My fiance’s mother passed along her wedding band to him to give to me for my wedding band. Her husband had passed away many years ago and was so sweet to give us a band with 5 larger diamonds in it. However, they don’t match the single strip of pave diamonds on my engagement ring, which is what I’m looking to have happen. So, I would need to have the 5 larger diamonds broken down into smaller diamonds. I’m wondering if this can be done, if anyone has had this done, and if it is worth it (how much did it cost to have them broken down). Thanks for your time and any help you can provide me with!
It’s called re-cutting. Yes, this can be done but it’s expensive and must be done by an expert diamond cutter. Your best bet is to discuss this with a reputable jeweler – by that I mean a privately owned shop with design services as opposed to a "chain" store. Kambourian’s in Richmond VA (http://annesgems.com/) is a good example of the kind of jeweler I’m talking about. They do wonderful work.
Thing is, I know you have your heart set on precisely what YOU want in a wedding band – but in order to do this you would have to destroy a beautiful heirloom, given to you by someone who is trying to not only welcome you into the family but also to memorialize your fiance’s late father – as well as to honor the love your FMIL and her husband shared together. OK so to you it’s only a piece of jewelry. To HER and maybe even your fiance, it’s a piece of his family’s history (symbolic of his dad). In short, I urge you NOT to break it up or have the diamonds re-cut.
Here’s what I urge you to do – or at least consider: When you get married, use the ring with the 5 diamonds. Wear it with pride and joy on your wedding day. MIL will be delighted (and you will win brownie points!) Then, as soon as you can afford it, purchase a second ring that better matches your engagement ring to wear every day. On special days, your anniversary, your MIL’s anniversary, holidays, and other special occasions, wear the heirloom ring. Again, a privately owned jeweler like Kambourian’s can make you a custom wedding band to precisely match your engagement ring.
In fact, if MIL asks (and she will) why you’re not wearing "her" ring, you have a wonderful excuse – it’s such a special ring that you don’t want to spoil it or lose any of the stones so that it can be passed on to one of your own children some day.
But please don’t rework this ring. Something tells me that she didn’t give it to you as a piece of "junk jewelry" that you can do what you want to with. I think you will be better off leaving it as it is and having an "every day" ring made or purchased at a later date.