Any gemologists or jewellers about?

[BrassicaBabe]

Well, at least on the face of it, your job is SO much more interesting that mine 😫 And I'm too old to retrain now 🤣

I have a magpie hankering after a ring with a coloured stone. I love the unboxing reels on FB and IG. Sometimes it's antique that I'm drawn to. Mainly art deco which my daughter tells me look like "old lady rings". Sometimes it's modern but second hand stuff that catches my eye.

I have some money available. A decent sum left to me. But I can't be frivolous or careless.

How do I learn about the stuff I'm looking at? Or find someone to trust? Or even better take advice from?

Recently I've hankered after a modern 13ct aquamarine ring but also a sapphire ring from the 1700s!! I've become drawn to a long standing shop/merchant based in Ireland. (I'm UK)

It's overwhelmingly. And feels open to abuse. The small town I live in has no options.

How can I purchase and be confident of not being ripped off? What would be a good buy vs a bad one? Not necessarily an "investment" but I guess that would be sensible. Or where can I learn to make good choices as a lay person?

Or just send screen shots of things you like so that we can all swoon together? 🤣

I dabble! I’m a silversmith and have been for years but sadly not enough to give up the day job.

if you’re looking for a piece of fine antique jewellery then the seller should ideally be able to provide some kind of certification, or depending on the value of the purchase be willing to get someone to certify for them. Certificates are needed all the time for insurance purposes. I would NOT buy from a single individual on eBay for this purpose.

in terms of the stones themselves, again, proper certification would provide a grading - clarity,
cut and colour, hallmark interpretation which would detail material, date and location of the assay office.

does that help?

some stones increase and decrease in value according to trend too. Amethysts have been pricey of late. Morganite is one to watch and is absolutely beautiful. There is a good shop in the Cotswolds - I’ll see if I can find a link. Also consider the stone and its wearability - some are fragile and are less sensible for daily wear. Opals for example are easily cracked (hence the saying ‘opals for tears’ - they are not ‘bad luck’ but often break!)

Be careful if you are looking at aquamarine and make sure you have a guarantee that it is what it says it is.

The shop I’ve looked at before is in Moreton in Marsh and is called deco interiors - they have some lovely pieces and you can search on sold ones to get an idea too. This is my morganite ring - don’t normally wear it on this finger but it was easier to photograph this way round! It’s very very sparkly.

My friend had a ring made by this jeweler and I love a lot of her pieces.
https://www.instagram.com/woodfordsjewellery?igsh=MWxyeXB0cWphN3UyZw==

Ooh @Mykittensmittens love that. Let's turn this into a thread to share bling pics 🤣 Your info is spot on which underlines why I'm stuck.

This is the aquamarine that I'm currently lusting after. (Not my hand)

@TodaysNameIsBoring and that's what stops me pressing the buy now button each and every time 😫

<sharp intake of breath> pic!

Go to a reputable jeweller, De Bruns which are based in Ireland are amazing. They absolutely know their stuff and can source something for you if they don't have it. They have some beautiful jewellery

I have a passion for vintage semi precious 'pretty' rings. I have an aquamarine and diamond big one cost £900 a blue zircon with a diamond halo £2k a lovely green amethyst with diamond chips that was under £500 I think. Currently have my eye on a deep green tourmaline with a diamond halo that about £1200 and a pink sapphire that's a bit too much at £5k. I spend a lot of time browsing antique jewelry shops and they are much cheaper than online. If I love it I buy it or my husband does for birthdays.

@Tontostitis which underlines why I'm not safe to be let loose maybe. That aquamarine ⬆️ is 10k 😬

@Shoemadlady oooh, you aren't wrong! This one 😍

debruns.ie/jewellery/rings/?ID=472

Sorry to jump on your thread OP but as there are some gem masters here I wondered if you could advise me of the most ethical gemstone? Or even stones perhaps?
ie. one that isn't mined in pristine land and doesn't exploit people? I am looking for something for a ring I'm having made for someone
Thanks!

I love antique jewelry but have the same questions about not getting ripped off!

@greatvisuals maybe rework the stones and gold from an existing piece?

i Understand that the metal it’s set in is suggestive of the stone quality …

If you buy a vintage 18ct ring off a reputable seller on Ebay with good review rating you can usually trust the item is genuine.
I have bought and sold for years on Ebay and never been sold a dud following these rules.
Or most towns have a decent jewellers who sell vintage pieces at a higher price but you can try them on and feels a bit safer if you don't know your stuff.
Some nice cocktail pieces in 9ct with chunky cheaper stones like an Amethyst or Blue Topaz can be affordable and give you the look of an older piece.

Proper Deco pieces are often Platinum as well as 18ct.

Oooh let me show off my shiny!

I've just had this made. It's a "Christmas Garnet" (cr: yttrium aluminium garnet). It's green but with flashes of red in it / fluorescent red under uv light. It's a lab created stone, so ethical, mostly made for use in lasers. Hardness of 8.5 so it makes good jewellery and is sparkly! (And feeds my inner geek)

That aquamarine ring is amazing. I have some from Madagascar, they are a very pale aquamarine colour and I don't think they were heat-treated.

@BrassicaBabe - That is a beautiful ring. I have an amethyst ring which was my granny's - it is round and the stone is quite big - I am sure the stone Is not of the highest quality but it is pretty and good as a "dress ring" .

Apologies for jumping on thread to ask gem people is it possible to make a wishbone gold ring with diamonds into a straight band rather than the v shape?
If so, how much?! Thank you and I love the pics, I adore rings.

@Elodie9 Straightening the diamond set bit of the ring would warp the settings and the diamonds would fall out.
It might be possible, depending on the design, to cut out the angled piece, put a new straight piece in and reset the diamonds.

That aquamarine might well be worth the £10k. Ones that large ones from Brasil were in that price range decades ago.

There are amazing jewels in auction, as older ladies collections are sold - the auctioneers verify what they sell, careful online auctions addictive !
https://www.hawleys.info/jewellery/

This one for me on Debruns please. 😍 (Have hands like plates, vintage rings never going to do me well.🤣)

@CheeseSandwichRiskAssessment "being ripped off"... I'd be willing to pay someone to advise me, or take to an action etc.

@ilovebagpuss re reputable eBay etc. I feel the problem is that I don't know if I should be paying 2k for x stone or 20k. My local jewellers are lovely. But don't stock exactly what kind of want. They offer to get stuff in etc. but then if I spot things on the Internet I don't feel right taking a picture and saying "make or find me one of these".

@VerityUnreasonble bloody beautiful!! I'll risk outing myself shortly (can't be @rsed to name change) and send a pic of one of mine.

@TodaysNameIsBoring that aqua is heat treated. I've been reading. Nearly all are. They are often heat treated before leaving the mine.

@kdramaqueen how can I be sure?! No certificate apparently. Any idea if aqua might appreciate?

@MuscariFan I spotted that one too!! Beautiful!!

Here are rings that I had made for me in lockdown for a big anniversary. Sounds much fancier than it was. But he DID post gems to me through Royal Mail so that I could choose 🤣

One ring is Peridot. One is topaz. Diamonds down the shoulders. And beautifully crafted (can't upload a 4th photo to show the back and how they fit together) so that they fit together and do not "lob" to one side.