Best person to recut a sapphire?

[Logan Sapphire]

Can anyone recommend someone to at least begin discussions with to see if my sapphire is a good candidate for a recut?

Thanks!

 

[ephsea]

I just asked this question, everyone seems to recommend Jerry Newman. He did a wonderful job on a 2+ct. Montana sapphire that had a huge window. Took him about a week. Send him an email with your problem and the measurements of your stone. He will tell you if he thinks it's a candidate for a recut.

 

[chrono]

Jerry Newman
http://www.gemartservices.com

If the email address on the website doesn't seem to get a response, try this:
[email protected]

 

[Logan Sapphire]

I just asked this question, everyone seems to recommend Jerry Newman. He did a wonderful job on a 2+ct. Montana sapphire that had a huge window. Took him about a week. Send him an email with your problem and the measurements of your stone. He will tell you if he thinks it's a candidate for a recut.

Thanks! Out of curiosity, how much weight did it end up losing? I think my stone is around 1.6cts and is a rectangular cushion. I wouldn't be sad if it emerged more of a typical cushion shape.

 

[chrono]

Some Jerry "magic".
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/jerry-newman-gemart-services-hot-pink-mahenge-spinel-recut.196611/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/jerry-newman-gemart-services-hot-pink-mahenge-spinel-recut.196611/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/2-9-vivid-yellow-sapphire-total-transformation-complete.196839/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/2-9-vivid-yellow-sapphire-total-transformation-complete.196839/[/URL]

 

[endless_summer]

Some Jerry "magic".
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/jerry-newman-gemart-services-hot-pink-mahenge-spinel-recut.196611/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/jerry-newman-gemart-services-hot-pink-mahenge-spinel-recut.196611/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/2-9-vivid-yellow-sapphire-total-transformation-complete.196839/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/2-9-vivid-yellow-sapphire-total-transformation-complete.196839/[/URL]

Yes, Jerry is quite the miracle worker - the yellow sapphire that Chrono linked was mine, and I couldn't have been more happy with Jerry's work and the finished stone. It was my first CS project, so considering a recut was a bit of a leap of faith for me, but he was beyond responsive to all of my questions and made me feel completely comfortable trusting him with the stone. I presented him with a bit of a challenge because I wanted to maintain the stone's face-up size, and he absolutely delivered. He transformed the stone into one that turned out more beautifully than I could have ever envisioned or hoped to find. If I ever considered a stone in need of a face-lift again, I wouldn't hesitate to send it off to Jerry again!

 

[ephsea]

My sapphire went from 2.4ct to 2.14ct, a loss of around 11%. It lost NO face up size, Jerry recut the pavilion only. It looks the same size, but it's about 3x prettier now.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Wow, sign me up! Beautiful makeovers! Are you talking a couple hundred dollars in general or more like in the thousands?

My sapphire is a light ceylon blue stone- I'm not a huge fan of the color but my husband really likes it. I'm hoping a recut can get it into fighting shape to where we both like it. I'm going to hunt down some pics (stone is set) and send to Jerry. thanks for the recommendation!!

 

[ephsea]

Cost on mine was $85.00, no kidding. A bargain at twice that price! I did lose a bit of color along with the weight, though (stone lightened up a bit).

 

[chrono]

Cost will depend on how much tweaking is required. Jerry added 26 new facets on the pavilion of my stone and I was charged $65.

 

[endless_summer]

Mine was $85 as well (pavillion recut) - I lost a little less than 15% of the carat weight, and the color stayed big bird yellow Since you have a lighter colored stone, I would definitely make sure to ask how a recut may affect the color. There's a thread around here somewhere showing how that can happen.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

I just sent him an email with some pictures; can't wait to see his reply!

 

[minousbijoux]

His price seems so reasonable for the work. I wonder how long something like that takes?

 

[chrono]

Between shipping to him, his work backlog, cutting time, and shipping back to me - all in all, it took 2 weeks.

