Seeking advice on the appraisal process for a custom ring with old diamonds

[Teenytaru]

Greetings!

Firstly, thanks to the admins for the excellent website, and to the community for providing such wonderful expertise.

I''m in the process of shopping for an engagement ring, but on a student budget. My aunt was amazingly generous in giving me a ring (see pic) from her past marriage, and I was hoping to use the diamonds in it for a new ring. It is currently set in 18K yellow gold, and my girlfriend would prefer it to be white (no preference yet on white gold or platinum). Also, she is not used to wearing rings and prefers the thinner bands, so I was thinking of essentially creating two new bands out of the single old one (one engagement with the main diamond, the other a wedding band), which would also be good because she works with gloves on a lot and thus could take off the engagement ring if it was too big but could still have a nice wedding ring on. Neither of us care too much about brand names or the like, so long as the quality is reliable.

My first question is when and how I should go about appraising these rings. Should I get the ring appraised first and foremost as is? Would it make more sense to get the stones removed and then appraised? I''m unclear if whether the stones being mounted affects their appraisal, and I certainly want to make sure I get back the same diamonds I give. So should the process be [appraisal -> diamonds removed and remounted -> appraisal], or should it be [diamonds removed -> appraisal -> new ring -> appraisal]? I currently have no documentation regarding the ring or diamonds (there is one main round diamond 7-8 mm across, and four rows of 9 smaller baguettes about 2x1 mm).

My second question is how much to expect custom work to cost (ballpark)? I am thinking of a pretty clean ring set (see other pic), with a thin band and vertically channel-set baguettes, so hopefully I would be only paying for the new band material (platinum/white gold) and the craftsmanship. Are there places that are willing to accept the 18K gold from the old ring as part of the payment, or is that pretty much not worth bothering? I have seen similar settings in other areas such as Shane Co. for around $1800, but I''m not sure how much the custom process usually costs so am not sure whether it would be cheaper to just buy a stock setting and mount the main diamond or to have a similar one custom made with my own baguettes.

My last question is how much ring maintenance and upkeep generally costs (again ballpark)? Are the ''lifetime guarantees'' offered by some places such as Shane Co. worth the extra initial cost difference over the years (i.e. the lifetime free cleanings, mounting checkups, free rhodium replatings, etc)? Do these suffice for guarding against stone loss, or should you usually back it up with some form of ring insurance?

Thanks in advance! Any additional suggestions would be most welcome. Apologies to the moderators if this is in the wrong forum.

Jon

-edit: problems posting images, will try again later but for now:

OLD RING:
=============
=||||||||| |||||||||=
======O=====
=||||||||| |||||||||=
===================== , where = is band, | is a baguette, o is the center diamond (not very to scale).

PLANNED RINGS:
=====================
=||||||||=o=||||||||=
===================== (engagement ring)

====================
=||||||||||||||||||= (wedding band)
====================

 

[mrssalvo]

without a picture it''s hard to say if resetting the diamonds into a new ring is really going to save you much money. small diamonds that are in settings usually aren''t that expensive, it''s the labor cost of setting them that adds to the price. so, resetting is still going to cost you the labor. depending on the quality and size of the stones it may or may not really be a good option. Custom can also end up being more expensive than buying a pre-made stock ring so it really is all going to depend on several factors. the jewelry store''s services that are included in some chain store''s aren''t really worth it. most local mom and pop stores will check your ring and clean it for free, or just a few dollars. rhodium plating isn''t very expensive so IMO you''re better off buying a ring from an online vendor or a local mom and pop store than a chain just for the service plan. most people do carry insurance on their rings especially if they get lost or stolen and you wouldn''t have the finances to easily replace them. you can add them to homeowner''s or a renter policy or buy a stand alone jewelry policy from Chubb or Jewelers Mutual.