Need your advice on an Aquamarine - recut? set as ring?

[webdiva]

Hi all! Since I finally found my diamond and have designed my engagement ring (a couple years after the wedding! ) and have time to kill before I get the ring, I'm onto my next project. I blame the Pricescopers! While looking for ring ideas, I remembered an Aquamarine given to me by my dad and it was so big I never thought to get it set. He was an auction buff, so there's no sentimentality attached to it.

One of my pet peeves with colored stones is when the color of my skin shows through and changes the stone color. It does do this with the aqua - wondering if that would change if it were set up a bit. The other question is that it's not an emerald cut, no idea what cut! How much of a cost would I be looking at to get it recut to a nicer emerald cut more more steps?

I'm leaning towards making it a RHR with side diamonds, maybe a WG LOGR setting (thought I didn't see anything I loved). Definitely want some sort of diamond/white stone accent. I'd like to keep the budget to $500 or less. Possible?

 

[webdiva]

The stone! I haven't had it tested and it was labeled as an Aqua - but welcome an opinions on that, too!

 

[webdiva]

I love this vintage ring (simpler diamonds on the side is cool, too):

http://www.langantiques.com/products/item/30-1-1900/

But this (the picture of the ring on the lady's hand) is what I'm afraid of:
http://www.rubylane.com/item/531554-RADx20274/Ex78quisite-Emerald-Cut-8x2b-Carat
It muddles the blue because of her hand color....am I crazy?

 

[Enerchi]

ooooh - pretty! Not a CS expert, but it seems to have appealing colour to my eye! Very nice size and cut (again, not an expert!)

pendant? ring? what are your thoughts? I'd leave it big and blingy if it were me.

 

[webdiva]

Thanks, Enerchi! I love the color - I want a ring but also don't want my skin showing through underneath to change the stone color...

 

[Enerchi]

What if it was bezelled or had a solid base, that would help close up the window a bit???

 

[webdiva]

That's a great idea! I never thought to do a solid base... Hhhmmmm...off to google pictures!

 

[Enerchi]

To me, that is a beautiful stone - i love the colour and the cut and the size on your hand. It would be STUNNING in a ring (obv!) and what about baguettes set N/S on either side? maybe that would or would not work - just a flash idea that came to me. I think the WG would make it pop as well.

What are you thinking about it???

Or... set in an antique design - that gives it more detailing.

Check out Sally at Heart of water designs. On etsy.

 

[thbmok]

One of my pet peeves with colored stones is when the color of my skin shows through and changes the stone color. It does do this with the aqua - wondering if that would change if it were set up a bit. The other question is that it's not an emerald cut, no idea what cut! How much of a cost would I be looking at to get it recut to a nicer emerald cut more more steps?

Your skin color showing through the stone is due to the window/tilt window. A re-cut may help minimize it, but the stone needs to have more depth. Unless your stone is deep enough to begin with you may need to give up face up size in exchange.

Given the size, I don't think it's a good idea to wear it in a ring unless you are extremely careful with your hands and don't plan to wear it on a regular basis.

I like the cut and color as is and I would be inclined to set it in a pendant. But hey I'm somewhat biased.

 

[erinl]

I recently had an aqua recut by Jerry Newman at Gemart Services. My stone had quite a bit of a window and some wonkey faceting in the pavilion. I didn't lose any size in dimensions, just some weight in carats due to recutting the pavilion. You could send him a picture and see what he has to say about your stone, a guesstimate of how much weight might be lost, and approximate cost. I got the impression he really likes doing step cuts in aquas. I am really happy with the results.

 

[stargurl78]

I can't really advise on whether or not it needs a recut but I would set it in something like this:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/9-1ct-natural-unheated-aquamarine-in-18k-wg-setting.161539/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/9-1ct-natural-unheated-aquamarine-in-18k-wg-setting.161539/[/URL]

My favorite aqua ring EVER!

 

[minousbijoux]

WD: What is the depth of the stone? As a matter of fact, what are all the dimensions of the stone? I would agree with whomever just said it that it looks like it is shallow in depth, which means it would probably have to be cut down considerably in size (length and width) to reduce or eliminate the window. It is a pretty color and you would probably find that with a significant recut, the color might change and become lighter. I would send photos and dimensions to someone like Jerry and see what he thinks. Frankly, I think it would be more becoming to your hand if it were reshaped a bit. Right now, it looks too wide IMO, particularly if you were thinking about a halo.

 

[webdiva]

Thanks, guys! I'll measure depth when I get home - the width and length are both 15 mm. I'll email Gemart and see what he can do.

Stargurl78 - I LOVE that ring, too! And that aqua is so yummy!

 

[erinl]

Here is a picture of my aquas I purchased from ebay and recut by Jerry. unfortunately I didn't save the original pictures before the makeover

 

[webdiva]

ErinL - those are gorgeous! May I ask what ballpark I should be looking at for a recut? I sent off my email to Jerry but I hope I'm not getting my hopes up until his reply! I'm already imagining the possibilities, the aqua on his site is exceptional!

