Ebay purchase

Sorry in advance---it's an essay! :shy:

Well, I made a purchase last night and just wanted to share this! Last night my friend bid on an antique wedding ring for me on Ebay and we won it! (I don't know the first thing about Ebay :shy: ). I have my grandma's Art Deco setting, and my great grandmother's antique diamond, a rare rose cut. I have been wanting to put the diamond in an antique setting for a long time, just have been looking for the 'right' one. My grandma's setting is 'nice' and classic, but it's never been 'me'. It's special because it was hers, but I really wanted something that reflects my tastes, and an antique to reflect the period of the diamond. I love the Victorian and Edwardian era (as you guys know ), so this definitely suits me. I called a jeweler who assured me my diamond would work with this---it's slighty smaller millimeter. Of course, I have to get it yet to make sure it's as pretty and sturdy as the pictures! I love white gold, so this is just right for me, and the 10k is actually stronger and there's no difference in color, so I'm cool with that. Just wanted to share this---I'm not going to tell my mom until I get it all done and have it on my finger, but I want to tell her so badly!! Bill loves it---good thing, because I was getting it either way! He probably likes the price the most :

http://cgi.ebay.com/BEAUTIFUL-ANTIQUE-10K-WHITE-GOLD-FILIGREE-RING-SETTING_W0QQitemZ120371392765QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Fine_Jewelry?hash=item120371392765&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1326|66%3A4|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A200#ebayphotohosting

I was thinking I was going to have to go much higher than this---the reproduction casts that are made out of antique molds are quite a bit higher, and I should have technically paid more for this considering this is circa 1900, even without diamonds. So I'm just thrilled! I'm on the hunt now for an antique band, but may need to settle for an antique cast on that....here's the idea:

http://www.jansjewells.com/item.php?item_id=1154&page=2&category_id=87

Or this one:

http://www.jansjewells.com/item.php?item_id=1146&page=2&category_id=87

But I've seen ones cheaper than that too---I can go thinner and I may just do that.

I know the antique idea is not everyone's cup of tea and you may not like it. That's ok, I just wanted to share it because I'm excited! My mom liked the idea of putting my granny's diamond in an antique setting too, so I know she won't be hurt that I'm taking it out of grandma's setting. That's a plus! I'll let ya know what I think when I receive it! It may need some work for all I know, perhaps prong work, but grandma's setting does too and I hate to put money in a ring that I don't really love.

Bill's and my 19th wedding anniversary is on March 9th, so this will be a special way to celebrate. Hopefully I'll have it all done by then. I was planning on waiting one year to buy a ring to make it extra special, but why wait when it's the right ring?

Ok, sorry that got so lengthy, LOL! Hope I didn't just bore you all silly! :sleep: On another note, I had a daycare interview last night that went awesome---I'm getting a newborn baby girl! It felt so wonderful holding a tiny 4 week old in my arms last night! Her name is Emma Grace---love that! Daycare is cool---whenever I get those 'baby cravings', I just take on another one! (And get to send them home at 5:30 ).

Amy, I've had very good luck with purchases on EBay and another thing to look for when you bid on an item, look at the rating for the person who is selling the item. I say if they have a 98% or higher, you'll do real good..

Congrats on the ring and on the newborn!! I'm going to visit a friend of mine who had a baby the beginning of January. It was so fun picking out clothes for him. It has been a long time since I've bought baby clothes. I get to hold him, kiss him and then hand him back to Mom and go home to my quiet house (ha ha)....Hope all goes well with this new baby.

Amy, the setting is gorgeous! (I love antiques, anyway. ) And the price is great, too.

How fun that you'll have a newborn around! I always forget how tiny they start out. There's something so perfect about holding a baby.

Thanks Kathy! Yeah, this particular seller is ranked high and my friend knows all the ins and outs of this Ebay stuff, so I trusted her. And she got me quite the price! I only have a 3 day return though, so I'm going to have to race to the jewelers when I get it, to make sure it will indeed work with my diamond, and that it doesn't need TOO much work.

Savannah, I'm glad you like it----I love antiques too! I wish I had more space; I find furniture when I'm out antiquing and always have to turn great deals down because I don't know where the heck I'd put them! At least jewelry doesn't take up space.

And thanks for the congrats on the baby too, ladies. I am so excited about Baby Emma! There IS something so 'right' about holding a baby Savannah. Nothing like it in the whole world! She has a happy nature as well---she doesn't have colic which is a relief---I've had some with colic and it's not exactly fun! Oh, and she is SO tiny...she's only 7 pounds so it felt like a 'real' newborn, not a 1 month old. She has the tiniest features too, that I've EVER seen---tiny eyes, tiny nose, tiny EARS! She's SO cute!!!

