my poor Sapphire :(

[GemFever]

I think I chipped it

I randomly found a 10x loupe (I think it came with my engagement ring, but I lost sight of it till this evening) and decided to check out my sapphire. Lo and behold, I found a chip in it

I guess it's not as bullet-proof as I thought, and maybe I can't wear it 24/7. I mean, I take it off for the really rough stuff, like scrubbing pots and pans and maybe washing the floors and stuff. But I'm not gentle on my hands in general.

Bummer. I don't want to take it off. Maybe I should throw away the loupe

 

[movie zombie]

even a diamond can chip....

personally, i'd recommend taking it off when at home.....

yes, throw that loupe away!

 

[GemFever]

Thank you for your response, Movie Zombie. You are probably right, I should take it off more. I have some kind of weird attachment to it, it being my first sapphire and my birth stone. But for its own sake, I should keep it safe(er). Give it some beauty sleep

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Awww...sorry about the chip. I too cannot resist the urge to loupe my gems every so often. You can always get the chip polished out if you feel the need. Until that day I agree- stay away from the loupe. lol

 

[GemFever]

Thanks Lisa!

Do you think it can be polished without taking the stone out of the bezel? The chip is very close to the bezel (kind of surprising to me, actually, I would imagine one of the facets near the center would chip first). But precisely because it's located where it is, I don't think it will bother me too much in the meantime. Phew

 

[minousbijoux]

I wonder if perhaps it didn't happen when it was being set and bezeled and you just didn't notice until now?

 

[movie zombie]

its not a weird attachment.

i've seen sapphires after 30 years of 24/7 wear that look like cabachons........still lovely but no faceting remained at all. hope that helps to motivate you!

btw, i love your setting.......is it 18k gold or even higher?

 

[GemFever]

Minousbijoux: You know, I wondered the same thing myself... I kind of hope that's the case, because I would feel a little better that it wasn't inflicted in the course of normal wear.

Movie Zombie: Thanks It's a 14K yellow gold bezel on a sterling silver shank. Designed by yvonneraley on Etsy, though she doesn't hammer bezel the stones herself, she takes them to a setter in the NYC diamond district.

Hmm... having my little sapphire look like a cabochon in some number of years... you know, this motivates me to look for a better paying job, so I can get myself a couple nice "back-up" sapphires! I think I will always have a special attachment to this one, even if it gets beat up over the years. Plus, I have earrings in a matching style (the craftsmanship leaves a little to be desired around the edges, but it didn't cost me an arm and a leg. Just the price of the stones and gold).

 

[chel180]

This is a good lesson for everyone to look after their gem jewelry better- I certainly will be from now on!

 

[Pandora II]

You would need to have the stone unset to have it repolished.

No ring should be worn 24/7.

Bathing, showering etc will get it filled with gunk, sleeping in your rings can weaken prongs and it's amazing how often people clunk things with their hands while they are asleep.

Sapphires stand up quite well to wear but do need to be care for.

Personally I take all my rings off as soon as I walk through the door - including diamonds - and I have a ring box in my bag in case I'm doing things like carrying suitcases/heavy shopping bags as these can put pressure on a setting potentially damaging the setting or making it more likely to lose a stone.

Even with the babying I do, I still have two tiny chips and a scratch on my tsavorite.

My sister has a sapphire e-ring that she wears 24/7 - it has 2 big chips and numerous scratches. My grandmother laughed at me for babying my ring and proudly announced that she had worn her sapphire for 20 years and even did the gardening in it (the sapphire was a replacement for the first stone in her e-ring which she managed to break) - I got my loupe out and showed her that her sapphire was now a rather dull-looking cabochon topped sapphire... she had worn away every single facet.

I do agree that jewellery is there to be worn - but I prefer to wear and enjoy stones that still sparkle and look good!

Oh, and all rings should be louped every 6 months to check that the prongs are secure and if not they should be taken to a jeweller for tightening.

 

[chrono]

I am sorry that your e-ring sapphire has sustained some damage. It is normal for a stone to show such signs, especially if worn 24/7 and this is the same for the supposedly "indestructable" diamonds as well. It looks like the chips are above the bezel and did not happen during the setting process. The stone will have to be removed from the setting to be polished. To further safeguard the stone, remove it once at home and only wear it out of the house.

 

[GemFever]

Thanks for your responses!

Chel180: definitely a good warning. I'm glad I discovered this relatively early in my "jewelry career," before I damaged something I really could not afford to damage!

