If you’re a collector, you know that auctions are one of the best ways of acquiring pieces. Sometimes auctions will group items in a “lot” where there are several items rather than just one. This happened to me a few times, where an item I was interested in was grouped with a few other pieces. In the past, I’ve won lots where I’ve kept the ring that caught my eye and sold the other items within the lot. In this instance, there were three rings within the lot from Skinner Auctions which I won. The main item I had my eye on was a very bold, geometric vintage ring set with two triangular amazonites and a rectangular lapis. One of the other items I figured I would sell (but ended up really liking it in person) and the last item (pictured above) I figured I would scrap for gold weight. Then of course, I saw it in person and kind of fell in love which it 1950s/60s awesomeness. What was bothering me about it most was not the design, but the main gemstone it was set with–a synthetic color-change sapphire. I thought a lapis would better suite the ring, both in terms of style and era.
Next task? Getting a gem to fit such a specific opening. Luckily Clay of Zava Mastercuts was able to help me out! He used the photo of the ring, plus my dimension measurements to custom cut a slab of lapis. You can see the progress above! Zava Mastercuts specializes in cutting gemstones by hand, each handselected and created for jewelry designers and private collectors from around the world! He has won numerous awards for his talent and has designed cuts for over 40 individual Spectrum Award winning jewelry pieces.
The next step was getting the beautiful new piece of lapis set in the ring! I had a local jeweler complete the task and once it was finished, I was completely satisfied with the outcome! Just what I had envisioned and now I can coordinate this piece with other lapis rings for a fun look. So glad to have saved this ring from being melted. I’ve learned it is important to take a look at pieces of jewelry and see if they need a mini-makeover before deciding to sell or melt. Worked out for this one!
Special thank you to Clay of Zava Mastercuts for the lapis.
Saurabh Jain January 23, 2016 at 7:16 am:
A perfect crafted stone… very well done really appreciated.