Calling all Leon owners - Q abt my stone with feather and possible damage whilst it''s being set

[Phoenix]

For those of you who have had yr ring set by Leon, have you had any chip or any damage whatsoever to the stone when you got yr ring back? I imagine that you probably have not, as Leon truly is a master craftman (judging from the pics but more importantly the overwhelmingly positive posts on Leon on PS).

I am planning to have my JA stone set into a LM micropave halo setting (still waiting to hear from Leon - but I gather he''s been in Vegas for the jewellery show).

When you had yr stone set by Leon or anyone else for that matter, did you worry about the possibility of having the stone damaged (as extremely remote as that might have been)? If so, did you do anything about it? I gather that Leon would not take responsibility.

My stone is an SI2 and it has a feather that goes from the top through the girdle to the pavillion. Jim has assured me that the feather is very small and does not affect durability at all, and I absolutely trust his words. However, being the worry wort that I am, I am sstill concerned that the stone might get chipped or worse shattered whilst it is being set (and this risk *does* exist, even with a better clarity stone).

Do you have any advice or recommendation? I don''t live in the US, so buying insurance from a US-based insurer, like JM, is not feasible.

I''d really appreciate your help.

 

[purrfectpear]

Any diamond could be chipped during setting, including an internally flawless diamond. It appears to be a very rare occurrence but as you point out, there are no guarantees.

I don''t know of any jewelers who accepts the responsibility of stone replacement during setting? There is insurance available to you as the owner of the stone, and if you want to be 100% sure, that would be the way to go.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/5/2008 12:00:53 PM
Author: purrfectpear
Any diamond could be chipped during setting, including an internally flawless diamond. It appears to be a very rare occurrence but as you point out, there are no guarantees.

I don''t know of any jewelers who accepts the responsibility of stone replacement during setting? There is insurance available to you as the owner of the stone, and if you want to be 100% sure, that would be the way to go.

ditto PHX, I would make sure you insure it. Sounds like a fun project sweetie!!!

 

[heb1976]

Date: 6/5/2008 10:52:19 AM
Author:Phoenix
For those of you who have had yr ring set by Leon, have you had any chip or any damage whatsoever to the stone when you got yr ring back? I imagine that you probably have not, as Leon truly is a master craftman (judging from the pics but more importantly the overwhelmingly positive posts on Leon on PS).

I am planning to have my JA stone set into a LM micropave halo setting (still waiting to hear from Leon - but I gather he''s been in Vegas for the jewellery show).

When you had yr stone set by Leon or anyone else for that matter, did you worry about the possibility of having the stone damaged (as extremely remote as that might have been)? If so, did you do anything about it? I gather that Leon would not take responsibility.

My stone is an SI2 and it has a feather that goes from the top through the girdle to the pavillion. Jim has assured me that the feather is very small and does not affect durability at all, and I absolutely trust his words. However, being the worry wort that I am, I am sstill concerned that the stone might get chipped or worse shattered whilst it is being set (and this risk *does* exist, even with a better clarity stone).

Do you have any advice or recommendation? I don''t live in the US, so buying insurance from a US-based insurer, like JM, is not feasible.

I''d really appreciate your help.

Hi Phoenix, I spoke to Leon yesterday so I know he''s not at the LV show. Sometimes his emails get filtered so you should call him at the number listed on his website, you can talk directly to him. Good luck with your project!

 

[Phoenix]

Thank you for your replies and comments, Purrfectpear, Skippy and Heb. Thank you also to Denny R and Regular Guy on my other thread re damage/ setting and insurance. (thanks also to Ellen again and Addy for yr suggestion re setting).

Unfortunately I don't live in the US so buying insurance from JM is out of the Q. I don't think they're in Singapore. I've enquired with Chubb with whom we have all kinds of insurance, including all-risk jewellery insurance. They say that they don't insure loose stones, which is fair enough, but it's not like I'm buying a loose stone so as to sell it to someone else loose (I am buying it to to have it set it into a ring)...Urrgghhh!!

.

I've gone back to Chubb to explain this to them and they want all kinds of infor (like size, colour, clarity etc.) so they can determine how and whether to underwrite this. I am waiting for their reply and hope they will say yes. I wonder if anyone else has gone through this with Chubb and woud you mind sharing yr experience?

Back to my Q to Leon ring owners, were you not worried at all when you had yr ring set? Again, I realise this would be extremely rare but not altogether impossible. I would love to hear from you, Leon owners. Did you do anything abt this?

