I'm not going to try to exactly locate a sister ring for one bought 60 years ago at a department store that stopped existing 20 years go, but this is the closest "legitimate jewelry" example of Ralph's ring, from the style, gold content, and coloration.
The sale price for this ring where I found it is $3300. I'd put this as the upper bound for the value of Ralph's ring assuming his diamonds are real, etc etc. Maybe one of the resident jeweler kiwis will be more insightful.
FWIW it's not a bad ring. It might be tacky, but that's not a Walmart special. Besides, I doubt in 1968 Ralph's meemaw was considering "What will my perpetually jobless loser grandson more than half a century from now think about this ring when bragging about how he inherited it?" So as a gift, it's perfectly inoffensive. Ralph will get mad not because the ring is just a typical ring but because he can't take the perceived L of the ring not being on par with some imperial regalia in value.
The sale price for this ring where I found it is $3300. I'd put this as the upper bound for the value of Ralph's ring assuming his diamonds are real, etc etc. Maybe one of the resident jeweler kiwis will be more insightful.
FWIW it's not a bad ring. It might be tacky, but that's not a Walmart special. Besides, I doubt in 1968 Ralph's meemaw was considering "What will my perpetually jobless loser grandson more than half a century from now think about this ring when bragging about how he inherited it?" So as a gift, it's perfectly inoffensive. Ralph will get mad not because the ring is just a typical ring but because he can't take the perceived L of the ring not being on par with some imperial regalia in value.