What would you do with this stone?

[RockHugger]

It came in my paraiba lot, and has a chip on the girdle. It is about .65cts, but the perfect glowing paraiba blue. You can see the chip in the picture about 1/2 of the way up from the point.

I dont know if recutting it would be worth it because of its size. I am thinking about sticking it on you know where so maybe someone like a cutter could mess with it. I am also thinking of bezeling it, because the bezel would cover the chipped area. Its such a pretty color, and I dont think it deserves my reject box...but I dont want to stick it in my 'good stones' box either (I am very very picky with what goes there)

What do you think I should do with it out of the 3 choices?

 

[RockHugger]

another pic outlining the chip

 

[Barrett]

to big a chip to go into the good box and to small to be recut..do you have a medium box?

 

[RockHugger]

haha no med box. Maybe I should start one. This is one of 3 paraibas that arnt quite good enough for my good box, but too nice for the bad box.

 

[Barrett]

LOL..gotta hate that..not good enough and not bad enough..sort of in limbo..maybe you coukld use the three to do something a little different..some kind of unique project you normally wouldn''t do with one of the good ones

 

[ma re]

Someone who actually set some stones should probably answer this, but you''ll have to settle for me until that happens

In case bezeling is not an option (could be, if damage is such that too much pressure in the area is out of the question), it might work well if set in one of those settings with many prongs, not just 3 like in standard pear settings, but more like 7 or so. That way you couldn''t really tell if that small portion between each of the prongs is slightly damaged or not. Such a setting could also be cheaper than a bezeled one and easier to do. There are also ways to cover the part of the stone with a design detail like, I don''t know, a leaf, a petal, a hand holding it, a drop of water (all made out of metal of course) or something similar.

 

[RockHugger]

Date: 2/19/2010 12:25:49 PM
Author: amethystguy
LOL..gotta hate that..not good enough and not bad enough..sort of in limbo..maybe you coukld use the three to do something a little different..some kind of unique project you normally wouldn''t do with one of the good ones

HAHA I have been telling hubby I am going to turn all my reject stones (I have a bunch that arnt paraiba) into x mas tree ornaments .


I like the many prong idea. Maybe I will check that out!

 

[Barrett]

do you wirewrap? maybe you could do some wirewrapping on them or something

 

[RockHugger]

no, dont know how to do that. I have tried but I always break the wire. I am seriously considering the x mas tree idea. I have like 20 garnets, 30 paridots, and maybe 20 other random quartz rejects (chipped, included, poor polish). I can just super glue a string to each one and hang it on the tree LOL. That is the sign of a true gem addict....a gem stone christmas tree.....

 

[LD]

I''m going to be honest - please don''t be offended.

Even if that could be re-cut (and I doubt it can without losing far too much weight), it''s not a great tourmaline I''m afraid. It''s heavily included with the colour concentrated at both ends (often seen in a pear) and the colour isn''t great either. Even if you could find somebody to recut such a small stone, it''ll probably cost you much more than you bought it for and it won''t improve the value of the stone. Amguy had a great idea about wire wrapping because that will hide the damage and still allow you to wear it (if that''s what you want to do). An Etsy seller I''m sure could do it.

You''ve got some prettier colour gems and I''d concentrate on doing things with those (unless you''ve won the lottery of course and then do everything!)

 

[RockHugger]

Date: 2/19/2010 1:11:19 PM
Author: LovingDiamonds
I'm going to be honest - please don't be offended.

Even if that could be re-cut (and I doubt it can without losing far too much weight), it's not a great tourmaline I'm afraid. It's heavily included with the colour concentrated at both ends (often seen in a pear) and the colour isn't great either. Even if you could find somebody to recut such a small stone, it'll probably cost you much more than you bought it for and it won't improve the value of the stone. Amguy had a great idea about wire wrapping because that will hide the damage and still allow you to wear it (if that's what you want to do). An Etsy seller I'm sure could do it.

You've got some prettier colour gems and I'd concentrate on doing things with those (unless you've won the lottery of course and then do everything!)

Actually, its eye clean, and almost loup clean (there is 1 needle seen with the loup.). The pic is taken at 40x mag. This stone does have an intense glow in person. These cuprians are really a PITA to photograph. But I do agree that its not worth cutting. And I am kinda leaning towards popping on you know where for a few bucks, so maybe someone who doesnt mind a chip or a cutter who wants to recut it will snag it. I have been grinding over what do do with this stone since I got the lot in.

 

[sphenequeen]

Rockhugger,

some things are better left for the fish tank

 

[T L]

I would not bezel it because pears are more fragile at the tip and a bezel would put more pressure on the stone. I would also be careful bezeling because it has a lot of fissures.