 

[arjunajane]

Phoenix, I am facing the same issue as you - buying from Australia, so there is No insurance available for us - heck, there isn''t even a Co that will insure whilst being set here, let alone if the setting is done o/seas!

*frustrating*..

I have bought from GOG and am setting with WF, and have decided I don''t really have an option but to take the risk - that said, I have assessed the risk quite extensively - mine is an Si1 with only small internal feathers and no structural risks to speak of. I have also requested that once my stone get there I talk to the setter first.

So, if I get burnt, its gonna suck really bad.

But I take comfort in how much of a rare occurrence it is, and that I''ve been advised from Jon my stone doesn''t pose a risk.
That said, if I had an SI2 I *may* be a little more concerned.

Not sure if its possible, but I heard mention somewhere else of asking the jeweler to take out the insurance on your behalf if your not in the States - not clear on how this would work, but may be worth researching/asking Leon?

I think with Leon you ''re surely in good hands, but as others have mentioned the risk is always present.

please do fill us in on what Chubb say, I and the other o/seas gals will be very interested!

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 6/8/2008 3:51:51 AM
Author: arjunajane
Phoenix, I am facing the same issue as you - buying from Australia, so there is No insurance available for us - heck, there isn''t even a Co that will insure whilst being set here, let alone if the setting is done o/seas!

*frustrating*..

I have bought from GOG and am setting with WF, and have decided I don''t really have an option but to take the risk - that said, I have assessed the risk quite extensively - mine is an Si1 with only small internal feathers and no structural risks to speak of. I have also requested that once my stone get there I talk to the setter first.

So, if I get burnt, its gonna suck really bad.

But I take comfort in how much of a rare occurrence it is, and that I''ve been advised from Jon my stone doesn''t pose a risk.
That said, if I had an SI2 I *may* be a little more concerned.

Not sure if its possible, but I heard mention somewhere else of asking the jeweler to take out the insurance on your behalf if your not in the States - not clear on how this would work, but may be worth researching/asking Leon?

I think with Leon you ''re surely in good hands, but as others have mentioned the risk is always present.

please do fill us in on what Chubb say, I and the other o/seas gals will be very interested!

Thanks for yr reply, arjunajane. It IS worrying, isn''t it? As you correctly pointed out, yr SI1 stone with small internal feathers would pose much less of a risk than my SI2 stone with a feather that runs from the crown through the girdle to the pavillion!

. Jim has reassured me there is no structural risk but I am not sure that this does not mean the stone isn''t subject to any risk (however small) whillst it is set. Also, as mentioned in another thread, I had my VVS1 stone scratched on the table whilst it was set by a local jeweller and as I didn''t have insurance, I just had to swallow the loss in value. With this new stone being worth tens of thousands of dollars, I am not willing to take the risk of not having insurance/ or some other kind of reassurance if something was to happen to it.

I will ask Leon to see if he could buy insurance on my behalf, since he''s the one setting it. Jim has already said he couldn''t, which is fair enough.

I will definitely keep you posted on what Chubb says. Will keep my fingers crossed.

 

[denverappraiser]

With insurance companies it’s necessary for the insured to have what’s known as an ‘insurable interest’ in the property. Basically this means that you can only insure things that you actually own, rent or otherwise have some legal right that would be would be lost if the property were lost, stolen or damaged.

A jeweler setting a stone that you didn’t buy from them doesn’t usually have this and is therefore not eligible for a policy. There are no policies available to craftsmen that cover workmanship because the insurance company has no way to know who is skilled and who is a hack. Other sorts of risks, like fire or burglary while the stone is in his care, probably are covered. There ARE jewelers out there who cover breakage risk on stones that they agree to set but this is done simply by them taking responsibility themselves rather than through the involvement of an insurance company. If the jeweler isn’t interested in doing this, and it’s a big concern for you, consider finding another jeweler who will.

For US clients, the jeweler can assist you in filling out your paperwork and even provide the funds but YOU are still the client of the insurance company. The jeweler isn’t the client or even serving as an agent. This works just fine but if the insurance company isn’t authorized or isn’t interested in doing business in your jurisdiction then a policy from them isn’t in the cards.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Phoenix]

Thank you, Devenaapraiser, your post, as always, are very helpful!

Arjunajane, an update: Chubb has decided to provide coverage, so that''s great if I decide to go with Leon. JA also has said that *if* I have my stone set with them (well, technically with their sub-contractor, Danhov), then JA would bear the cost of any chip or breakage. So that''s great, I am covered whichever way I decide to go!!

Thanks for everyone who has responded.

 

[Ellen]

Yay!!