The rings are so pretty Amy!!

LOL Kathy---you don't have to say that! :haha: But thank you, I'm glad you like it! (Actually, I'm not sure my mom will love it---I don't know that she 'gets' antiques, you know? When we go antiquing she tends to think I'm rather nuts that I like that old and 'worn' stuff.

Savannah---come on over for coffee and I'll let you hold Baby Emma!


(I'm serious BTW, if you're ever on this end, you will HAVE to come visit me!!! ). And I love her name too...would you believe the last family I interviewed for named their daughter "Attica"? Um, yeah, that's right. Attica. :unsure: It was between her and the little girl who's dad just lost her job: Kaylee. I chose Kaylee. I swear it had nothing to do with her name.

Congratulations on the ring and the newborn. The ring is beautiful. I think the best thing about being in daycare is that you can give them back at the end of the day. LOL! Probably awful of me to say, but at least you know it isn't you getting up at 2AM.

Thanks Cheryl! And LOL, I SO know what you mean!

Amy wrote:

...would you believe the last family I interviewed for named their daughter "Attica"? Um, yeah, that's right. Attica. :unsure:

:think: Perhaps this child was conceived in the attic???

That's beautiful, Amy! Very Somewhere in Time.

Amy wrote:

I had a daycare interview last night that went awesome---I'm getting a newborn baby girl!

*Sigh* After all the lectures I've given you about taking precautions...

Rhonda wrote:

Amy wrote:

...would you believe the last family I interviewed for named their daughter "Attica"? Um, yeah, that's right. Attica. :unsure:

:think: Perhaps this child was conceived in the attic???

Could be!

Congratulations on the ring Amy! :woohooo:

And baby Emma sounds wonderful!

Rhonda wrote:

Amy wrote:

...would you believe the last family I interviewed for named their daughter "Attica"? Um, yeah, that's right. Attica. :unsure:

:think: Perhaps this child was conceived in the attic???

Good thinkin' Rhonda...one can only wonder! :haha: Her mother's name is Ericka, and I guess she wanted something similar? :unsure: Strange indeed.

Thanks Carol---I'm super excited for both things! I'll take a pic of the ring when I have it done and on my finger, and post it here. That's "hopefully"...if it's as awesome as I'm hoping for!

Rob! I was thinking very "Somewhere in Time" too! It's totally me. Thank you!

Rob wrote:

Amy wrote:

I had a daycare interview last night that went awesome---I'm getting a newborn baby girl!

*Sigh* After all the lectures I've given you about taking precautions...

I know, I know. We got a little carried away, what can I say?

Attica was also the name of the prison in New York where they had a big riot back in 1971-ish. Though... that's probably not the kind of thing that would inspire a baby name. :think:

Savannah wrote:

Amy wrote:

Savannah---come on over for coffee and I'll let you hold Baby Emma!


(I'm serious BTW, if you're ever on this end, you will HAVE to come visit me!!! ). And I love her name too...would you believe the last family I interviewed for named their daughter "Attica"? Um, yeah, that's right. Attica. :unsure: It was between her and the little girl who's dad just lost her job: Kaylee. I chose Kaylee. I swear it had nothing to do with her name.

I would *love* to stop in and have coffee with you! If I do get over your way, I'll definitely take you up on your invitation. Thank you!

Ok, I'm holding you to it!


Rob, that is exactly what Bill said. I had no idea what the child's name was before the interview, so it caught me off guard. When I told him right afterward he just gave me a funny look and said, "You mean like the prison?!" LOL! I forgot about To Kill a Mockingbird, Savannah...ahem, makes a little more sense than the prison, huh?

