Is girdle thickness really important?

[mre]

I''ve done a lot of reading on this forum and I''m almost at the point of making a purchase decision. Most diamonds I''ve looked at have a girdle thickness of thin to medium. Is this a standard thickness and should I be worried about it chipping? A jeweller that I visited told me that I should be concerned about a thin girdle since my girlfriend is so active.

 

[JulieN]

what size and shape is the stone?

 

[mre]

I''m looking at something in the range of 0.8, round, ideal cut.

 

[JulieN]

some options are medium girdle, low setting, six prongs, bezel, and insurance.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 7/28/2006 8:41:47 PM
Author: JulieN
some options are medium girdle, low setting, six prongs, bezel, and insurance.

Thanks for the good laugh Julie. (Sorry to thread-jack!)

 

[RockDoc]

I believe that several characteristics of the girdle of a diamond is very important.

I believe it sets the final level of quality and ight performance of the diamond.

But there is more than just the thickness that is good to consider. The style of the girdle polishing, any variance in its thickness, whether it is painted and to extent of the painting, the evenness, and straightness of it affect the facets meeting it that in turn also affect the light performance of the stone.

Rockdoc

 

[mre]

Thanks for the feedback, but maybe I should rephrase my question. Is there a minimum girdle thickness that you wouldn''t go below because it would make the diamond especially susceptible to chipping?

 

[RockDoc]

Date: 7/29/2006 7:33:50 PM
Author: mre
Thanks for the feedback, but maybe I should rephrase my question. Is there a minimum girdle thickness that you wouldn''t go below because it would make the diamond especially susceptible to chipping?

It depends a lot on the shape of the stone. For rounds, I''d say slightly thin, is the red light, where you need to get the stone personally inspected. In reports of mm. measurement less than 0.7 might be the threshold. But the thickness of the girdle is just one consideration. If the stone has shallow crown angles, that needs to be considered as well, along with any inclusions etc. Sometimes the orientation of the cleavage planes to the cutting can also be a factor. Sometimes after the stone is cut this is or is not discernable.

For fancy shapes the location and the area is critical. But I''d also mention that lab reports are sometimes incorrect.
Currently, there is a princess stone I am checking out and on the lab report it does note extremely thin. In examining the stone the girdle is straight, even and there is not any extremely thin area of it.

In a princess for instance, if the center of one of the sides is extremely thin, it is not a serious as it is if the area where it is extremely thin if at one of the points of it.

Rockdoc