On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 09:37:11 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry
wrote:

Hi,
I would really appreciate some advice on how to fix my great-
grandmother's ring
My mother replaced two stones with something the local jeweler could
find ("granat"? I think... ) when they fell out
some years ago, and now I am wearing the ring and... well, another
stone just fell out
I bought some (cheap) loose diamonds on ebay and discovered that they
don't match the ring at all.

What you bought on ebay are modern cutting designs. Larger modern round stones
usually have 58 facets, and are called round brilliants, or full cuts when
they're small. Smaller, simpler ones, have 8 facets on the bottom, 8 crown
(angled) facets on the top, and the flat "table" facet, and sometimes a tiny
flat one on the point on the bottom. These are called single cuts. Both of
these cuts differ from yours in that, because of the pointed bottom side (called
a "pavilion"), these are able to reflect most of the light that hits them from
the top, back to the viewer (that's the property that the word "brilliant"
refers to in the name of the more complex standard round cut). Your small
stones were cut before the optics of diamond were fully understood, so they
were not cut for this degree of reflectivity. Thus they have a flat back, and a
nice pattern of facets on the top forming a shallow dome or shallow peak, etc.
They weigh a lot less for a stone of a given diameter than do modern cuts, and
are typical of small diamonds used in jewelry before the first decade or so of
the 20th century.

They are called "rose cuts", and in buying them, what you generally need to
specify is the diameter of the stone.

You may or may not be able to find these sold to the public on ebay. Much less
common than modern cut stones (single cuts or full cuts), they nevertheless are
still available, usually as stones that have been reclaimed from antiques that
no longer can be repaired or aren't worth repairing. Some are still cut today,
and some modern jewelers are rediscovering that the old rose cuts have a charm
of their own, so occasionally you'll find a jeweler using them in contemporary
jewelry. That creates some demand as well as the ongoing needs of jewelers
for rose cuts to replace stones missing in antiques, such as your situation.

The main problem is, the diamonds in my ring have a lot *fewer*
facets(?) and they don't have as much of that overwhelming sparkle,
they almost look _transparent_. They also don't have a flat top
(instead, they come to a point). The two fake "granat"replacement
stones do have a flat top (but they look different, and dull - I would
like to replace them too, actually). Here are some pictures (this was
really difficult to photograph... so please forgive the quality.. and
the background, lol) :

Not that bad a set of photos, actually, for someone not used to photographing
jewelry... Small reflective objects have never been easy to photograph. You
did well enough for us to see what's needed.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...olco/ring1.jpg
- the missing stone at 9 o'clock, the fake ones at 11 and 12. The e-
bay diamond is next to the ring, and the picture doesn't do it justice
to show just how out of place it looks next to the ring.
More pictures, from a different angle:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...olco/ring2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...olco/ring3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...olco/ring6.jpg - the
fakes are at 5&6 o'clock now.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...olco/ring8.jpg - at 11
and 12.

My main question is: where to get the right cut of diamond that
matches best? What is the name of the cut I need?

As I said, they're called Rose cuts. The bigger question is where to get them.
I've got a source or two, diamond dealers I've dealt with who have some, and
most decent jewelers also have access to diamond dealers who may have these.
There are also a few diamond dealers who specialize in rose cuts and the other
two common antique diamond cuts, called "old european" and "old mine" cuts. But
your problem is that most of these dealers are wholesale only, not generally
dealing with the public directly. Feel free to search on the web, and maybe
you'll get lucky, but I'd say your best bet is to first concentrate on finding
a competent goldsmith skilled in jewelry repair more complex than simple ring
sizing or chain repairs and the like, and who's got experience in working with
antiques like this. It can be more tricky than it seems to a non jeweler, since
often the metal alloys are slightly different, methods of construction may not
be the same as with modern jewelery, and there are a lot of less skilled (I'm
being polite) goldsmiths working in places like the department store kiosks etc,
who are just fine in ring sizing and chain repairs and simple stuff with modern
jewelery, but who'll make an absolute mess of a nice antique, and sometimes not
even know they've done so. It would appear (judging by the poorly chosen
replacements, and perhaps the poor setting (since stones fell out)) that your
ring has already suffered enough at the hands of such folks.

So it's time to find someone who knows what they're doing. And you probably
won't find that at a chain jewelry store like Zales, or the kiosk at Fred Meyer,
or Sears, or for that matter, most of the jewelery stores found in shopping
malls. You need to find a store that's been around for a while, and has
enough of it's own workshop, probably on the premises, that they can and do make
at least some of their own jewelry for sale, and are able to do decent skilled
repair work. If they happen to be equipped with modern tools like laser
welders, the degree to which some of the antique jewelry can be fully and well
restored is greatly increased (the lasers are wonderful tools for this type of
work, making it possible to gently and precisly build up and restore worn
prongs, etc, without flooding the whole thing with messy solder or otherwise
causing more damage than is being fixed...

Once you find the person or shop who's well equipped to do this type of work
competently, let them order the rose cuts for you. They'll have the sources,
and be able to precisely measure the size that will work best (It does need to
be pretty much exactly right in order to get the best job, and you may not know
what to look for with that measurement if you're doing it yourself) They'll
also be better able to match the existing color and clarity of the other stones,
so the new ones match as well as possible.

And once I get the right stones, can just about any jeweler at the
local Zales/Kay store at the mall put the stones in? I am kind of
skeptical, I've once had a necklace repaired there, and that was a
total hack job. Really terrible

Yup. many of these shops are staffed with rather less skilled workers, who are
nevertheless overworked, and pressed to work as fast as they can with the
limited skills and equipment they have available. It's not always this way, but
often enough to be hard to recommend any of the chain stores as a general rule.
This is probably unfair to those workers in those shops who do indeed have skill
and take their time, but finding those few among the hacks is hard to do unless
you know someone who knows a specific jeweler who's prooved him or herself
capable.


And, finally, should I just stop wearing the ring (I like it, and I
would rather not!), since it's old and the stones are falling out?

Stop wearing it until you get if fixed. If one stone recently fell out, chances
are others are not tight enough any more either, and you risk loosing more if
you keep wearing it. This does not mean you have to give up wearing it
altogether, just that you should have it properly and fully serviced before you
put it back on. You'd not drive your car around with no brakes and a blown
radiator until you'd had both fixed, but then it would be fine. Same thing.

Do note that antique jewelry was made in an era when most people did not wear
their jewels all the time. They were worn on special occasions, or for "dress
up" days and the like, rather than seven days a week without a care. So many
antiques are quite delicate, not made for heavy day to day wear. Your ring
isn't quite in that catagory, but even so, the amount of metal holding the
stones may be small. it needs to be serviced now and then to make sure
everything is safe, and to correct any loose stones or worn settings before you
loose hard to replace stones. It's much easier to keep a stone from falling out
in the first place, than to find an exact replacement after one does fall out.

What is the normal "lifespan" of a ring like this? This one was made
in 1880s.

That depends on how you wear it. And keep in mind that for the most part, wear
and tear can almost always be restored and repaired, if you are willing to have
it done.

Peter


Thanks!

P.S. if someone decides to reply by e-mail, please use "ochame_0
(at) yahoo.com", and not the address in the header (that one went
defunct ages ago).