On Wed, 23 Jan 2008 09:40:21 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry Graver
wrote:


Hello,

Here's a thought, you have nice ring that can be reworked with new
stones all around.

replacing the old stones with new modern stones would indeed make the ring look
livelier. But it would also completely remove any antique value it now probably
has.

The stones in the ring now look dead and have no
life.

An overstatement. The old rose cuts aren't as bright, but they have a charm all
of their own. A whole lot of improvement can be had with just a good cleaning.

Many people are suprised to find out that in fact synthetic
stones have been around for hundreds of years.

Imitations have been around for hundreds (note the s) of years. As old as
jewelry making. But true synthetics weren't really commercially available until
the flame fusion synthetic rubies, and later other forms of synthetic corrundum,
became available in the late 1800s. Clear ones weren't widely available until
almost world war 1. This ring predates that.

Now I'm not saying
you're stones are man made, but to find stones to match is only one of
the considerations you have to look at. The stones are set in white
gold bezels, and most likley will be worn to a point where they need
replacing to set a new stone.

No. At this time, white gold was not yet developed. That became available as
an alternative to platinum during world war 1. At the time this ring was made,
the white metal used in the top would have been a silver based alloy. One finds
just plain sterling silver, fine silver, and "electrum" mixes of gold and silver
with enough silver to be still white. Determining just which is in any given
antique can be tricky, as is rebuilding them. And, usually this style is not
full bezel settings, which would be completely around the stone. Rather, the
outer rim is complete around the ring, with the edges of the stones nudged under
that outer ring, like a bezel (or maybe just the outer edge mashed over the
edges by time and wear), but the settings are usually actually set and mostly
held by two shared beads on the inner sides of the diamonds, between them. When
these come loose, often it's simply the beads that need to be reformed and
tightened, or built up, and often the outer bezel, with a bit of work with a
small burnisher, can be simply reshaped without needing much added metal. When
these silver tops actually need metal added, it can be quite tricky to do well.
I've seen a lot of these that were "rebuilt" by jewelers using white gold
solders, and the results are seldom quite what the original design had in mind,
and almost always, though they can be pretty, they no longer have any value as
antiques.

Here in lies the problem, once the ring
is heated to remove the old bezels is when you'll find out what the
stones are.

Oh? I'd expect any competent jeweler would make very sure he or she knows
exactly what the stone and the metals are long before ever reaching for a torch,
or for that matter, giving a final price quote for the job. Heating by itself
won't identify the stones other than by destroying some types, but it could
damage them if you don't know what they are. In some cases, the stones would
need to be carefully cut out of the ring before any heating takes place.
Certainly, if you're replacing the whole white top, this would be the proper
course of action.

I would even suspect the center stone could be man made,

Maybe. At the late 1800s, the blue synthetics were, if available at all, still
unusual. One does see doublets, glass, etc. synthetic sapphire or the more
common synthetic blue spinel isn't that different from natural sapphire in it's
resistance to wear and tear. I'd guess this is probably a real stone, just from
it's age. Glass would have died long ago. But of course, a proper
determination of what it is needs more than a blurred photo on the internet to
take any real guess at.

as I see alot of wear on the facets. I know the ring is very old and
most likely it's just wear and tear. The ring will have to be heated
to release the worn gold.

Sometimes, but it can also be removed mechanically (files, gravers, etc) which
in some cases is the safer way to do it. Slower, but safer. And as I said, at
this time period (late 1800s) it won't be white gold. Platinum is a
possibility, but not as likely.

so at this point be prepared to be turned
down by alot of jewelers who won't take the chance of having to
replace stones without you knowing the possibility of them popping. I
suggest you go to ebay after you have someone with a millimeter gage
take measurements of the stones, and go with Moissanite. They'er
beautiful and take heat like a diamond, also their very hard and will
resist scratching for years. You'd be supprised at how many people
wearing two carat or more diamonds are really Moissanite.

Yeah, so would I. In over 30 years of working with jewelery in manufacturing
and in trade shop repair business, I can count on one hand the number of
moissanites that have come through the shop where the owner didn't know it, and
not many more where the owner did. Manufacturers we work with who've tried them
as showcase stones instead of diamonds for display purposes usually go back to
CZ quickly. They've not been around all that long, they're costly as an
imitation, and frankly, I disagree with you a little on the good looks. I find
them usually to be darker in color than I like, and I find the strong double
refraction distracting. Yes, they're nice and attractive, but frankly, a really
well cut C.Z. looks more like diamond than a moissonite. The CZ won't last as
long of course, but you can buy a hundred of em for the cost of the moissanite,
and replace the CZs as they get worn.

In any
event, these are just suggestions. I have repaired many rings like
this, and you just don't know what to expect until you start working.

Very true indeed.

Peter