Chipped E-ring - possible to recut (and save)?

[PS24]

First post and unfortunately, it is not a good one. I recently became engaged and a few days later, while looking at pictures of the ring, I noticed a chip on/cleavage of two of the upper girdle facets. I tried to capture the damage, below. Is this stone salveagable???

The center stone was a 2.01 F SI1 XXX. Now, with the chip I'm not sure if it is even above that magic 2 ct mark. Ideally, I would be able to recut and save the stone without losing cut quality or too much size. I fear a large reduction in diameter, however, based on the location of the damage. Does insurance seem to be the way to go and if so, what would you get for the $27,500 the center stone is (somewhat conservatively, imho) appraised for? I bought the ring before I stumbled upon PS, and now I'm afraid I won't be able to settle for anything less than AGS0-type cut, though I don't want to give up the colorless range either (for purely sentimental reasons). Assuming I could do better than JA/Blue Nile pricing by a few percentage points, what would you do?

 

[madelise]

We can't answer those q's for you. Contact BGD and see if they can say anything based on the photo. But even then, I believe it's just a guestimate. They can't tell unless they have the stone in-hand.

Contact your insurance first, though. $27K sounds plenty for a 2 ct stone that's an SI1


ETA: Oops, didn't notice it's an F. Um… yeah you'll prob have to go down in color. Why didn't you do annual updates w/ your insurance to increase the actual worth? What about one of these? http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...2.022-i-vs2-round-diamond-ags-bl-104064190005

 

[diamond-enthusiast]

Insurance is probably the way to go. There's no way the diamond will stay above 2 carats with rework.

 

[Christina...]

Which lab graded your stone?

 

[PS24]

Thanks for the advice. This looks to be an unfortunate situation where insurance is necessary. Now, to find a way to break the bad news to my fiance... Hopefully Jewelers Mutual can take care of this quickly.

Christina - The stone was not graded by a lab. However, I bought it through a family friend who is a jeweler/GIA-certified gemologist. Fortunately or unfortunately, his grading seems to be stricter than that of most. (I was originally told the stone was an E-VS2, but the stone was still worth it even with the "real world" specs). While the picture quality is bad in my post above, I am obsessed with the symmetry (with lovely arrows). However, I want a more spread-friendly stone next time (8.1-8.2 mm) with a smaller table (this one was slightly under 58% and I ideally want between 54-57%).

Finally, I just checked my insurance paperwork, with an appraisal of $29,950, I am hoping to find an AGS-0 cut qualifying stone that is still 2+ ct F SI1 or better. I don't really care that it is graded by a lab or not. And I would rather save money by not having it graded, if possible.

 

[Christina...]

I think before you contact your insurance company that you need to have a professional independent appraiser examine the stone. You mentioned that you just noticed this 'damage' a few days after becoming engaged? I'm just wondering if what you are now noticing isn't damaged but inclusions that are natural to the stone. We all notice things about our stones after having some time to view it and admire it for days on end. It's difficult to tell from your photos just exactly what I am seeing, but I'm thinking that it could be a large feather located at the girdles edge and the 'rough area' that you can feel with your nail may just be an inclusion called a natural. If it's large enough it's possible that you could feel it when running your nail across it. I also that you added a circle around the stone to demonstrate that it was out of round, but the truth is, most diamonds are out of round slightly. Diamonds can and do crack, chip or break, however it's quite an unusual event. It seems unlikely that a SI1 (or VS2 depending evidently on whom you ask) to crack after just a few days of wear. Do you remember smacking it on something? Who set the stone?

It would be much easier to determine what was going on with your stone if you had a clarity plot from a reputable lab, so I'm happy to hear that you want to consider a AGSL stone, should you have to make a claim against this one. However, depending on what type of insurance you have on the stone, this may not be possible either. Most insurance companies replace with like kind rather than cut you a check for the appraisal amount. That means that they will also be attempting to locate you an uncerted 2.01 F SI1 stone. You will of course have to discuss details and options with your particular insurer though if there is indeed damage.

Your jeweler may be the most honest jeweler out there, I have no idea, but I can say that being a GIA grad doesn't automatically qualify you to accurately determine the grading of a stone. Only a lab can do that and some of those are much better than others. EGL for example is notorious for being several color and clarity grades off from what GIA or AGS would grade the same stone, it wouldn't be so surprising if a local jeweler did the same. That isn't to say that all do, but having spent much time on these boards I can tell you that I've seen many many threads from unhappy consumers that find (for example) that their supposed G VS2 was actually a I SI2 and have very limited recourse. Grading is done by humans and is subjective. The only way to be reasonable certain of what grade your stone may be is to have it graded by either GIA or AGS.

Good luck with your stone. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it isn't damage and that you can move on and love your stone again. Should it be damage, then I have my finger crossed that you will find resolution with your insurer and be able to find a stone that you are happier with.

 

[Christina...]

Oh just another thought...dealers send a particular stone to a particular lab in hopes of the stone achieving a particular grade and thereby maximizing the dealers profit. Some stones will be sent to EGL, some to GIA, and others to AGS. The dealer knows precisely where he should send the stone, if he is wrong, then he will send it to another lab. You won't find an un-graded AGS0 stone. If it were an AGS0 then it would have been sent to AGSL for grading and would carry the premium of an AGS0. If a stone hasn't been sent for grading then there is very likely a reason for this. That reason is, that the dealer knows that he will realize a larger profit from the stone if he doesn't. An AGS0 stone is only an AGS0 stone because AGSL declares it to be after submitting it to all their testing and this goes much deeper than simply the stones proportions.

 

[denverappraiser]

To be sure, the facts as you've described them would be an insurable loss. I'm not convinced by the photos that it's actually damage and, of course, I have no way of knowing what it looked like when you first got it. The insurance company will have similar questions. Is the initial grader still available? If so, have him/her check it out and compare to their records to confirm (in writing) that it's now different. Have you had any sort of pro look at it and determine that it's actually damaged? If not, that's the place to start, and the original appraiser is the best option if they're available. By the way, if it turns out to be damage and there's a valid claim associated with it, the appraisers fees become part of the loss and therefore part of the claim.

In terms of insurance, usually there are two ways this work if they decide it's a valid damage claim. They will figure out what it will cost to repair the damage, figure out what the loss in value is when it's done and add the two. They will pay this amount or just proceed with the repairs. Alternatively they will replace the stone with another of 'like kind and quality' and will sell the damaged one to recover some of their costs. The details will depend on your individual policy. Read it or talk to your agent about it (or both).

 

[PS24]

Thank you everyone for all of the advice and assistance. The insurance process has commenced and a new "like and kind" diamond is currently being search for. I will update this if and when I have a few choices to choose from and hopefully I can then rely on 1) my eyes and 2) the wisdom of PSers to drive me in the right direction.

Thanks once again.