I wouldn't necessarily say it's a bad deal but that is a huge chip...I can see it quite clearly. If I were going to buy it I would budget in the cost to recut as I wouldn't set or wear it with such major damage. Most old cuts will have some chips or abrasions but not usually ones that interfere with their appearance or stability but I worry that one could.
Thanks Kelpie. I'd probably bezel the sucker as an earring or as part of a 3 stone ring...I think that would protect the girdle once the chip had been polished out. Still a bad idea?
It's hard to tell given the angle of the photograph ... I don't suppose there are any other shots?
But assuming even a vaguely attractive stone, a .75 H for $350 would tempt me mightily: I would happily bezel that sucker in a VERY nice setting and spend what remained on the setting or what-have-you.
What I'm thinking is that if you just wanted a minor re-cut, it'll be lopsided because a huge chunk needs to be cut out leaving the culet and all the facets off center. To really do a nice job of it and keep it center you might lose a lot of weight making it not such a great deal.
Here's the only other photo. I hear what you're saying about polishing it possibly making the faceting look off, but I figure for $350, in an earring, it might not be that noticable????
That's a pretty big chip, and the clarity and cut are hard to determine from the pics. You're looking at a decent loss in girdle diameter with a recut. In this case, you'd likely get what you paid for.
I would NOT buy it with the intention of a recut - between the cost of recutting and the weight loss, you'd wind up spending more than you would for a stone with higher clarity! But if it had the potential to just be bezeled outright, then it might be worth it ....
Hmmm. The price is right, the faceting looks nice, the chip is unfortunately pretty big. If you'd be cool with it as-is, and the chip wouldn't drive you bats, it's worth the price for sure. I have a ~.50 ct OEC with a chip that's a little smaller, which I spent $200 on. Fine for earrings or bezeled IMO. Pretty stone, really too bad it's so chipped!
ETA: I would *not* buy it intending to get it recut. IMO that chip is probably too drastic for a recut to fix easily- I think you'd lose a HECK of a lot of weight. I'd use it as it is, possibly spend the shipping to send it to BG, just to ask about fixing it, but I wouldn't expect a recut to leave much. Unfortunately.
Thanks everyone! It's on it's way to me, so I guess we'll see when it arrives. It's my first ebay purchase of this kind, so I'm being realistic about what I may end up with. I'll take some photos asap....thanks for your opinions! If anyone comes across it's mate, please let me know!