project and it...

www.pricescope.com

This setting was by far my most comfortable setting. Felt protected as well. I loved it so much I am using a variation if this setting.

Mreader · Feb 17, 2023

HS4S_2 said:
This setting was by far my most comfortable setting. Felt protected as well. I loved it so much I am using a variation if this setting.

It is so gorgeous; really wish I could have bought it! Can’t wait to see what you have cooking!

springsparkle · Feb 17, 2023

@Mreader @HS4S_2 I admired that ring on Caysie’s instagram page and wished that my OEC would fit in it!! I love that style.

Mreader · Feb 19, 2023

Tagging @yssie in this bc she’s good at analyzing and can determine what type of setting might be good for that puffy crown

yssie · Feb 19, 2023

Tagged!

So when you say “the seller is offering to mount it” do you mean that the seller has a bench and is going to craft the mounting for you?
If so - what’s in that seller’s portfolio? What sorts of pieces have they done well (and what have they done not so well) - can you share who it is?

I’d want that crown profile on full display too

Ally T · Feb 19, 2023

I definitely want to still see that profile. It’s literally picture perfect.

I’d reach out to Caysie if i were you. Her mind is so creative when it comes to old cuts.

yssie · Feb 19, 2023

A PS friend pointed me to the original seller’s listing. A couple more thoughts from me.

1. Make sure you end up paying a fair price for the stone minus those sidestones. The seller’s colour grading is way off. Like, not gonna lie, I’m low-key offended by someone having the gumption to call this stone a J, it’s just taking advantage of the buyer. I’ll bet clarity’s off too. Check out some other vendors - I&R comes to mind - and see what stones of similar size with GIA reports are going for. You should be paying significantly less since yours doesn’t have a GIA. I would guess GIA would call it S/T or lower. Now forgetting the seller - there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a lower coloured stone!! They can be stunning!! But you’ll want to make sure you aren’t overpaying. Which, at current ask, IMO, you are.

2. I’ve never seen a stone like this… The crown is stunning in profile. But it’s so steep that it’s actually leaking face-up. The crown is leaking but the under-table is not!! Opposite of literally every other faceted-pavilion diamond in the world!! But you can’t see that in those hand shots because the wearer’s skin is of similar colour

I’m going to post a closeup from the listing for purposes of illustration, all identifying info removed:

So now the questions are… If you even want to fix that, and if you do, how. I don’t have a clue TBH. Covering the girdle will have zero impact. Covering the pavilion will achieve the opposite of what you’d be wanting. A high-walled bezel where the lip extends significantly (upward) past the girdle plane would hide that profile that you bought it for. This stone… Needs to go to a Caysie or a Sako or someone who understands these strange and unpredictable oldies.

Also - I wouldn’t want this seller mounting anything at all. No evidence of any design or implementation expertise. And with this stone in particular there’d be a lot to think about. My vote - if you’ve seen the stone yourself and you love it, have the seller refund you both the sidestones and the cost of the mount and take it loose to a specialist.

But have you seen the stone in-person yet? If not, can you arrange to do so with a return option (say, you comp shipping in case of return)? In that case the seller should also hold off on unsetting anything, of course.

springsparkle · Feb 19, 2023

yssie said:
A PS friend pointed me to the original seller’s listing. A couple more thoughts from me.

1. Make sure you end up paying a fair price for the stone minus those sidestones. The seller’s colour grading is way off. Like, not gonna lie, I’m low-key offended by someone having the gumption to call this stone a J, it’s just taking advantage of the buyer. I’ll bet clarity’s off too. Check out some other vendors - I&R comes to mind - and see what stones of similar size with GIA reports are going for. You should be paying significantly less since yours doesn’t have a GIA. I would guess GIA would call it S/T or lower. Now forgetting the seller - there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a lower coloured stone!! They can be stunning!! But you’ll want to make sure you aren’t overpaying. Which, at current ask, IMO, you are.

2. I’ve never seen a stone like this… The crown is stunning in profile. But it’s so steep that it’s actually leaking face-up. The crown is leaking but the under-table is not!! Opposite of literally every other faceted-pavilion diamond in the world!! But you can’t see that in those hand shots because the wearer’s skin is of similar colour I’m going to post a closeup from the listing for purposes of illustration, all identifying info removed:

So now the questions are… If you even want to fix that, and if you do, how. I don’t have a clue TBH. Covering the girdle will have zero impact. Covering the pavilion will achieve the opposite of what you’d be wanting. A high-walled bezel where the lip extends significantly (upward) past the girdle plane would hide that profile that you bought it for. This stone… Needs to go to a Caysie or a Sako or someone who understands these strange and unpredictable oldies.

