Concerning appraisal re: feather

I appreciate any insight you can share.  I needed to get a new appraisal done because I changed my setting and wedding band last year and the new setting cost quite a bit more than the old one. My diamond has a feather in it, but it's been appraised twice before and both of those appraisers said that the feather was not of concern structurally. In fact, my husband chose this stone was due in large part to the favorable appraisal at that time re: the feather (that appraisor is highly regarded by several Pricescope users, BTW, although I didn;t know about pricescope then!) Both prev appraisers rated my stone I, SI1, 1.12 c. I should mention that you can see the feather with the eye but only if you are looking extremely closely, know exactly where to look, and have the diamond held at an extreme angle.

Anyway, when I had it appraised last week, the appraiser (AGS trained appraisor) said that the feather is of great concern structurally and that my stone might cleave. He said I should bezel it ASAP, which I don't want to do since I recently bought the x prong setting and love it. He graded the stone I1. He also bumped the color to H, but he thought the size was 1.07 when it is supposed to be 1.12. He valued it 25% below either of the previous appraisals (INCLUDING the plat setting, which I did not have before). He also said that if my stone did break it might not be covered under my insurance, kind of like a pre existing condition (currently I have a rider on my homeowners). I asked if he thought the feather had gotten worse since the last appraisal 2 years ago and he saw no evidence of it. Nor does it look any worse to me. I think I should get another appraisal and see if it is more favorable. If the appraisor was correct re: the feather's potential danger, I guess there is not much I can do at this point, aside from making sure my insurance coverage is good and being extra careful with the stone (which I already am).


I don't want to turn this appraisal in to my insurance with the much reduced amount. I am comfortable with the $ amount that I currently have insurance for under my old appraisal, but I am concerned that if something happened to my stone 1) would it be covered at all if a result of the feather, and 2) would my insurance question why my setting is different from the one on my appraisal if I don't update it. My insurance agent does not seem very knowledgeable about jewelry stuff. I may look into Chubb or Jewelers Mutual. I suppose I will need another appraisal in that case as well. I would appreciate any thoughts you have on the subject. This appraiser is employed by a very reputable local store. I bought the setting and w-band there and he knows that I am not in the market to replace the center stone so I don't think that this would bias his appraisal.

if we had it to do over, now that I've found pricescope, we'd get a certed ideal cut stone. I would not get a stone with a large feather. But we/he didn't know.  I love the stone I have and want it to last forever! I appreciate any thoughts re: this. I know appraisals are an educated estimation, but is this much variation normal? Would you be worried about the diamond cleaving?

Ira (Ruffles have Ridges) Z.
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