Custom Jewelry

Reset an Inherited Diamond Into Something You Will Wear

We take the diamond out of a ring nobody wears and rebuild around it, at 907 6th Ave in downtown San Diego. Grandmother’s stone in a modern setting, a divorce ring made into a pendant, three small stones from three rings in one piece. You keep what matters and lose the setting that dates it.

Get a free appraisal (619) 236-9603

Estate and antique jewelry of the kind San Diego Jewelry Buyers resets into new pieces — The stone is worth keeping. The setting is not.

What we check before touching the stone

This is the request we get most often and the one people are most nervous about, because the stone usually belonged to someone who has died. Nothing is removed until you have agreed what is being made, and the setting comes off in front of you if you want to watch. If the old mounting has any value as gold, that comes off the cost of the new piece rather than quietly staying with us.

The stone itself: chips at the girdle, prior damage, and whether it can survive being reset at all
Whether the old setting is worth keeping intact, which is sometimes the honest answer
The gold in the old mounting, credited against the new piece rather than kept
Whether small side stones can be reused or are better replaced
How the finished piece will actually be worn, which decides the setting height

What people ask us to make

Ring into a pendant: The most common. A ring nobody wears becomes something worn daily.
Old ring into a modern ring: Same stone, a setting that does not read as forty years old.
Several stones into one piece: Rings from different relatives combined rather than left in a drawer.
Earrings from a pair of rings: Two similar stones matched up.
Restoration instead of resetting: Sometimes the right answer is to repair the original and leave it alone.
Men’s rings and signets: Heavier settings rebuilt around an inherited stone.

Questions people ask first

Is it safe to reset an old diamond?

Usually, but not always, and this is the first thing we check. Old stones can carry chips at the girdle from decades of wear that make setting risky. We look before we quote, and if resetting would put the stone at risk we will tell you so and suggest what to do instead.

What happens to the old gold setting?

It is weighed and credited against the cost of the new piece. It does not quietly become ours. If you would rather keep the old mounting, that is your call and we will hand it back.

Can you match a stone if one is missing?

Often, yes. We buy estate diamonds daily, so we usually have something close in the vault rather than needing to order one. Matching an old cut takes longer than matching a modern one.

My ring is sentimental. Will I recognise it afterwards?

That is your decision to make, not ours, and it is worth thinking about before you commit. Some people want no trace of the old setting; others want it echoed. We will show you drawings both ways before anything is taken apart.

Should I just sell it instead?

Sometimes, and we will say so. If the piece has no sentimental hold on you, selling it outright pays more and ends the matter. We buy diamonds every day, so we are equally happy either way and have no reason to push you toward the more expensive answer.

Would rather sell it? We buy diamonds and engagement rings outright, every day. Want to keep it and still raise money against it? A collateral loan leaves you the owner. And we do the rest of the bench work too: design, restoration and repair.

Free appraisal

Bring it in and we will weigh it.

Bring the stone, or a photograph of it, to 907 6th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101. The consultation is free and there is no obligation to go ahead.