Also - I wouldn’t want this seller mounting anything at all. No evidence of any design or implementation expertise. And with this stone in particular there’d be a lot to think about. My vote - if you’ve seen the stone yourself and you love it, have the seller refund you both the sidestones and the cost of the mount and take it loose to a specialist.

But have you seen the stone in-person yet? If not, can you arrange to do so with a return option (say, you comp shipping in case of return)? In that case the seller should also hold off on unsetting anything, of course.

Thanks for your thoughtful input! The seller has been really nice and accommodating and even offering a full refund. She does her own bench work and has shown me some old cut stones that she has set (bezels, solitaires, gypsy bands) and her work is lovely. I do love the stone so I want to make it work! I prefer the warmer color to a true J, to be honest. I just didn’t like it next to whiter side stones. What do you think is a fair price for the diamond? I wasn’t able to find a great comp. OWD does have a 1.58 JSI1 for $11k and a 1.51 KSI1 for $8.7k. But I know the color may be lower than a J. It’s odd because the appraisal does say that it is J color.

Also I want to note that I have seen the ring in person and it’s much more beautiful in person that in pictures! The pictures I posted in the OP are pictures I took of the ring on my hand. I did notice the apparent leakage in the photos but it doesn’t look like that in person.

Smith3 · Feb 19, 2023

Love this stone! I would recommend Sako too, He’s great to work with.
I agree with @yssie that this does not look like a j color stone, I would get an appraisal so that you have proof to show who you bought it from that this is not a J color stone.

springsparkle · Feb 19, 2023

Smith3 said:
Love this stone! I would recommend Sako too, He’s great to work with.
I agree with @yssie that this does not look like a j color stone, I would get an appraisal so that you have proof to show who you bought it from that this is not a J color stone.

Thank you and @yssie for recommending Sako. I’ve never heard of him and love what I’m seeing on his page. I will talk to the seller about the color!

yssie · Feb 19, 2023

Oh, great! If you’re seen the stone yourself and your eyes are happy then that’s the *most* important thing taken care of.

And there’s absolutely nothing “wrong” with preferring a warmer stone, colour is 100% a you do you sort of thing

Depending on who did the appraisal - it’s unfortunately extremely common for those to be vastly inflated. In all ways - stats and retail replacement value. Appraisers who evaluate by GIA standards and genuine market value are few and far between. It shouldn’t be that way, but…

If you really want to know what you’ve got, you can always have the stone sent to GIA. Either the seller can do it or you can yourself. Turnaround is a couple months and it’ll run you a few hundred dollars with shipping. Here’s GIA’s fee schedule:

https://www.gia.edu/doc/Lab_FeeSchedule_DtoZ_EN_USD_2023_0101.pdf

One thing some folks have done (including me) is… If it comes back within X grades of stated, I’ll buy it and pay for the report (and all costs associated with getting the report - shipping etc.), plus pay for the seller’s time getting everything together to do that work (agree on what that’ll be beforehand). If it doesn’t, those costs are on the seller. I’ve never had a reputable seller decline (but I’ve had plenty of less-reputable sellers decline). My personal tolerances:
- Within 1 grade in the D-J range
- Within 2 grades in the K-N range, no brown modifier (unless brown was noted in the initial listing or I’m expecting it and I’m okay with that).
- Within 2 split grades in the O/P - Y/Z range

Since we don’t know what your stone is - it is hard to find comps.

I&R has an in-house graded 1.63 K SI1, and in my experience their grading is a very fair approximation of GIA’s. $5495. (Your stone is not a GIA K equivalent so it’s not a terrific comp, but for price):

1.63ct K SI1 ANTIQUE OLD MINE CUT DIAMOND LOOSE NATURAL ESTATE CUSHION BRILLIANT

This stunning 1.63ct old mine cut diamond is 100% eye clean and dazzlingly brilliant. This is an earlier old mine cut diamond with a charming antique cut. It was cut well over 100 years ago in the 1800s! Historied and full of life, this diamond will make an engagement or right hand ring that is...

ivyandrose.com

OWD currently has a GIA M SI1 1.65 OMC for $5680. And that’s for a stone that’s already got a GIA report, from a large and extremely-reputable expert vendor, with a generous return policy, an upgrade policy, and a fantastic bench with lots of experience.