 

[RockHugger]

Date: 2/19/2010 4:18:19 PM
Author: sphenequeen
Rockhugger,

some things are better left for the fish tank

Wow...I dont think its fish tank material at all. Its a beautiful stone on person, minus the chip.

 

[brandy_z28]

I'm definitely not seeing what you are in that stone Rockhugger. I wouldn't even consider setting it. Save your money for your nicer stones, you do have some. It looks like someone knocked the tip of the pear off and super glued a tip on that is way too big for it. Franken-stone if you will. I didn't contribute to the stones and feelings associated with them thread but that one of yours gives me the willies.

 

[RockHugger]

look at ANY stone under 40x, and it will look like frankenstone....even the 10k ones. Here is a pic of it at 15x.

 

[Burberrygirl]

Date: 2/19/2010 12:48:42 PM
Author: amethystguy
do you wirewrap? maybe you could do some wirewrapping on them or something

I think this is a good and inexpensive idea. If you have trouble making wire wrapped jewelry maybe there's an Etsy vendor close to you that would be able to make you a wire wrapped necklace or something. If you go through with the Christmas tree ornament idea I'd love to see pictures!

 

[Gailey]

Well, if it was my stone and I loved it, I would want to know what all my options were. I think I would ask Anthony Lloyd-Rees to evalutate the stone to see if it could be repaired.

Tony spends his working life repairing damaged stones and he''s very good at it.

 

[Indylady]

I would put it in a cheapie SS Liebcor/Ebay pendant setting, and then keep it or gift it to a younger girl who might enjoy it.

 

[RockHugger]

Oh I like that idea. Maybe give it to one of the girls when they get older. I will check out the cutter tomarrow to see how much he charges.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 2/19/2010 6:02:44 PM
Author: RockHugger
look at ANY stone under 40x, and it will look like frankenstone....even the 10k ones. Here is a pic of it at 15x.

sorry, I don''t agree with this statement at all

 

[Barrett]

Here is a wrap i did like 2 years ago..some natural tourmaline crystals and those are kunzite chunks in the middle..all sterling silver....i always wanted to put some cut tourmalines in place of the kunzite chunks but trying to wrap cut stones you have to be good....just to give you an idea of something different..you would have to do some kind of cage to hold the stones

 

[loriken214]

Date: 2/19/2010 4:45:43 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
I would not bezel it because pears are more fragile at the tip and a bezel would put more pressure on the stone. I would also be careful bezeling because it has a lot of fissures.

I''m worried about the fissures, too.

Lori

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Is it at all close to a calibrated size? If so, it could be popped into a sterling silver Tripps pendant setting and worn. Heck, a little flower or a second head for a small accent stone could be soldered on to hide the chip if you wanted to get a little fancier. It would let a pretty stone see the light of day without spending a lot of money.

 

[LD]

Rockhugger - one other issue with the gem that wasn''t particularly apparent from the close ups is that it has a very large window. Even if you were to set this (and perhaps cover the chip as mentioned above), do you really want to spend money setting something that is windowed, chipped and has possible fissures/fractures that may affect the integrity of the stone itself? If YOU love the stone and have the money to do it then no probs. I guess that the majority of us would prefer to set our "better" gemstones IYKWIM.

 

[RockHugger]

Pop one of your VS-SI stones under a scope and look at it under 40x (heck, I have seen some fun stuff in some of my flawless stones)....I bet ya you will see all sorts of 'interesting' goodies in your stone.

LD, windows dont really bother me. IF I set it anyway, I would set it in sterling silver and give it to one of my girls. I like that idea above.

 

[icekid]

Date: 2/19/2010 4:18:19 PM
Author: sphenequeen
Rockhugger,


some things are better left for the fish tank

Think I'll have to agree! I would not consider setting this stone myself. Perhaps the idea of giving it to one of your children is a good one.

 

[Maisie]

I don't understand why people are being a bit mean about this stone. If RH likes it then surely we should be helping her to find a way to set it? She didn't ask if we like it.

 

[cellentani]

Rockhugger, I came across these Wrap Tite settings and thought of you. I would NOT recommend this type of setting for any valuable stones (they're the bezel equivalent of the snap tite prong settings), but for gems you're considering using as Cmas tree ornaments, this might work fine. If you add a jump ring, you could even try them as bracelet charms, and since they're cheap, it wouldn't matter too much if they get banged around.

They come in several sizes and shapes, and the ones in the picture will fit a 7x5mm stone at $6.29 for a pack of 2. Several different jewelry supply companies carry them, but not all carry every shape - these were from firemountaingem.com, but Rio Grande also stocks a few. Just run a Google search to find others.

 

[kayla.tastikk]

Date: 2/20/2010 7:54:03 AM
Author: Maisie
I don''t understand why people are being a bit mean about this stone. If RH likes it then surely we should be helping her to find a way to set it? She didn''t ask if we like it.

This.