advice please on a secondhand ring

[hoynnij]

Hi all,

I am considering purchasing a second-hand ring, and would like some advice. It is a rbc 1.5ct E VS2 Heart and Arrows diamond, GIA xxx, HCA score 1.4, depth 61.1%, table 58%, crown 34.5 deg, pavillion 40.8 deg, girdle medium faceted, culet none. Returns are not accepted.

I have inspected it and there are two issues that I am unsure about:

Issue 1:
-there is a chip on the crown. It is between the star and bezel facets - I have circled the location of it in red in one of the attached pictures. It is approximately 0.3mm, and does not appear to extend deep into the diamond. It is barely perceptible with the naked eye.

Questions:
1) will the chip in the diamond cause durability issues?
2) should I reduce the amount that I am willing to pay because of the chip? If so, by how much?
3) is it possible to have the chip polished out with minimal impact on the light performance of the diamond? If so, how much does this generally cost?

Issue 2:
-the diamond is extremely dirty around the pavillion - easily visible with the naked eye. After cleaning in the ultrasound for 30 minutes, it was still very dirty and it is impacting on the brilliance of the diamond. When I view it with the my aset scope, I see very nice bright pink under the table with distinctive blue arrows. however, outside of the table is reflected a splotchy green.

Questions:
4) will the diamond clean up with more time in the ultrasound, or will I have to get it unset and cleaned manually?
5) how sure can I be that it is just the dirt causing these issues, rather than the actual anatomy of this diamond?
6) how much would you be willing to pay for this ring? It is in a platinum setting that is in good condition, with side baguette diamonds.

I have 48 hours to decide - any advice would be much appreciated! thank you in advance for your input. And for reading my long post...

 

[hoynnij]

woops forgot the pics!

 

[TC1987]

Try soaking it in some plain dishwashing detergent like Dawn, or Tide soap. Or rubbing alcohol. Srub it gently with a soft toothbrush. Try cleaning it w/. sudsing ammonia might be okay, too. I've used vinegar for some odd residues.

The chip knocks the clarity way down to an I1 or I2 or something, until it's polished out. That would be the price to pay for it, I presume. I'm no expert. someone will hopefully have a better answer.

 

[denverappraiser]

The diamond USED to be a 1.50 E/VS2/GIA. Not now. Now it's a lower clarity and/or a stone with recut potential (which will result in costs as well as a smaller stone). Bid what you like but bid on what it is or at least on what it might become, not what it used to be.

 

[hoynnij]

thanks for the advice on the pricing - didnt think of it that way, so will help me to consider the cost.

Any opinions on the durability issue and asset image? Is the asset I'm seeing likely to be due to the dirt, and it would otherwise be showing up nice and pink?

 

[denverappraiser]

I'm not sure what that image is but it's not a standard ASET. Ask the seller. Both of them look like some sort of computer model to me.

Usually a nick on the crown doesn't affect durability in an important way but it requires an inspection to tell. Some are severe, most are not. What's yours? I haven't a clue. Show it to a pro.

 

[distracts]

Neil, I think the pictures the OP provided are some sort of mockup he made himself to represent what he sees.

 

[hoynnij]

Neil, I think the pictures the OP provided are some sort of mockup he made himself to represent what he sees.

Yeah sorry I didn't make this clear. The seller does not provide aset/is images. That's a mock up of what I saw using my own aset. Im not familiar with an aset that looks like that (never seen one like it before) which is why I was assuming that it was purely a function of the dirty pavilion.

The other picture is also just a picture that I edited from pricescope to show the location of the chip.

Does the size of the chip not equal the severity? (0.3mm, shallow on a 1.5ct diamond)

 

[bagelboy]

The diamond has a few issues that can be best answered by having a professional appraiser inspect it. Is there any way that you or the seller could have that done beforehand? That would also help determine the value of the stone. That is the way I would go, otherwise it may be better to buy a smaller stone without issues.

 

[hoynnij]

The diamond has a few issues that can be best answered by having a professional appraiser inspect it. Is there any way that you or the seller could have that done beforehand? That would also help determine the value of the stone. That is the way I would go, otherwise it may be better to buy a smaller stone without issues.

Yeah I would have liked to do this, but unfortunately it's not possible (it's at a big auction house). I was hoping that I could draw on the experience of pricescopers for some clarity, to make up for my own lack of experience.