 

[FrekeChild]

Mine was $95 (Hot pink spinel) and only took two weeks because I asked him to hold off because I was going to be gone for a week in the middle. He is in the LA area, so shipping to him only took a day for me. If I hadn't told him to hold off, I would have had it back within 5 days.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Jerry and I have already exchanged several emails, in which he explained a lot (not that I understood a word of what he said). He was very responsive and nice- now I just have to figure out the best course of action, as the stone is in a halo that's being consigned with my local jeweler. I haven't had any luck selling it so I might recut and keep it/reset it.

 

[chrono]

Logan Sapphire,
Do you mind sharing the more technical portions of the email? Please do not post the email in its entirety, but I think you already know that. Perhaps, we can help you make sense of his explanation, which in turn, will help you make a better decision as to whether to sell as is or recut/keep.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

OK, let me see if I can do this.

I mentioned my main concern was the window. It's not huge, but it's there:

If window is slight, and not completely the size of the table, then likely enough bulk available to lay in a dozen or so new facets on the pavilion at proper angles to get rid of the window. Then wouldn’t have to touch the crown, leaving the stone the same face-up size.

I asked if the recut would affect the color:

As he explained it, a window means a little color in that zone where you can see right through, but no sparkle….just flat. A recut changes the flat color to scintillation. The new facets will go from close to the girdle to the culet….long and spikey facets (as opposed to the several step squarish facets the “natives” use). Removing material means the light path is slightly reduced and color intensity can be diminished, but he thinks in this case, any loss in color is negligible. He's not known there to be a change in saturation by redoing the pavilion, only in optical performance.

He also mentioned weight loss in redoing a pavilion can be just a few percent up to ~10% depending on how bad the window is.

 

[chrono]

It is a little difficult to tell from your pictures due to the glare, but it is likely that any windowing is small. Is the issue for you the colour or the lack of life? If it is liveliness rather than colour, I think you will love the sapphire more after some tweaking. Jerry will need to examine the stone in person to make a more accurate call.

Quote:
If window is slight, and not completely the size of the table, then likely enough bulk available to lay in a dozen or so new facets on the pavilion at proper angles to get rid of the window. Then wouldn’t have to touch the crown, leaving the stone the same face-up size.

Translation:
If the window isn't large or the same size as the table of the stone, then it is likely that the sapphire is deep enough and Jerry will have enough material to work with. If a gem is shallow, there is very little that can be done to close a window unless you are willing to lose a lot of carat weight and face up size. If it is deep enough, then all Jerry needs to do is change/add facets to the pavilion (lower halves), which means he doesn't have to touch the crown at all, hence very little to no face up mm loss.

Quote:
As he explained it, a window means a little color in that zone where you can see right through, but no sparkle….just flat. A recut changes the flat color to scintillation. The new facets will go from close to the girdle to the culet….long and spikey facets (as opposed to the several step squarish facets the “natives” use). Removing material means the light path is slightly reduced and color intensity can be diminished, but he thinks in this case, any loss in color is negligible. He's not known there to be a change in saturation by redoing the pavilion, only in optical performance.

Translation:
Yes, where there is a window, it is essentially a place where light leaks through, hence it is flat or "dead" looking. By closing the window, it will now show life, brilliancy and sparkle. He is going to use a more brilliant type (think MRB) facet style as opposed to a "native" step cut pavilion. Any time material is removed, the light path is shortened and hence, saturation and tone is diminished but in this case, the loss will be minor. Because this isn't a major recut but only tweaking the pavilion, it is highly unlikely that you will see a colour difference. What you will observe will be an increase in brilliance (sparkle) and liveliness.

In short, there is little to lose if the window is small and the sapphire has sufficient depth to work with.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Thanks for the translation, Chrono!!! Is is possible for him to radically transform the stone from the rectangular shape to a more squarish shape? I know it would lose a lot of weight...

