Please help a newbie!

[virgoruby]

Please help a newbie!
I bought a ruby cabochon ring, bezel set in 18k yellow gold from an online designer jewelry store less than a year ago. Although the ruby (measures approx 9mmx7mm) is moderate to quite heavily included, I really like the ring for its clean & simple design.
However, I recently spotted a 5mm hairline crack running from a side of the stone (where the stone meets the bezel) towards the centre of the stone. The crack is very faint, but I can still see it with my naked eye when I place the stone against the light. I can also feel the crack when I run my finger along the stone surface.
As I bought this ring way before I discovered Pricescope, I wasn''t aware/didn''t think of asking the vendor about the specs (incl. treatment), despite costing around £600 (i.e. just under $1000). Nevertheless, it is probably likely that the stone was heat treated. Anyway, when I purchased the ring, they resized it for me, which might have put added pressure on the stone.

I don''t think there was any surface crack when I first got the ring (and I am fairly anal about these things), so it must have occurred since I got the ring. Now, I am very careful with my jewelry, so although I have been wearing the ring a lot, I have never worn it when I was doing anything remotely strenuous e.g. cleaning, doing sports etc. I have always stored the ring in a separate box, so no scratching against other stones either.. In addition, I really cannot recall any instances when I might have knocked the ring against anything harder than corundum..

I contacted the vendor & explained it to my usual (friendly) SA; she was very sympathetic about my situation and asked me to send the ring to her, so she could look into possibly getting the stone polished or replaced. So I sent the ring to her straight away, upon which her colleague contacted me & advised that the crack was hardly visible with the naked eye & could only see with 10x loupe, and that the crack was in fact part of the inclusions. She went on to say that there was nothing to worry about & it was all part and parcel of the stone being natural. She then said it was not ''cost effective'' to polish the stone and that I would lose its size.

Basically, she just wanted to ''reassure'' me that there was nothing wrong with the stone and wanted to return the ring to me, so in the end, I had to ask her to find out how much it would cost to polish the stone in order to get rid of the surface crack.
The stone is now sent to their stone specialists, who will have a look at it and let me know if they think there is anything that can be done.

I am still awaiting response from the vendor, but in the meantime, I would be grateful if you could give me your opinion/advice:
- Do you think I''m being overly picky about the (5mm length) hairline crack? (I hope not..)
- Do you think the crack is due to a combination of the stone being moderate to heavily included, heat treated & resized?
- Are cracks common occurrence even in hard stones like corundum?
- Is it possible to get rid of a surface crack by polishing the stone?
- It would be great if the vendor could polish/replace the stone free of charge, but as it seems unlikely, do you think it''s worth paying extra to have it fixed at my own expense or should I just keep the ring as is as a (rather expensive) lesson learnt?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[morecarats]

The appearance of a surface-reaching fissure probably indicates that the ruby was not just heated, but heated with lead glass to fill cracks. This is a treatment that should be disclosed prior to the sale. It is a very common treatment with lower quality rubies, including cabochons.

 

[chrono]

Since the “crack” can only be seen when louped or help up against the light (when not worn), I’d leave the stone alone. Without examining the stone, one cannot tell with any surety that the crack was due to being treated or stressed during the setting process. If a stone is included, there is always the possibility of a fracture growing when “disturbed”, not matter the type of gemstone. I''m sorry you had to experience this. At this point, I will not remove the stone for polishing and enjoy it for what it is.

 

[morecarats]

Very sensible advice. If the ruby is in fact fracture-filled, further polishing could expose more cracks.

 

[virgoruby]

Thanks Morecarats & Chrono,
I can''t say I am not disappointed, but it looks like polishing will do more harm than good, so will leave it as is.
Anyway, I will wait for the vendor to come back to me; in an unlikely scenario that they offer to replace the stone, I will happily accept it, but otherwise, I will enjoy the ring as it is.
Thanks so much for your advice.

 

[ma re]

It''s also important that you understand that hardness is the degree to which a material is prone to developing surface scratches when it comes into contact with another material. It has nothing (or very little) to do with the stone developing a fracture, and if the fracture is reaching deep inside the stone it can''t be removed by polishing, as it''s not just a scratch on the surface.

 

[mastercutgems]

Virgoruby;

Just one question; did you by any chance put your ruby ring in an ultrasonic cleaner? I do know that a glass filled gem will sometimes loose some of its glass in the heat and vibration the ultrasonic emits.

But all are right in their information as we have too little information on the gem to make a concrete opinion as to what may have caused this problem; But I would wait and see what the vendor comes up with as they may make it right for you in some fashion.

Just know our best wishes are with you on this situation...

 

[virgoruby]

Thanks ma re & mastercutgems.
I am not 100% sure if the surface crack stems from the fracture inside the stone, as the SA could not give a definitive answer, though I understand that it is not looking good...

But what I can say is that the surface crack was not caused by an ultrasonic cleaner, as I have never used one to clean the ring.
As the ring is now with the vendor''s gem specialists for further examination, I will hopefully know more about the state of my (poor) ruby when the SA gets back to me.

Just one question though - assuming that the stone was fracture filled and heat treated, I would have thought that there would be less inclusions in the stone, as my understanding is that, such treatments are used to enhance the appearance of gemstones.. - however, my ruby is moderate to quite heavily included..

In any case, I think I was naive not to ask about the quality of the stone when I purchased the ring, believing that as the vendor was a reputable online boutique - selling well designed/crafted pieces - their gemstones would be of highest quality also.

I am now trying to move away from just purchasing ready-made jewelry to making my own custom jewelry, using stones offered by the Pricescope recommended vendors (which incl mastercutgems!).

 

[chrono]

Fracture filling improves the appearance of gemstones but do not change the level of inclusions that are already within the stone itself. They are typically used in gemstones that are moderate to heavily included as well.

 

[LD]

Date: 10/22/2009 8:25:50 AM
Author: Chrono
Fracture filling improves the appearance of gemstones but do not change the level of inclusions that are already within the stone itself. They are typically used in gemstones that are moderate to heavily included as well.

Chrono is correct but just as an added piece of information, heating and filling CAN improve the appearance of a gemstone (quite dramatically in some cases). If your gem is heavily included, my guess is that it''s not filled (no way to tell if it''s been heated but most likely as the majority of material on the market has been). It could well be as Chrono suggested earlier that this was a fracture/fissure that over time has moved and grown. If you can only see it with a loupe then I would echo to leave it alone.

Not that we would be able to give you a definitive answer in any case by looking at photos but do you have any - just out of curiosity?

Fingers crossed that you get some good news from the vendor.

 

[virgoruby]

Chrono & LovingDiamonds: thanks for enlightening me & your kind words..

Unfortunately, I do not have any photos of the stone, capturing inclusions & the surface fracture - the photos that I have taken are so blurry that you won''t be able to examine the quality of the stone...