Cabochon/Gemcutting Question

[tradergirl]

Is it possible to recut a large oval cabochon into a smaller, round cabochon? Understanding that a lot of the material will be lost.

I have bought a Gurhan ring with a center stone I don't like and want to replace with a cabochon. Tan has several I am interested in. They are big enough that I would think they could be cut down into a round shape of the size for my ring.

Is this possible? Would anyone here recommend someone to do that? Also, who would you all recommend to replace the stone in the ring? This is one of those heavy 24kt hammered gold rings and the stone is in a bezel, so it will have to be opened and then reconstructed.

If recutting isnt' an option, who do you recommend with a good selection of cabs?

Thanks.

 

[Pandora II]

The only precluding factor that I can think of is if there were some major inclusions that could compromise the stone. Otherwise it should be relatively simple - I'm not a lapidary but I have friends who are learning and they do a lot of cabs that seem to get progressively smaller as they get less squint!

Have you thought of asking Tan if he can get a recut done for you as he will almost certainly have access to good lapidaries? You ought to bear in mind a potential loss in colour with a significant reduction in weight.

Finding quality cabs is always tricky as facet-grade material is nearly always faceted as it can be sold for me. Shame as I love cabs!

No help on the rest I'm afraid as my bench recommendations are all in London and so no use to you...

 

[chrono]

Yes, it is possible with a few caveats, namely whether the cabochon is clean enough to be able to recab into what you are looking for. Unfortunately, I do not have any recommendation as to who you can approach for this project.

 

[Arkteia]

I once asked the question about replacing a stone in a bezel ring. Several people answered, and Michael E. provided a good explanation.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/replacing-a-stone-in-a-bezel-ring.152554/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/replacing-a-stone-in-a-bezel-ring.152554/[/URL]