Chip on the Crown... What should I do about it?

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi Everyone,

I decided to move forward with trading in my round stone & buying an emerald I've been eyeing for quite some. The gemologist found a chip at the edge of the table, "on the crown" as they specified exactly. The red arrow in the picture is the location of the chip. I was pretty unhappy to find this out since the stone had been part of a 3 stone bezel pendant. At 1st they said to leave it alone that it was so minuscule that messing with the stone was not worth it. But then a week later, I got an email saying that I should consider "repairing" the stone. I was told the stone would lose a couple points but nothing more significant. It would cost anywhere from $100-200 to do this. Initially I had given the ok to go ahead with the repair but during that evening, I realized I hadn't gotten any specifics of what or how exactly this "repair" would be done. I emailed in the next day asking how the table would be affected, crown angle, would the pavilion be tweaked at all, etc. I didn't know to what extent they would go with the repair so I said I didnt want this angle to drop, or this angle to drop & I didnt want the pavilion touched etc. LOL I got a call from the manager pretty much as soon as I sent the email. She was unable to tell me what would happen with my stone or how it would be "repaired" because it was not considered a recut. I was a bit perplexed & asked if she could check with the gemologist who might be able to know as he/she might have had a conversation with the cutter about this. I specifically mentioned I didn't want the stone to come back a 60-60 stone. No more information was available & my questions were not answered. Basically, they are not responsible for the stone once I say yes to the repair. I was told the main purpose of sending the stone to the cutter was to "repair" it. My concern is at what cost? I should at least have that insight to make my decision. If there is a chance the stone would shrink beyond the couple points, then I'll leave it alone. If there is minimal mm lost, then I'll send it in. I'm being a bit sarcastic here but what I'm saying is, give me some information, worst & best case scenario & let me decide what I should do. If I keep the stone I'm stuck with it as is, if I have the stone repaired & worst case scenario the stone came back a 60-60, I still would get stuck with it. I certainly would be offered a lot less for the stone than I paid from this vendor. With a table of 56, it might come back 58? The chip doesnt look that major but I don't have the stone in hand & I have no idea if it is deep or more superficial. I would like some kind of estimate. What worries me is the ..I have no idea what your stone will come back as. My main purpose with repairing the stone was to sell it. I don't want to keep it although I'm prepared to do so. I don't believe the chip has any effect on performance. If I sent the stone as is to GIA for regrading, how much of a ding would the stone get by having a chip? Or rather, what % do you think the stone would decrease in value with a chip listed on the GIA versus a cert without it? So much for shaking up my collection & expanding my shape horizons.

Opinions? Anyone been in my shoes? What did you do about it?
For those in the trade, what would you advise your clients to do? Is there something I should be asking the vendor specifically?

Here are the stats on the stone:

.84, VS-2, J
6.12 - 6.17 - 3.73
Cut: Excellent
Table: 56
Depth: 60.7
CA: 34.5
CH:15.%
PA: 41
PD: 43%
Star: 50
Lower: 80
Girdle: Thin to Medium 2.5%
Culet: None
Polish: VG
Symmetry: VG
Fluoro: None
Clarity: Crystal
*** Stone is completely eye clean ***

Thank you... Judy
** If the picture is huge, I apologize. ** The system won't let me edit my posts or pics once I submit.

 

[MissGotRocks]

If I really wanted to have the stone repaired, I'd consider sending it to Brian Gavin. I think he will be able to give you a fair opinion about what would need to be done and what the proposed outcome would be. It could be a minor polish as opposed to a recut but I'd want someone to do it that could communicate to me exactly what he proposed and what he anticipated the outcome would be.

 

[Karl_K]

Send it off to Neil for a full eval including current value vs fixed value then decide what to do and have him handle the details.
There may be insurance considerations to consider also.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I think the thing you have to weigh is how much extra cost you want to incur such as shipping to an appraiser or BG and then find out how much polishing will cost and what the end result should be. Then the stone will have to be sent to GIA to be graded again, which adds more expense. If your jeweler can't or won't find it out from the cutter they use, then you'll have to send it somewhere else if you want those questions answered in advance.

