Vintage engagement ring

[Chickenandegg8]

I got engaged in February and now lockdown is being lifted I’m starting to look at engagement rings.

I’d really like something vintage/antique but I have no idea where is best to get one from.
I’ve looked at Gatsby but we live in Bristol, not sure I’d be able to convince my oh to travel to London for a ring!
I’ve also looked at carol franks and delanns but I’d ideally like to able to go and try it on before I buy.
Can anyone recommend anywhere in the Bristol/ south west area?
Thanks

Lillicoco Jewelers In Bristol might be worth a look? They specialise in vintage jewelry.
(the address is 17-18, Square Works, Berkeley Square, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1HB since I can't see it on their website)
www.lillicoco.com/

Fab thanks I’ll take a look! 😊

There is a jewellery online website Carol Franks. I've not bought anything but she's been going years. She always has nice rings.

Why not look on an auctioneers website. Something like Easyliveauctions or The Saleroom has hundreds of auction catalogues online and then you can browse thousands of designs.

Then contact the Saleroom and ask for details and condition reports.

You will get much much much more for your money than buying from a dealer. Carole Franks has a great selection but she buys a lot from auction so why not just cut out the middle (wo)man?

We got mine from Andrew Lamputt in Hereford so might be out of way. We had a good look at jewellers when we were going around Devon and Cornwall but saw nothing, on drive home we stayed overnight in Hereford and popped in on whim. Looked at every ring in shop (lots of choice) couple were lovely and said the only ones they had left were the uncleaned and unsorted and my gut said it was there. SUre enough amongst them was a lovely 1930s Art deco ring, very unusual and my fiancee was pleased as it was half the price of the one he liked!! It fitted straight on, no need to get it resized.

Looking at respectable auction s may well be a good place. Look out for traditional old fashioned jewellers and antique shops. Don't get disheartened your ring is there waiting to be found.

Brilliant thanks! I hadn’t even thought of auction houses.
I’ll take a looks

*look 😀

Mine was from a tiny little jewellery shop in a well known large antiques centre. It's now 110 years old and I've yet to see anyone else wearing anything like it.

That’s what I’d like @StormBaby. I’d love to have something unique. Something that’s just a bit different.

Mine is an art nouveau platinum filigree diamond ring, if you Google you'll see the style, but I've never seen another like it. It wouldn't have been an engagement ring originally. I adore it, and i wish I knew its story.

I’d definitely suggestion auctions, you get a lot more for your money, we only spent £350 on mine but I know full well it would retail for over £1k (yikes) in the shops which was partly why I started hunting for one on auctions. If you do go for an auction just beware of buyers premiums as that can sometimes add a bit to the price and it’s handy to calculate it before you pay!

Thanks @suggsy, I’ve had a look at some auctions. I’m just concerned I can’t actually see the ring before I buy it. Did you go and view or do it all online?

My experience of looking for a vintage ring was that you need to find one that fits. Jewellers will offer to resize them but it never really works, the ring ends up misshapen and subtly damaged. I’m still devastated about the ring I bought that the jeweller ruined during resizing - the filigree on the mount cracked and I had a right hassle getting him to admit responsibility and compensate me for the full cost of the ring.

@Chickenandegg8 we went and viewed them beforehand, usually they have a few viewing days before the actual auction so I went and had a look at all of the ones I liked and then tried a few on. I googled to find local Auction houses to me and then narrowed down the ones that had jewellery auctions

Imo you need to inspect a ring for damage before you part with any cash. Chipped stones or bent metal is not uncommon and sellers have no qualms about flogging you such a ring and hoping you don’t notice.

Ok great thanks so much for your help! I’d never even considered that resizing may actually damage the ring! Thank you 😊