I'm thinking about popping THE question to my girlfriend ...

In our "casual" conversations, she has mentioned that she would never want to wear a big diamond, partly because she finds it ostentatious, and partly because she is a doctor, and doesn't like the idea of her patients feeling like she is wealthy at their expense.

So, I have this men's diamond ring which belonged to my father; it's a very high quality ring -- vintage Harry Winston -- with about a 1.3 carat brilliant diamond. I am trying to figure out the value of the ring outside the value of the stone, i.e., is it intrinsically more valuable as a vintage Harry Winston ring to the point where it does not really make sense to remove the large stone -- the ring has two very small princess cut stones and 10 baguettes.

Where would one get an accurate assessment on the value of a vintage ring like this?

 

Harry Winston?

 

Get an appraisal from a reputable jeweler with experience in vintage jewelry. 1.3 carats is a pretty
big rock.

 

It's where Ben Affleck bought Jennifer Lopez her ring ... for a million bucks.

Of course, that didn't work out so well ;-)

 

Clarity, Carats, Cut. I think there's some other. Sorry, I'm useless.

 

CONGRATS! Diamonds are high in value right now, especially very high quality stones.

 

In a few hours of reading, you can find out all you need to know, and a value idea of the stone alone, from:
http://www.bluenile.com/?gclid=CLHE6...FRMYagodNH8dCg
No affiliation.

 

The resident diamond expert in my house is my wife and she likes Tiffany & Co.

 

Yes, you are correct. The "antique" value of the ring is highly subjective and appeals to a fairly narrow range of the market. Winston or other dealers like them will have a reasonable idea of what it's worth. My wifes wedding band from a traditional appraisers perspective is only worth about $2500. But, as it's an antique (my grandmothers from 1915) with a very unusual setting made by a respected jeweler its worth substantially more.

 

It's the 4 C's, Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Weight. I won't go into the Cut grading as you can read that on-line. We have family friends that are in the diamond and jewelry industry, usual trips to Tel Aviv etc. The ring when it was fabricated at Harry Winston should have been accompanied by a document stating the sizes of each stone and each of their characteristics in a form for insurance purposes and essentially is an appraisal. The main stone should have a separate document, a certificate from the GIA or EGL. These are the main diamond grading labs that examine and grade each stone by international standards providing each of the four C's.

Take your father's ring to a reputable appraiser if non of the above documents are available.

Unless you are cash strapped, I would believe your father's ring is more valuable left intact. You might check places like Blue Nile and see what a diamond of comparable 4-C's to that in your father's ring to determine whether or not you want to use that stone in a ring.

Good Luck

 

While that makes a lot of sense, please be careful!! Many grooms have been duped with the "I don't need a big diamond" line. Your girlfriend seems to have a good reason for it, but I know more than a few brides that were unhappy with the size of their ring - even after saying that they didn't want a big diamond.

Good luck to you and congratulations!

 

That's what I was thinking, too.

 

Could you get that in writing and notarized?

 

One more thing to consider if you're thinking of recycling the rock, is that the cut of older diamonds often sucks in terms of proportions and angles. That is, if you take an old diamond and put in in a modern setting, it won't look nearly as good in terms of sparkle as a newer, smaller, lower grade stone.

I'd guess that you have a special piece there and you shouldn't break it up.

For her ring, don't skimp no matter what she says. It's not just a finger decoration, it's a symbol. As for her patients, you can manage the ostentation factor with the setting design--avoid those ridiculous prong settings that push the stone way up off the finger.
If she were only going to wear it around the house, that would be one thing. Fact is, a lot of people will be judging her--and you--by the ring. Family, friends, strangers. I HATE ostentation and playing stupid status games, but if all her friends say, "that's, um, nice..." it can't help but sink in a little bit.

 

Well, since this is the third time around the block for me ... I already know most of THAT stuff ;-)

She really went into a bit of a rant about her girlfriend's "ridiculous" 4-carat rock and what a complete waste of money it was, and that her other friend's 2-carat stone was "way too big" for her taste. This was, of course, a relief to me.

She also makes about four times as much as I do ... but I have more than enough cash on hand to get her a nice big rock, I just don't think that's what she wants. She has excellent taste, so what I will probably do is take her shopping, see what she likes, and if it's in line with the stone I already have, then I'll show that to her and see if she wants to just have it reset. If we're looking at larger stones, I'll just keep it in my pocket, as it were.

She's turned down three proposals since her divorce 10 years ago, but she already promised she'd say "yes" to me so it's really just a matter of finding the right ring. Kind of like doing the PPI in advance, I guess.

She likes the 911, too ... and found that other thread where someone's spouse took away their car keys ridiculous. That's a good sign.