What do you think about this ring?

[eeeck]

Hello Pearl-Guide experts! I love jewelry and have a few pearl pieces but only discovered your site recently. I am amazed by how much there is to learn, and couldn't believe I could see myself and how many fingers I was holding up mirrored in the surface of some of my pearls!

Meanwhile, I got myself an early Christmas gift but am not quite sure about it. What kind of pearl is in this ring, and does it seem like the piece would be worth the approximately $1K I spent? It's set in 18K gold with yellow diamonds inset in the band, and the pearl itself is around 22mm long, white on the rounder/larger side with a pronounced golden hue on the other side. I can still return this by early Jan so any thoughts gratefully appreciated!

 

[CortezPearls]

Hello eeeck!
Wow! Very, very pretty ring! I especially like the way the bottom of the actual ring goes into the pearl...very artsy! And the yellow diamonds make it very pretty, accentuating the yellowness of the gold and that speck of golden color that the pearl has.
It is a lovely baroque pearl...I believe it is a freshwater pearl due to its light-pastel-metallic colors, but it could be a South Sea Pearl or even a Natural saltwater pearl...
Let us see what our Community of Experts have to say about this piece of yours! And congratulations...it is a very beautiful piece.

 

[CMN]

I really like this - the design seems quite original for a pearl ring.

 

[pearlescence]

Leaving aside any aesthetic considerations, as a matter of construction I'd be concerned about how robust the setting is. If the pearl is balancing on two pins, one at each end of the shank, and with no cups, then those pins are under tremendous stress at their bases.
I cringe when I see an enormous South Sea pearl set on a pin directly onto a shank, not even a small cup. These are indeed dramatic - and in this case innovative and intriguing designs, but they are not always mechanically secure. Be alert for the slightest wobble.

 

[BeadersSecret]

Hi eeeck, you have a gorgeous ring there- I very much doubt there are pegs involved in the setting.

The images although not best quality, appear to show a pin mount (the correct name escapes me for the moment) set into the shank of the ring.

Think of how the pin on a bolt ring passes through the inside of the ring securely bridging the opening. Only in this instance the pin is secured within the shank after being inserted through the pearl.

Another way of looking at it is this design takes some cues from a tension mount, but is mechanically using the pin through the shank to lock the pearl rather then relying on tension or pegs.

I think the jeweller has carefully thought this through and used some good design cues to create a secure mount.
Lucky you, beautiful ring

 

[pearlescence]

I enlarged photo 3 and looked carefully. As far as I can tell from the photo (and I may be wrong) this is not a tension ring. It can't be a tension shank with all those stones in it. The two ends appear to have been shaped to fit the base of the pearl and there may be pegs or pins but unless there are at least three set asymmetrically the pearl will eventually wobble and the pegs will fail from metal fatigue due to repeated micro-flexing.
Does the pearl move at all?
This is a tension ring, where the stone is held in place in a near invisible groove in the shank which in turn is held in place by work-hardening the shank by much repeated twisting and flexing until the metal is work hardened. I've made them. It takes ages wrangling the metal until it is stiff enough to hold the stone.

 

[eeeck]

Thanks so much for your thoughts everyone and glad you all like the ring! I took a second look and gently tried to wiggle the pearl, it seems set very solid although of course I would plan on being careful with it anyway as I know pearls can be more prone to damage than other gems. I also took a couple of photos (the first ones I posted were from the listing) so you can see what it looks like on the hand.

I do think I will keep it - the colors are beautiful and it looks like a little cloud at sunset when I wear it ;-). Does anyone have any thoughts about where I could get a necklace to match? As it is so contemporary I was thinking of a single drop pendant or at most a tin cup rather than a full strand. I know getting something with that golden hue on part of the surface may be tricky.

 

[KarinK]

"What kind of pearl is in this ring, and does it seem like the piece would be worth the approximately $1K I spent?"

I know other people here a lot better at answering those questions than me but I'll do a small attempt. 18K gold is expensive, add diamonds. They are small but the presence even of small diamonds adds to the price. To me, the pearl looks like a South Sea pearl and even though it is baroque, it's really really big. It's also a custom made piece, I think, so yes.

Will you be able to resell it at that price? Probably not. Did you overpay? I don't think so and hopefully you paid what you felt it is worth. It's very unique.