 

[erinl]

I have no idea if he prices by carat size or time spent-- this was kind of a simple job, in his words. My stones were 4.84 carats and 3.19 carats and he didn't do any crown work. Combined, they were a bit over $100 plus shipping

 

[webdiva]

Awesome - thanks for the update! Have you decided what you'll reset them into?

I definitely like the baguette diamond side idea - debating reusing some family diamonds on the sides, too.

 

[erinl]

Webdiva: I have no idea how I would set either of these. I am in the newbie club who keeps buying stones and cannot afford setting them!

I can't wait to see what you do with yours!

 

[webdiva]

Update! Measured the depth with a ruler and it's about 9.5 mm - so about 63-64% depth. No idea how that applies to aquas in emerald cuts! It's actually not a proper step cut, looking at the gem from the side the slope is almost a curve with small steps. Gemart has a gorgeous aqua in an emerald cut on Gems for Sale section that is a great cut!

 

[VAgemguy]

I've had Jerry do two total recuts for me lately, and he priced them according to the finished carat weight. One is a 4+ carat and the other a 3+carat, and neither cost more than $140 to recut. Your stone looks quite a bit larger though. I'd encourage you to email him and he should be able to give you a ballpark cost as well as design ideas.

 

[chrono]

All gemstones have a curve in the pavilion as it approaches the culet; this is normal even for a step cut.

My concern is that your stone doesn't have enough depth to begin with so you will lose a lot of face up size which WILL affect the resulting colour. My other concern is that aquamarines have low RI, so unless you go for a pretty fancy cut, tilt window will always remain an issue. And of course, a fancy cut requires some depth to work with.

 

[movie zombie]

......My concern is that your stone doesn't have enough depth to begin with so you will lose a lot of face up size which WILL affect the resulting colour. My other concern is that aquamarines have low RI, so unless you go for a pretty fancy cut, tilt window will always remain an issue. And of course, a fancy cut requires some depth to work with.

agree with this. love your stone as it is. there is absolutely no guarantee that a recut will cure anything....but could in fact make things worse.

 

[webdiva]

Thanks, guys! Jerry got back to me and I just updated him with the depth. He was very nice! I'll keep you updated!

 

[Enerchi]

great - progress is being made! What are the family diamonds you are considering using in this project?
RB? or a fancy shape?
if you went with a pendant, you could set this stone on point (meaning, corners are now N/s + E/W) and then have the accent diamonds either above or below the aqua.
Still go with white gold, in my opinion.

 

[webdiva]

Hi Enerchi! I have a number of different size RBs and a couple of trillion that are currently earrings. My aunt was a huge jewelry buff and while I wouldn't wear a number of items she left me, I would love to reuse some diamonds for sentimentality's sake! I love colorluvr's aqua ring and wonder if I can put a few small RB's into similar square side "square" pockets on either side of the ring - where a N/S baguette would normally be - to get the rectangular shape but the sparkle of an RB...

In my first post, I mentioned I'm not 100% sure it's an aqua. Someone in another aqua thread mentioned double-lines in topaz's and/or testing with a diamond tester. I don't see the double-lines but I did test with my diamond tester - not sure if I did it right. It did go up two lines on the indicator. Anyone have any ideas if this is indeed an aqua? And does it even make a difference as long as I like the color? That last question was more for myself.

 

[webdiva]

Update! Jerry's recut sounds very reasonable and he will also test it to see if it's an aqua. I just got the ball rolling and asked him how to get the stone to him! He's not concerned about the depth and said it's a good depth for the recut, that at a glance he thinks it'll retain a good size.

 

[webdiva]

He's the aqua he current has on his site, any advice for direction I should provide for the recutting?

I'm actually leaning towards losing some of the carat weight and going more rectangular...

http://www.gemartservices.com/img/for-sale/aqu001.jpg

 

[chrono]

I would opt to tweak it as little as neccesary; only to minimize the tilt window as much as possible. The more face up size you lose, you will also lose that depth of colour. If going with an step cut, go for a modified scissor cut.

 

[Enerchi]

Do you have to ship this off to Jerry or can you go to his office and discuss onsite? If you can go to him directly, bring your stones you are considering and get a feel for what would possibly suit the aquamarine. IF he is going ahead with a recut, perhaps the stones you want to use may or may not be as suitable once the centre stone is adjusted. KWIM? What looks perfect with the stone as it sits now, may not look so good after its cut...

Just throwin' that out there for consideration!

(but the trillions would be pretty sweet on either side!)

 

[webdiva]

I would opt to tweak it as little as neccesary; only to minimize the tilt window as much as possible. The more face up size you lose, you will also lose that depth of colour. If going with an step cut, go for a modified scissor cut.

Hi Chrono - I really like the regular emerald cut, and am not familiar with the scissor cut. What would be the advantage of the scissor cut?

Enerchi - I'd love to visit him, but he lives more than 2 hours away near Palm Springs.