Is the stone covered by insurance? I honestly would not make a small claim like this because it could result in higher premiums later. I'd only make a claim if the stone was damaged to the point that the value was significantly affected and it couldn't be repaired for a reasonable amount.

I look forward to hearing more about your emerald cut stone!

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Thanks all for responding.

I thought of sending the stone to Brian. I would at least be able to communicate with him. His fee is pretty structured so even if the stone is less than a ct, he charges per ct. Then, as DS mentioned, having to add more charges with shipping it to him & then having him send the stone in to GIA for regrading. Karl, I didnt think of sending the stone to Neil for evaluation to be honest. I don't know if I want to make a claim for something I'm hoping isn't too expensive. Insurance is a double edged sword in my opinion. I have a couple big stones I would rather use my insurance claim for if I need it. The riders are too expensive as they are. Too bad I can't get what I consider to be basic information from an experienced vendor. I don't know if I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill or not. At the same time, I might not be overreacting. There are a lot of stones for sale with cavities so really, is my stone with a chip that major? There is someone up here in Canada I would send the stone to if I was to recut it & they would send the stone to GIA. Too bad I have to consider that option. DS, I agree with you about the shipping & all the extras. I had been looking at Emeralds for a while now & I did find one I liked with a good Aset, a 1ct stone I wanted to set E-W. Not huge but I would be happy to add a step cut amongst all my rounds. I guess thats on hold at the moment.

Judy

 

[denverappraiser]

Let's work backwards a bit.

What you have, and presumably are selling, is an undocumented 0.84/SI1/J, right? The condition is altered since GIA saw it so the report you have is invalid and no one with sense will assume the grade is unchanged, even if it is. What it USED to be is irrelevant. How do you plan to sell that and what are you expecting to get for it?

That has as much to do with you as it does diamonds but fully documented dealer comps here go for about $2k. How good are you at selling things? Lets go with half, although this varies quite a bit with where and how you sell. Some people are a lot better at it then others. $1,000.

What if you fix it? Figure 0.82/VS2/J/x with GIA branding. That'll cost you shipping to and from the cutter, a cutting fee, shipping to and from the lab, a lab fee, and a bit of time. The biggest variable is all of that shipping and insurance but I think it's a fair guess that you'll spend $500 or so on this. What can you get for it at the end? Again using comps here, the dealers are getting $2400 or so for that. It's an easier item to sell so lets use 60% instead of 50% as your estimated yield. That sells you at $1440, less expenses to a net of $940.

Obviously I've made up some variables here. The biggest have to do with how good you are at selling things had how your proposed market will respond to damaged goods. Can you get more than that? Sure? You also might get less. Changing a few of those assumptions makes hundreds of dollars of difference in the results. Again, we're now mostly talking about you, not about diamonds. Another is those ratios to what the dealers are asking. Can you get 60%? Can you get more? I haven't a clue. Some do better than that, some do worse.

Special note: That result of 0.82ct weight was made up of whole cloth and based on very little. I haven't seen the stone and it might be seriously off. That's the very best you can hope for. The very worst is quite a bit worse. If bringing down the crown means wiping out that thin girdle and consequently the girdle needs to come in too, you'll end up far less than that. Bringing in the crown will also make your table smaller and you're already pushing the limits to get the GIAx grade. You may find yourself in the position of preserving weight or preserving the cut grade, but not both. Lowering the table will cost more weight than that, and weight is money in a very direct was as I'm sure you know.

Regarding insurance. If there's a policy in force, seriously consider using it. This is what insurance is for.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Thank you so much Neil for your very candid response. I'm not very good at selling & have preferred consigning goods in the past. I had hoped to use the trade up policy to get the full amount I paid for it buttoned these circumstances, selling the stone at a big loss isn't very wise. Your breakdown of all the if's was enlightening, & exactly what I was hoping for. I'm not prepared to find out my stone falls in the "very worst" category. Looks like I really have 1 choice & it's to go through the insurance route.

Once again, Thank you..
Judy