Old World Diamonds » Diamond

The World's Largest Collection of Antique Diamonds

oldworlddiamonds.com

So… Y’know. Whilst colour and faceting are totally personal preference… Outside of truly one of a kind specimens (which this stone isn’t, seller’s florid verbiage aside!) - pricing isn’t. I don’t know if 6k is a meaningful spend for you but if it is I’d be requesting that GIA report, personally.

springsparkle · Feb 19, 2023

yssie said:
Oh, great! If you’re seen the stone yourself and your eyes are happy then that’s the *most* important thing taken care of!

And there’s absolutely nothing “wrong” with preferring a warmer stone, colour is 100% a you do you sort of thing

Depending on who did the appraisal - it’s unfortunately extremely common for those to be vastly inflated. In all ways - stats and retail replacement value. Appraisers who evaluate by GIA standards and genuine market value are few and far between. It shouldn’t be that way, but…

If you really want to know what you’ve got, you can always have the stone sent to GIA. Either the seller can do it or you can yourself. Turnaround is a couple months and it’ll run you a few hundred dollars with shipping. Here’s GIA’s fee schedule:

https://www.gia.edu/doc/Lab_FeeSchedule_DtoZ_EN_USD_2023_0101.pdf
One thing some folks have done (including me) is… If it comes back within X grades of stated, I’ll buy it and pay for the report (and all costs associated with getting the report - shipping etc.), plus pay for the seller’s time getting everything together to do that work (agree on what that’ll be beforehand). If it doesn’t, those costs are on the seller. I’ve never had a reputable seller decline (but I’ve had plenty of less-reputable sellers decline). My personal tolerances:
- Within 1 grade in the D-J range
- Within 2 grades in the K-N range, no brown modifier (unless brown was noted in the initial listing or I’m expecting it and I’m okay with that).
- Within 2 split grades in the O/P - Y/Z range

Since we don’t know what your stone is - it is hard to find comps.

I&R has an in-house graded 1.63 K SI1, and in my experience their grading is a very fair approximation of GIA’s. $5495. (Your stone is not a GIA K equivalent so it’s not a terrific comp, but for price):

1.63ct K SI1 ANTIQUE OLD MINE CUT DIAMOND LOOSE NATURAL ESTATE CUSHION BRILLIANT

This stunning 1.63ct old mine cut diamond is 100% eye clean and dazzlingly brilliant. This is an earlier old mine cut diamond with a charming antique cut. It was cut well over 100 years ago in the 1800s! Historied and full of life, this diamond will make an engagement or right hand ring that is...

ivyandrose.com

OWD currently has a GIA M SI1 1.65 OMC for $5680. And that’s for a stone that’s already got a GIA report, from a large and extremely-reputable expert vendor, with a generous return policy, an upgrade policy, and a fantastic bench with lots of experience.

Old World Diamonds » Diamond

The World's Largest Collection of Antique Diamonds

oldworlddiamonds.com

Thanks for the advice and the comps! I may go the GIA route- I’ll think about that. I paid $5995 for the ring which includes the setting and side stones. I thought that was a decent price based on other similar sized three stones I found online. I couldn’t find anything less than $10k..!

yssie · Feb 19, 2023

You have acknowledged all concerns with grace @springsparkle

I hope your final ring ends up being as beautiful as you're envisioning and as mind-clean as one could want

springsparkle · Feb 20, 2023

yssie said:
You have acknowledged all concerns with grace @springsparkle I hope your final ring ends up being as beautiful as you're envisioning and as mind-clean as one could want

Thank you!

springsparkle · Mar 19, 2023

Update: I sent the ring back to the seller and she had her jeweler reset it into a chunky pronged bezel setting. I decided last minute that I wanted it to be sized for my pinky. I just got it yesterday and I am so happy with it! Before the reset, I only liked how the stone looked in about 70% of different lighting conditions. Now it looks amazing 100% of the time in a 14k YG bezel. I’ll be wearing this daily!

Also fun fact, an expert told me that the cut on this stone indicates that it is from the 1700’s/early 1800’s. So it’s likely over 200 years old!

https://imgur.com/a/9ls8jnD

Mreader · Mar 19, 2023

springsparkle said:
Update: I sent the ring back to the seller and she had her jeweler reset it into a chunky pronged bezel setting. I decided last minute that I wanted it to be sized for my pinky. I just got it yesterday and I am so happy with it! Before the reset, I only liked how the stone looked in about 70% of different lighting conditions. Now it looks amazing 100% of the time in a 14k YG bezel. I’ll be wearing this daily!

Also fun fact, an expert told me that the cut on this stone indicates that it is from the 1700’s/early 1800’s. So it’s likely over 200 years old!

https://imgur.com/a/9ls8jnD

Love it!