 | Antique Road Show |
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My girlfriend and I are planning on getting engaged. I decided that
getting the ideal ring was more important than surprising her, so I
asked her what she wanted and we've gone ring shopping together. What
she's decided on is a 1/2 to 3/4 carat diamond flanked by a pair of 1/4
to 1/3 carat sapphires. All the stones are round cut, and she wants
them set in a platinum setting with filigree or scrollwork that is
designed like a setting from roughly the Victorian or Edwardian
periods. Our research indicates that for practical reasons, a
reproduction is better than a true antique. Also, a ring made from an
existing cast is preferable to a custom made setting. One of the
jewelers we talked to indicated that there is at least one company that
specializes in making these types of settings. We have a friend who
works in the jewelry business (but who doesn't do rings) who can get us
a good price on the stones. I was planning on getting the stones with
her help and then get them put in the setting by a local jeweler (from
whom I would also buy the setting). But, with the setting being made
from a cast I'm not sure how much the stone size can be changed. So
what I wanted to do was find the names of two or three companies that
make filigree settings. (For informational purposes only, I wouldn't
attempt to buy the setting directly from the manufacturer.) Then the
next time I go talking to jewelers, I can ask them if the deal with
those companies and ask to see catalogs. Then we can find the setting
we like the best and find out the range of stones it can handle. After
that we'll go get the stones & go back to the jeweler where we can get
the setting we want and say "We want you to put these stones in that
setting." Unfortunately, when I tried to do a web search for companies
that make reprodutions of antique filligree settings, what I mostly got
was jewelers who carry genuine antique settings. So I was wondering,
does anybody out there know who manufactures these reproductions? How
about any ideas on how to tighten my web search to exclude jewelers?
(After all, I want the jeweler to be close enough that I can just walk
in if the ring needs work for whatever reason. For that, the web is
really not the best tool because it doesn't easily limit the geography.
But the location of the manufacturer is irrelevant because dealing with
the manufacturer will be the jeweler's problem.)
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They are only wholesale dealers, but if you call them,
they can give you the name of a jeweler closest to you that carries their
stuff. You may also convince your trusted local jeweler to deal with them. Their web page shows two rings with center diamonds flanked by sapphires,
but one has sapphire baguettes and the other, trilliants (or some
triangular cut). They also show my wedding band (although mine's a real
antique!)second from the bottom!
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