- Karin

 

[CortezPearls]

I think it will be hard to find a matching pearl, but many jewelers will take the challenge I imagine!
Again, beautiful ring and pearl

 

[pattye]

An interesting ring for sure, thanks so much for showing it on your hand, it's truly lovely, eeeck! (I love the large size and E-W orientation.) The pearl may be a golden or white SS keshi, SS colors can be very light and show multicolors; I'm not envisioning a round bead inside.

With a little searching, you'll be able to find baroque pearls that coordinate, but difficult to say if they will "match." That can be subjective!

Please, would it be possible for you to take a few close-up and clear photos of the underside of the mounting; I'm as curious as the others about how this is done and evaluate its stability.

No problem with the price.

 

[eeeck]

Sure thing! It's kind of hard to take a picture of the back of the setting without the band getting in the way, etc. but here's my best shot. I'm wondering if they maybe used some kind of glue or fill to stabilize it?

View attachment 76758View attachment 76757View attachment 76759

 

[CortezPearls]

Oh Lord! These pics really show a lot of the nature of the pearl
I agree with Pattye on this one being a South Sea Pearl. The shape is more common of a keshi pearl, but this would be one helluva keshi!
Beautiful again!

 

[pearlescence]

Could be a gas pearl, or I have seen a few attempts at SS soufflés.

(btw I can't open the pix, I get 'invalid attachment'

 

[CortezPearls]

Could be a gas pearl, or I have seen a few attempts at SS soufflés.

(btw I can't open the pix, I get 'invalid attachment'

Yup! Could be a gas giant too. Never seen one with that thick nacre before (I can see the hammering/mottling) but this is a SSP after all...so, it very much could be!
Hey eeck: if you move the item around, does it rattle in its interior? I mean, as if it had a loose bead inside? Just wondering!

 

[pearlescence]

I've used a few big SS gas pearls in my Kintsugi collection and I always give the inside a squirt of superglue to stick a loose nuke down and stop it rattling if there is one.

 

[eeeck]

Was having issues with including photos in the quick reply, apologies for that! Hopefully these pics will work better, they are also quite large which might help.

I definitely don't hear anything rattling around when I shake the ring and it doesn't seem to feel hollow. Of course, some kind of glue or fill may have been injected inside the pearl as others have noted which may have helped stabilize it?

 

[CortezPearls]

Yes! Indeed you would use glue to inject inside the pearl to avoid the bead rattling around, but you never know!
The mottling/hammered look of the pearl is what I call a true giveaway to its nacre thickness and SSP origin
I love the way the pearl was set, with such detail.

 

[la_corsetiere]

Very pretty ring in an interesting setting, eeeck! You might find some similar loose SS pearls from a seller I have bought quite a few things from on eBay, Augustus-Collection. They are very nice to deal with, honest, reasonable pricing and fast shipping. I suggest you search “bicolor baroque” among their offerings. You might find some good size pearls you could incorporate into a tin cup that would coordinate nicely with your ring.

 

[JoanRobertson]

An incredibly beautiful ring!! Definitely, it is worth the money, the yellowness of the pearl is perfectly emphasized by the 18-Karat gold, they are like one whole, the shape perfectly fits the ring. I wonder what the local experts will say about it!

 

[BeadersSecret]

I enlarged photo 3 and looked carefully. As far as I can tell from the photo (and I may be wrong) this is not a tension ring. It can't be a tension shank with all those stones in it. The two ends appear to have been shaped to fit the base of the pearl and there may be pegs or pins but unless there are at least three set asymmetrically the pearl will eventually wobble and the pegs will fail from metal fatigue due to repeated micro-flexing.
Does the pearl move at all?
This is a tension ring, where the stone is held in place in a near invisible groove in the shank which in turn is held in place by work-hardening the shank by much repeated twisting and flexing until the metal is work hardened. I've made them. It takes ages wrangling the metal until it is stiff enough to hold the stone.
View attachment 76751View attachment 76751

Hello Pearlescence- I think you missed what was written - what I wrote is that this appears to be a mount that’s a pin through the shank, no pegs or unsupported elements, this type of structure is used in a number of attachment/mounting designs.
The reference to tension mount is in the context of a design cue only - the attachment is mechanical.

“ Another way of looking at it is this design takes some cues from a tension mount, but is mechanically using the pin through the shank to lock the pearl rather then relying on tension or pegs.

I think the jeweller has carefully thought this through and used some good design cues to create a secure mount.
Lucky you, beautiful ring”

As JoanRobertson wrote - this is a beautiful ring.