Pandora: Thank you for the tips. It's curious that your grandma was still wearing and enjoying (I presume) her ring, and didn't realize she had worn off all the facets. That's actually kind of encouraging to me: I may make this particular stone my "wear no matter what" stone, and I know I will love it even if it becomes a little "aged " (with me ) over the years. I'm sure I will acquire more sapphires eventually, maybe nicer ones when I can afford it, and I will baby those ones for sure.

Chrono: It's actually not my ering (which is an AVC), but I do wear it about as much. Will try to be more careful with both rings from now on!

 

[movie zombie]

your sapphire set is lovely....its very rich looking.

the women i've met that wore their sapphires 24/7 and after 30 years had basically cabs were still in love with their rings..... personally, i would have just started with a cab in the first place.

like others i remove all rings when i return home...except for my 18k 2mm wedding band. i have not louped my spess in a very long time....i'm almost afraid to at this point. wear and abrasion are inevitable........sigh.

 

[T L]

your sapphire set is lovely....its very rich looking.

the women i've met that wore their sapphires 24/7 and after 30 years had basically cabs were still in love with their rings..... personally, i would have just started with a cab in the first place.

like others i remove all rings when i return home...except for my 18k 2mm wedding band. i have not louped my spess in a very long time....i'm almost afraid to at this point. wear and abrasion are inevitable........sigh.

As they say, "what you don't know, won't kill you."

 

[movie zombie]

exactly, TL, exactly!

don't ask the question if you don't want the answer also comes to mind......

 

[yanaazul]

Aww, GemFever, sorry about your poor sapphire! At least it looks like it's in a relatively protected area, so you can still wear it 9/7 hopefully for many years to come. I totally know what you mean about loving to wear a signature ring, you just feel not complete without it. Not to mention yours and mine are very very similar (I'm a September baby too). But I do take my rings off at home. (And won't be louping them, as I can be fairly careless with my hands, don't want to know what I might find...)

And love the earrings!

Pandora, how funny about your grandmother, gardening for twenty years with her ring. Running her hands through soil repeatedly -- isn't that what sandpapering something is? Rubbing repeatedly with fine grit... no wonder her ring was a cabachon!

 

[LD]

1. Throw away the loupe.
2. Take rings off when you can.
3. Try to be a little more gentle on them!
4. Forget about the chip and enjoy.

Don't even think about a repolish. It's not worth it!

 

[Pandora II]

Yes, granny was doing a great job as a lapidary on her own stone.

I'm not so sure about enjoying their jewellery. Most of my relatives take little interest. Grandmother has asked if I can source her a new sapphire at some point... am tempted to just get a cabochon to begin with!

 

[Starzin]

Grandmother has asked if I can source her a new sapphire at some point... am tempted to just get a cabochon to begin with!

ROFL!

Sorry to hear about your sapphire GemFever but I think LD's advice is good and that you seem to have a good attitude to it. As long as you are aware of the damage it might sustain if it's your "everything" ring. And hey, it's an excuse to get another down the track right?

 

[gsellis]

You did not chip it. You customized it for easy identification if it is lost or stolen. Now everyone will want to do that.

 

[movie zombie]

very positive attitude!

 

[GemFever]

Movie Zombie: I think eventually I'll also just switch to a wearing a simple gold wedding band 24/7, and everything else occasionally. Thanks for the compliments on my set!

TL:

tntyau: I still drool whenever I see your profile pic. That blue is so amazing! And I think I am slowly coming to terms with the 9/7 rule, it's a good one Thanks about the earrings!

LD: You're right about the repolish, I'll leave the idea for now. Being easy on my hands... might be tough. Maybe I'm just careless, or maybe I move too fast, but just today I knocked my right hand (and a bezel-set emerald) on the metal knob of my office door. Thank god this time without casualties. But this happens all the time to me.

Pandora: my relatives also take pretty little interest. Sometimes I still get upset when they don't notice my awesome new (albeit small) mahenge, or a new chryso or something. Luckily, FI has learned to be responsive, at least for the brief moment when I first get something in the mail or on my hand Oh, but he does notice the demantoid all the time. It's his favorite

Starzin: Absolutely it's a good excuse Yesterday when I saw the chip I made sure FI saw how upset and concerned I was, to prepare him for the idea that I might soon be investing in second expensive (and less "everyday") sapphire... ahem...

George Ellis: my sapphire is already "personalized" with a significant color zoning "hole" at an angle, but I love this approach nevertheless

Thanks everyone! I definitely feel better about the chip (knowing it's not just me who does these things), and also more prepared to be kinder to my stones in the future. 9/7 it is!

 

[chrono]

Sorry, GemFever, for my mistake about your RHR.

 

[GemFever]

Chrono: it's no problem, I could have been more clear about it. Thanks for your useful tips!

- Anya