Who do you call when you have an antique ring too worn for everyday wear? Rodney and Taren were referred to Santa Barbara’s Calla Gold Jewelry for antique jewelry restoration after their frustrating experience trying to sort out what to do to be able to wear her antique engagement ring daily.
Rodney and Taren had been living together for five years. Taren had a very simple modern engagement ring from Rodney and they planned to marry.
This Side View Shows Worn Engraving on Antique Ring Before any Work was Done
Rodney’s Grandmother passed on and her beautiful vintage filigree ring was given to him. It was pretty worn out but there was something so special about it.
Family Jewelry Says, “You Are a Part of My Family”
When he showed it to Taren she fell in love with it. Her modern engagement ring was OK, but the filigree details in Rodney’s Grandmother’s ring were just beautiful.
The connection to his family was really more meaningful to her than her modern style engagement ring.
The Challenges of Wearing Antique, Much Worn Rings
This Diamond is in Danger With it’s Prongs Worn Away. Notice the Worn Away Engraving too.
The problem was it had been worn hard and lived long and wasn’t strong enough to wear safely anymore. Taren really wanted to get married with Rodney’s family ring. After discussing the ring with family, friends and a couple of other Jewelers they called me.
Do You Need Repair, Or Restoration for Your Antique Ring?
This Ring Shank is Too Thin for Everyday Wear
You may be reading this thinking about restoring antique rings in your own situation. When I first saw Rodney and Taren, they were thinking they needed to size it and have the diamond prongs checked.
They’d been given conflicting advice from, “Do not wear this ring at all anymore, it’s too beaten up. How about this beauty over here?” And the sales pitch would begin, to, “I can size it but I don’t guarantee it won’t fall apart in a few months. That ring is running on borrowed time,” to, “Let’s size it and you just wear it till it falls apart and get something new.”
They really wanted to know exactly what were the weaknesses of Rodney’s Grandmother’s ring and what it would take to extend its life for years not months.
When Restoring Antique Rings, Instead of Doing Little Repairs is Needed
Rodney and Taren’s ring was a great example of what needs to be done when restoring an antique ring for daily wear.
Side View Showing Restored Hand Engraving and Re-Shanked (Thickened) Ring Shank
I looked over the ring with a magnifying loupe and showed them each weakness and suggested area for improvement. I showed them under magnification so they could see what I saw and understand why what they saw was a weakness.
Seven Elements to Restore on Your Antique or Vintage Rings for Daily Wear
1. The shank of the ring which must be strong to support the upper design.
2. The filigree work which is usually damaged by time and wear
3. Any cracks in the metal in the upper design portion which indicate the element has been worn too thin.
4. Any engraving must be re-done to return the original style of the piece.
5. Locate major design features and re-engrave them so their image is visible once more.
Re-Tipped Prongs and New Hand Engraved Details
6. Re-build prongs that have worn down.
7. Replace any lost diamonds or gems with similarly cut diamonds or gems. (Modern cut gems set next to older cut do not blend in. They often make the rest of the gems look dull.)
Rodney and Taren’s ring needed everything mentioned above, except replacement gems.