 

[chrono]

Yes, he can make it more squarish but you will need a new setting. Are you all right with that? Also with more weight loss due to the change in shape, there is a higher risk of colour alteration in a negative way. Colour zoning might become more apparent or the sapphire becomes less blue (more gray or more green). Jerry will be able to tell you more accurately with the unset stone in hand.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Yes, he can make it more squarish but you will need a new setting. Are you all right with that? Also with more weight loss due to the change in shape, there is a higher risk of colour alteration in a negative way. Colour zoning might become more apparent or the sapphire becomes less blue (more gray or more green). Jerry will be able to tell you more accurately with the unset stone in hand.

I feel very lost and confused, while recognizing this is totally a first world problem I don't know how to unload the setting and have just had a new 5 stone diamond ring made so budget is a concern. My husband really likes the ring as-is, especially the color. I prefer the color of the picture I've attached here. Obviously nothing is going to transform my stone into this one! But, i wonder if I should continue to try to sell mine to get that a stone like the attached (with a new setting). Oy vey.

 

[chrono]

I am starting to grasp the situation now. With a recut, you are hoping that you will love the ring more because your DH loves the ring as it is now. If you aren't pressed for time, then I would continue to consign the ring as is. If your DH wants to keep the ring, then I would tweak it. You can try to unload the setting on LoupeTroup and DiamondBistro and potentially get more money than through a local consignment but it still won't be anywhere close to your original cost. It just gets more difficult because IIRC, you have very small fingers and I'm not sure how much the setting can be sized up safely with the diamond melees down the shank.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Chrono- you nailed it on the head! I don't know why I couldn't articulate it just like you did!

And yes, you're right- I do have small fingers, which has made selling rings very difficult for me. I wonder if a jeweler would take the setting/diamonds for scrap?

Do you think it's worth getting the stone recut (he's charging $85 assuming no major repairs would need to be made) so make selling it easier, if the face up size stays the same? I wonder how that would impact being set back into the same ring...

 

[chrono]

You will get even less money for scrap metal and a bunch of melees. $100? $200? No, I don't think this is an advisable path. In order to facilitate the sale, I would find out 2 things:

1. Ask the jeweller how much the ring can be sized up/down safely. I am sure potential buyers would want to know this and putting this information on the online advertisement can boost interest.

2. If you are advertising online, some PSers are particular about treatment so it is up to you to have some sort of paperwork proving heat only or unheated. An AGL brief will suffice. They accept mounted stones at a slight added cost. If going with a local consignment, I wouldn't bother since most people either don't know or don't care about treatment.

If staying local, I would not recut the stone. If advertising online, the PS traffic are more cognizant about cut and perhaps tweaking could be beneficial. If you are only tweaking the pavilion, it will fit back into the same ring. If you decide to make it squarer, the odds are it will not fit as well in the current setting.

 

[FrekeChild]

Ugh. I've been admiring that setting forever and I think I even mentioned in your original PreLoved thread that I had a stone (or perhaps more than one!) that would probably fit in it with no problems, but I wear a size 6-6.5 and I have no for a setting right now.

 

[Andelain]

I have a 17 ct Tanz that's actually deeper color than I like. I wonder if it can be recut to look a bit lighter.

 

[minousbijoux]

I have a 17 ct Tanz that's actually deeper color than I like. I wonder if it can be recut to look a bit lighter.

Highly likely the answer is yes, unless you want to make a light blue/lavender stone from a deep blue/deep purple. When you have a minute, take some pics and send them off to Jerry. Another is Dan Stair, who has also recut many stones for PSers. They both can be found on the pinned thread of vendors/resources at the top of the page.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

I'm sending the stone to Jerry hopefully tomorrow! I'm a terrible photographer but I'll do my best to take some before and after shots.

Thanks again for the recommendation!

 

[endless_summer]

So excited for you! I'm sure it will turn out beautifully!