Need help/advice please on engagement ring?

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M

milleress

O.G.
Jul 6, 2007
146
11
#1
Hi ladies, I have been a lurker on here for a while now drooling over all your beautiful rocks but now the time has come when I need your much valued opinions :D.

So, the scenario is this, my hubby and I were given my engagement ring by my family - it was my great great Grandmother's, an Edwardian Ceylon Sapphire (completely natural, had it tested) surrounded by diamonds and set in platinum. Simply stunning and I LOVED/LOVE it. About a year after we got married we decided to get it re-set due to the setting being a bit worn down and me being very worried about a stone popping out so I took it to a local jeweller with an excellent repuation and he reset it in the "Tiffancy Legacy" Style (not in platinum as our budget wouldnt stretch to it!!) and replaced the existing diamonds with new ones (approx 1Carats worth) and with the old diamonds made me an eternity ring.

All wonderful, I was thrilled with it. Fast forward to now when we have 2 beautiful babies 1yr and 2.5yrs and I never wear the ring :( It is in my jewellery box all the time as i have caught it so many times I'm so scared of damaging it not to mention catching the kids with it :(. In the meantime if i feel like wearing a rock I wear a....brace yourselves.... Faux diamond solitaire, see pics. So, yesterday whilst out shopping, as per usual :graucho: an antique/jewellery stores calls to me to have a peek in their window and there staring back at me is the identical ring to my fake except of course this one is real. Its one carat with virtually the same setting but a bit more refined. The guy in the shop didnt know the specs of the ring so the owner of the shop is calling me this morning. The price is £895 (approx $1500 US dollars). That made my mum and hubby wonder why its so cheap, we will see what the specs are...............

Anyhow, what I need is your opinions, apart from obviously the sentimental value of the sapphire (which of course is a major factor), would you swap it for something much plainer and simpler BUT something more practical and something that you can wear everyday???

Sorry this is SOOO long but really look forward to hearing what you guys think :) Thanks very much in advance xx

PS Not sure if I'm going to be able to upload the pics but will give it a go!
 

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#2
Do you have to swap? Can't you have both the old sapphire ring and the new diamond ring? I would totally go for that (if the specs on the solitaire is good).

You have two children, wouldn't it be nice for them to inherit one ring each?
 
#3
Well, that was my immediate thought process! However, sadly.... money wont stretch to both, I did my best to soften hubby up last night but sadly its not to be :tdown: . He said as long as my parents were happy with me changing the sapphire (which they are) whatever I can get for it would have to be the funds for the new ring, be it this one I've seen or something else.

My mother has quite a few beauties stashed away which are coming my direction in due course so there will be other jewellery to pass down. Would definately love to be able to pass my son a nice ring when he gets engaged and of course give something to my daughter (Granny has already left her an aquamarine and diamond beauty!)
 
#6
i swap mine all the time. even though i primarily wear my pear e-ring everyday, there are times (like this morning when i have an interview) where i don't want to wear it because i want something a little less subtle (my pear center stone is 3 ct.).

so i'll wear my diamond eternity bubble ring with my recent purchase (at a pawn shop, too) yellow gold diamond eternity stackable ring and they look gorgy together, and a lot less obnoxious!

especially when i'm working out or playing tennis, sometimes i don't wear anything because it just bothers me when i'm sweating to wear jewelry.

i am not one of those people who has one wedding set and that's it and wears it every single day. i like the idea of mixing and matching to suit my mood and/or what i'm wearing.

i think it's perfectly acceptable to do the same, especially with little ones running around the house. my daughter is 9, so i no longer have that issue, but when she was a toddler, omg, most of the time i didn't wear anything.

let us know what you decide.
 
#8
Thanks everyone sooo much for replying and for your thoughts. Well.......... I have spent the afternoon visiting various jewellers (dealers) who have all said that the sapphire is worth no more than £500 to them :shocked:. One let it slip that he would be looking to sell it for roughly £3000!!! Oh well, guess he was just being honest. The main reason for it being worth alot less than I had imagined was a) the market is not there and more importantly b) I let the value go when I reset it.

Sooooooo have decided that the sentimental value is worth more to me so I am definately keeping it!!!! Another lady said she reckoned I'd regret it a couple of months down the line which I have to say I kind of agree with. I tried on several solitaires and as lovely as they were they didnt quite "do" it for me so there we are - decision made.

I also went back to look at the solitaire I saw yesterday and it didnt shout out to me as much as did yesterday. All in all, as you guys said, sentimentality wins the day :D. Thanks again xx
 
#9
I think what you are saying is that you would have to trade in and give up your sapphire completely? I'm certain your sapphire ring is worth much more than $1500. Plus, when your kids are a bit older you'll be able to wear it again with no problem. I say keep the faux and wait until you have funds to get a diamond WITHOUT trading in your sapphire. It's a family heirloom after all and someday you might want to pass it on to a daughter or daughter-in-law.

ETA: I just read your latest post. I'm glad you're keeping it!
 
#11
I would keep the sapphire ring, no question about it.

Forget the diamond ring for now---maybe you can get a ring like that someday for your 10 year anniversary, but I think the Sapphire one is more unique and much prettier.
 
#12
Oh I LOVE the sapphire one! I'm thrilled you are keeping it. Your kids won't be babies forever (sadly the time passes way too quickly) and soon you will be able to go back to wearing that gorgeous ring daily!
 
#13
Thanks again ladies, just logged back in and seen the rest of everyone's comments. Feel silly now to have even considered trading it :0. You're so right, the kiddiwinks wont be tiny for long :( so i can wear it to death then. Phew, that was a close call, that's why TPF is the Best! xx
 
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