Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics ;)

[katharath]

So... As I've posted about before, I picked up several pieces from Yvonne Raley's "old material" mahenge spinel parcels from last summer/fall. I got two cushions, both about .90 ct each, but one with a much larger face up. (I also got my round pair that I set very simply into gold studs, and I wear them every single day and LOVE them). But back to the cushions...both were native cut, but one was cut much better than the other. The less better cut started out approx .90 cts (Jerry said .89); and was about 5 mm by 4.9 mm. It had a wonky shape around the girdle and a very chunky culet, but the main reason I wanted a recut was bc the extinction it showed was bugging me. I really felt it would benefit from a touch up around the culet, but I hesitated to send it in for a recut for the simple reason that I'd never done it before . However the fact that this was such a small stone to begin with also made me hesitant - I wasn't worried about weight loss per se, but I was very concerned about face up loss. Eventually I decided that it would be a good trade off even if it meant losing face up size. I decided I'd rather have a better looking but slightly smaller gem.

And... after Freke had Jerry recut her spinel not long ago, I decided I had to do it too. Her results were inspiring to me, so I contacted Jerry and asked him about doing mine too. I got it back yesterday, and am very happy with what Jerry accomplished.

Before pics first; then I'll post Jerry's notes and the after pics. (The top two and fourth pic are mine; third is Yvonne's; the before pics range in lighting conditions but most are in sunlight).

Starting stats - .89 ct, 5 x 4.9 x 4.15, mahenge spinel

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Here are Jerry's notes:

"Finished it today. It looks much better, particularly the girdle outline. I think the extinction problem is improved, but in some orientations you see some and others it lights up all over beautifully.
It was quite a bit deeper than necessary(for max weight). I was hesitant to take off a lot because of weight considerations, so I compromised at what I thought would help the situation and retain as much weight as possible. I also trued up the girdle outline.
Was .89 ct and 5 x 4.9 x 4.15 mm
Now .84 ct and 4.8 x 4.8 x 3.95 mm lost 5.6% weight."



So...
I am very pleased. Before, the extinction made the gem look more glowy; but now it has a much more distinct and defined look to it both in cut and in color. I can see sparks of light whereas before I just saw glow, if that makes sense. It has a very chunky girdle now which is not perfect; but Jerry did what he could to improve it while trying to maximize size and weight, and I think the way it turned out is probably the best it could've considering the original cut.

After pics were all taken by me in sunlight or indirect sunlight. Some pics were taken on a cloudy day at sunset, and in those pics, the color is very off to me; but I'll post some of them anyway bc they show the cut pretty well (I'll note which pics they are). The color itself doesn't appear to have been affected by the cut; it just looks more clarified.

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

More

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

These are Jerry pics, which he says are not accurate for color. They show these orange sparks which I also photographed in the pics that were taken in poor/barely daylight; IRL the orange flashes are actually bright reddish flashes! But they show as orange in pics in some lighting.

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

These are the non accurate color pics, but they show the cut fairly well I think. One more round after this...

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

I like these pics bc I think they show that the color stayed basically the same; this is the recut cushion next to the other cushion from the same parcel. Might need to touch that one up too, hmm?

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Hope this wasn't too much...too many similar pics or too much info... But it was such a great experience for me that I wanted to share. I had a couple of PSers ask for pics awhile back (I wrote months ago here about possibly going forward with a recut) - I hope they get to see these

 

[JewelFreak]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Katharath, spectacular job! Once again Jerry works his magic. The color appears to come through so much cleaner & better. Congratulations! Do you have any plans for it now that it's had surgery?

--- Laurie

 

[Bex]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

It looks fantastic! Such a gorgeous color, and now it has a cut to match. I actually dropped 3 spinels (2-3ct each) in the mail yesterday, so they're on their way to Jerry now, and I can't wait to see what he does.

 

[innerkitten]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Very nice color! What's that blue ring on your finger?

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Katharath, spectacular job! Once again Jerry works his magic. The color appears to come through so much cleaner & better. Congratulations! Do you have any plans for it now that it's had surgery?

--- Laurie

Thank you Laurie! I honestly don't know how I'll set it. It's small, which makes it tougher. I definitely do want to set it, I'm just not sure how yet. I may start another thread bc I've picked up a few loose gems lately (mostly unset pairs), and I could use some help with everything, lol.

 

[pregcurious]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

I love the recut.

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Bex - thanks! I'm sure your spinels will come out well, Jerry is a talented guy .

Inner kitten - that's my sapphire ring, looking very washed out! It was in direct sun I think, it's not normally that light. It's a lighter to medium blue color, just not usually THAT light. It's the same ring in my avatar - the color is pretty accurate there.

 

[ilovegemstones]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Woah! What a difference! They are firecrackers now! You have definitely inspired me to send my stone to him! I am so happy for you!