I GOT IT!!!! :woohooo: It came in the mail already yesterday!! I'm kind of shocked it arrived that quickly---I was expecting it today! Well, I am VERY pleasantly surprised. First off, when I first opened it I wasn't exactly 'blown away'...the color of the white gold is very dark, maybe even darker than platinum would be, so I'm not too fond of that. I guess brighter metals are more to my liking. BUT, the filagree is exquisite, and VERY sturdy. I took it to a jeweler last night, at one of our 'high end' jewelry stores here, and the lady I talked to just happened to be an antique jewelry dealer!! Perfect!!! Anyway, she GASPED when she opened it (LOL, I didn't gasp, but she knows her stuff ) and she said that it was in extremely good condition and was very impressed with the overall look of it. (it's hard for me to envision, because the diamond isn't in there yet!). Anywho, I told her that the guy said it was 10k, and she just looked at me and said, "there's no way", that 10k was very rarely done back then. Well, she went to test it, and found that it's 18k gold!! I then told her what I paid ($102.00) and she just about keeled over!! She said that I should have paid at least $300 for it, and wouldn't have been surprised if it had gone to $400 or $500 in the auction, had this seller KNOWN it was 18k gold!!! He had stated that he'd checked with his jeweler, but this lady said that the line in the "8" was worn off in the middle, and looked like a "0". So the jeweler didn't test it, otherwise he would have known!! Seller's loss, my gain!! :idance: She places the ring anywhere between 1890 and 1910, and is leaning toward 1910, that it looks Edwardian. She agreed that it's really neat that the antique diamond is now 'marrying with' an antique setting, that very well could have been from exactly the same era. I left it there...they're setting the diamond, fixing the prongs and sizing it down a half size, for $135.00. I didn't think that was too bad. I just have to remember what I saved on this ring! LOL! They're going to clean up the metal so that I can see if I like the color better then...if not, they'll rhodium plate it, so that it's bright. I'm leaning more toward doing that...my friend thinks I should leave it as is to get that true 'antique feel', but I don't think I can stand to look down at a dark metal on my finger, with no 'spark'...I think it's going to seem dull. I think people would still figure it's an antique even if it's bright, don't you? Opinions please?

Thanks for bearing with me during my long excited 'ring posts'! When it's all done, I'll take a pic of it on my finger and post it here.

That's awesome, Amy!! I'm glad that you were able to talk to someone who really knows their stuff. It sounds like you got a really great deal, too!! You'll have to post a pic of the final product.

Thanks Teresa! And what's cool is that Bill is even excited about it now...'antique' is not really his thing...I know he'd much rather see me in modern, glitzy diamondy setting, you know? We are so opposite in that way and in so many ways. But he sees my excitement over this and my own appreciation for it and for vintage in general, that he is thrilled for me. He even had a bunch of his guy friends over last night when I came home with my news, and he went and told them all about it, LOL! We are both pretty happy to be getting such a deal, too! (BTW, I never had a 'real' wedding ring when we got married...it was a CZ. The circumstances being as they were, with a baby on they way, there was no money to spend on diamonds. So it's just neat that I'm finally getting a 'forever ring' that represents 'us' now. ).

Amy wrote:

They're going to clean up the metal so that I can see if I like the color better then...if not, they'll rhodium plate it, so that it's bright. I'm leaning more toward doing that...my friend thinks I should leave it as is to get that true 'antique feel', but I don't think I can stand to look down at a dark metal on my finger, with no 'spark'...I think it's going to seem dull. I think people would still figure it's an antique even if it's bright, don't you? Opinions please?

I just know that something with a 'spark' would attract my eye. I think you still get the true antique feel... it's all in the design and the pic you posted from ebay is beautiful.

Congratulations :idance:

Thanks Lily! I'll be sure to post a picture. And yes...I love that new baby smell too! Gosh---does it even get any better than that?!


Thanks for your opinion Carol...I feel that way too. I guess I'll see if they really get it to look bright enough just by cleaning it. If it was the color that it looks like in the Ebay pics, I'd like it too---it's not though, it's much darker than it appears on those pics. It's almost a bronze really, like a cross between platinum and bronze. If they get it to 'shine' up to the look of a platinum, I would keep that for sure. But it needs to have some 'sheen' to it for me to be happy, I think. Thanks for the congrats! I can't wait to see it done!

Oh, my friend had another point...the thing about a bright white metal is, there is no 'contrast' with the white of the diamond, therefore the diamond can get 'lost' in the setting. She said that if this doesn't clean/buff up to the platinum look, and I decide to do the rhodium, that she has soaked her rhodium plated jewelry in vinegar and that tones it down so it's not 'too' shiny/new looking. I thought that was a good idea!

I'm glad it came, Amy! I think the neat thing about an antique is that it connects you with all the history it's "seen." The same sun that shone on Mackinac Island in that Somewhere in Time summer of 1912 also shone on your ring. That's a nice thing to always have with you.

Rob wrote:

I'm glad it came, Amy! I think the neat thing about an antique is that it connects you with all the history it's "seen." The same sun that shone on Mackinac Island in that Somewhere in Time summer of 1912 also shone on your ring. That's a nice thing to always have with you.

*swoon*