 

[GregS]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Beautifully cut, but the color in your pictures is all over the map. The median appears to be the hand shot at the bottom of your third post. Would you say that is the most accurate depiction of the stones color? If so I'd say you have a real peach on your hands, literally.

 

[NKOTB]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

YUM!!!

 

[swissmiss]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Wow!!! Look at that glow!

 

[FrekeChild]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

I don't think I'd send that other stone to him. It doesn't look that badly cut, and there is a certain point of diminishing returns, you know?

Great recut - And amazing that he lost so little weight! that's amazing!

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Beautifully cut, but the color in your pictures is all over the map. The median appears to be the hand shot at the bottom of your third post. Would you say that is the most accurate depiction of the stones color? If so I'd say you have a real peach on your hands, literally.

Greg, it's hard to say what the most accurate color is - all of the pics were taken with the same "camera" (iPhone 5s), and all in natural daylight, just in different degrees of sunlight. These particular gems are very much a reddish pink, and depending on the quality of sunlight, they shift from pinkish red to reddish pink. It also can have almost more of a magenta look to it that I don't think my photos pic up well; it seems like they try to "make" the gem be more red or more pink; it has a hard time picking up the mix of both colors, which I can see much better with the recut.

I know that wasn't a very definitive answer - but it truly looks different to me just depending on the quality of sunlight, which will make it fluoresce a bit and show more red, etc etc. I know the pics are all over the place; I tried to address some of that in the posts. This is just the best I can do, personally. Regardless, I feel it is a beautiful gem

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

I don't think I'd send that other stone to him. It doesn't look that badly cut, and there is a certain point of diminishing returns, you know?

Great recut - And amazing that he lost so little weight! that's amazing!

Thank you! I agree

I *really* appreciate hearing your thoughts on the other gem. They echo my own, but I have to admit that I did consider it. The larger cushion is much shallower, and I worry that even a bit of recutting might not be a good idea. It's not badly cut, really; it just could've been a bit better, you know?

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Swissmiss, ilovegemstones, NKOTB, preg - thank you all for the kind words!! Much appreciated!

 

[FrekeChild]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

I don't think I'd send that other stone to him. It doesn't look that badly cut, and there is a certain point of diminishing returns, you know?

Great recut - And amazing that he lost so little weight! that's amazing!

Thank you! I agree

I *really* appreciate hearing your thoughts on the other gem. They echo my own, but I have to admit that I did consider it. The larger cushion is much shallower, and I worry that even a bit of recutting might not be a good idea. It's not badly cut, really; it just could've been a bit better, you know?

Oh yes, I know! I think almost any stones can be improved with a little nip/tuck.

But...you really have to evaluate if it's worth the 1. the risk and 2. the price. With my recut, I actually did not pay that much for the stone (y'all would have heart attacks) so 2 was a given - not only was the stone being cut to make it safe to set, but it was also going to end up being more attractive. 1 was the sticker. I've heard of stones flying off the dop, of feathers growing and the stone cracking in half, etc. It took me a long time to decide that in my case, the risk was very much worth it. I had major cold feet though - but I'm not a collector and I wouldn't be happy with the stone just sitting in my gembox.

Your other cushion isn't perfectly cut, but it's still beautiful, and I don't see any major cutting issues.

Great color on both - they remind me of my big bubbly Mahenge necklace!

 

[endless_summer]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

I think the re-cut is absolutely gorgeous - it was sooooooo worth it in every way, especially with as little weight as you lost. At least on my monitor, it looks like the color is brighter re-cut, and the faceting pattern is just awesome!

Jerry is quite the miracle worker, yet again!!!

 

[Jereni]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Omg, I love the recut! What a TDF color.

 

[Xrisus]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Great thread, this pushes me to ask Jerry to recut a couple of my mahenges now!

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Well done. It was a gorgeous color before, but now its not only a gorgeous color, but has a consistency of light reflection and visibly great faceting as well. You have become quite the pro in a short period of time, Katharath.

 

[LoversKites]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Very, very nice!! The cutting is fantastic.

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Endless summer - I agree, it was definitely worth it

LK and Jereni - thank you both!

Xrisus - I was hoping you would see this thread! (I had you in mind, since we had discussed this before). If you do have any of yours recut, I'd love to see pics. I was nervous to have this done, but Jerry was very quick and of course a complete pro.

Minou- what a kind compliment! Thank you so very much, that means a lot.

 

[smitcompton]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Hi,

Beautiful stone! I need to say no more than that.


Annette

 

[katharath]

Re: Jerry mahenge "old material" recut - pics and more pics

Hi,

Beautiful stone! I need to say no more than that.


Annette

Thank you Annette It's a pretty little thing!