Chipped girdle :(

[mayerling]

Hi everyone,

I need some advice on this.

As I was cleaning my ring today, I felt a bump on the top left corner - I have a princess. On close inspection, I was able to see the bump as well - with the naked eye. So I took the ring to a local jewellery store - not a chain jewellery store - and the goldsmith louped it and told me the girdle is chipped and that a "splinter" (?) is being held in place by the prong. He said there was nothing they could do, especially since I didn't buy it from them, and advised me to take in where I bought it and ask what can be done.

Unfortunately, the ring was bought in Hatton Garden and I don't live in London any more. Moreover, I'm leaving in a week to go back home for my wedding - and will not be back for another month and a half - so there's no time to take it to Hatton Garden to figure this out.

So I guess my question is, how much of a durability problem do you think this is? Is it likely to get worse in the time that I'm away for my wedding? Can the stone just fall out? Should I just not wear it any more until I figure this out?

HELP!

 

[kelpie]

I'm so sorry! So it's on one of the corners? I'm afraid in a princess with the damage on the corner and in a four prong setting it could spread ( splinter sounds scary) or the point could break and you could lose the stone. Do you have insurance? I am no expert but I have heard princess cuts tend to get chips on the points with even gentle wear. I'm sorry, I hope it can be polished out.

 

[mayerling]

I'm so sorry! So it's on one of the corners? I'm afraid in a princess with the damage on the corner and in a four prong setting it could spread ( splinter sounds scary) or the point could break and you could lose the stone. Do you have insurance? I am no expert but I have heard princess cuts tend to get chips on the points with even gentle wear. I'm sorry, I hope it can be polished out.

Oh, so polishing it out is an option?

 

[TristanC]

I'm so sorry! So it's on one of the corners? I'm afraid in a princess with the damage on the corner and in a four prong setting it could spread ( splinter sounds scary) or the point could break and you could lose the stone. Do you have insurance? I am no expert but I have heard princess cuts tend to get chips on the points with even gentle wear. I'm sorry, I hope it can be polished out.

Oh, so polishing it out is an option?

So sorry to hear that. Did the jeweller say how bad the splinter was? Is it visible if you photograph the ring? Oh dear. Hope it's not major.

 

[kelpie]

Repolishing could be an option depending on the extent of the damage. I had it done successfully but mine is round. Costs about US $150/ct

 

[mayerling]

He didn't say how bad the splinter was and I don't know enough about these things to fully grasp the implications of what he was saying. I do know enough, though, to know that it means that my stone could eventually fall out

It's good to hear that repolishing might be an option. Unfortunately, I only have about a week left in the UK before I leave to go back home for my wedding so there's no way I could find out about that before I leave. Do you think I should just not wear it (except on my wedding day) until I figure it out?

 

[kelpie]

That's probably safest since if 1 prong goes you could lose the stone.

 

[slg47]

mayerling is it insured?

 

[mrs jam]

He didn't say how bad the splinter was and I don't know enough about these things to fully grasp the implications of what he was saying. I do know enough, though, to know that it means that my stone could eventually fall out

It's good to hear that repolishing might be an option. Unfortunately, I only have about a week left in the UK before I leave to go back home for my wedding so there's no way I could find out about that before I leave. Do you think I should just not wear it (except on my wedding day) until I figure it out?

I definitely wouldn't wear it (except for wedding) until it's repaired. I'd worry that lots of movement would jar the diamond loose from the prong and possibly cause more damage. That stinks that this happened! I hope you'll be able to get back on your finger in ship- shape condition soon!

 

[mayerling]

No insurance

I meant to, but never got around to it. Stupid, I know.

 

[Natylad]

Oh, my dear Mayerling...i'm so extremely sorry that this happened to you, especially since it's so close to your wedding date .
First of all, please don't let this take away from your joy about your upcoming wedding.
From what i've read around here, it's quite possible to fix such a problem by repolishing the stone, but it all depends on the severity of the damage. Could you find a specialist who could at least confirm to you whether such a repolishing is possible in your case, just to put your mind at ease before the wedding? Then you could wait until you go back to the UK in order to have it fixed.
Also, i guess Brian Gavin would be the best person to deal with this and fix it (if it can be fixed) but i don't know if you're willing to go through the whole procedure of insuring and shipping the ring to the other side of the world, without even knowing for sure that it can be successfully repolished.
In any case, i would strongly recommend to you to avoid wearing the ring even at the wedding. If once in a million the stone falls off and you lose it, it will ruin your whole wedding experience. Plus, i suppose you're coming here, in our country, for your wedding and as you know, here the diamond ER is not considered obligatory and important and during the wedding ceremony the only thing that matters to everybody is the plain wedding band (maybe for the best...). So just put the ring aside until you deal with the problem, in order to avoid the worse...
<<HUGS>> my dear... (and have a GREAT wedding day )

 

[mayerling]

Naty mou, the jeweler I got it from said they could try to repolish, but I could lose about 10pts. However, it's not the weight loss that really bothers me, it's the fact that if they were to repolish, they really wouldn't pay any attention to cut; which means I could end up with a really dull ring. So I've just decided to think about it until I'm back in the UK.

He also said the diamond is pretty secure in the setting and he thinks it's ok to wear in the meantime as long as I don't knock it again. To be honest, I don't want to risk knocking it, but I do want it on my wedding day, so I've decided not to wear it until then. Needless to say, I'm already mourning the loss...

 

[Natylad]

Naty mou, the jeweler I got it from said they could try to repolish, but I could lose about 10pts. However, it's not the weight loss that really bothers me, it's the fact that if they were to repolish, they really wouldn't pay any attention to cut; which means I could end up with a really dull ring. So I've just decided to think about it until I'm back in the UK.

He also said the diamond is pretty secure in the setting and he thinks it's ok to wear in the meantime as long as I don't knock it again. To be honest, I don't want to risk knocking it, but I do want it on my wedding day, so I've decided not to wear it until then. Needless to say, I'm already mourning the loss...

I totally feel for you... I woke up to feed the baby and when i finished i rushed to check on you, because i can only imagine how you feel about this totally unfotunate situation my dear Definitely you should think about the whole thing and take your time before you decide what to do. I was wondering whether you could have the stone reset on a bezel kind of setting, which would hide and protect that girdle chip and would save you the entire "repolishing-recutting-messing with the stone's cut" procedure...Actually, maybe such a setting would even give you more finger coverage and would be a win/win situation for you.
And i'm very happy that your jeweler said that your stone is secure on the setting and you can wear the ring on your wedding. I understand what the ring means to you and how much you want to wear it on your big day

 

[mayerling]

Naty mou, thanks for thinking of me

I'm about to demonstrate my total ignorance now, but do bezels work for princess cuts?
I've only seen them for round stones.

 

[Natylad]

Naty mou, thanks for thinking of me

I'm about to demonstrate my total ignorance now, but do bezels work for princess cuts?
I've only seen them for round stones.

Bezels definitely work for princess cuts and i am attaching pictures of two rings that belong to pricescopers and are princess cut diamonds in bezel settings. The one is a solitaire and the other one has side stones:

 

[Natylad]

And below i'm attaching pictures of settings for princess cut diamonds, which are not actual bezels but could possibly work with your stone, depending on the spot where the chip is:

 

[Natylad]

Ooops! I'm sorry, i double posted one photo.
Here's another one...(last one for now but i'll keep looking )

 

[mayerling]

I love the one with the halo

So are you saying that I could just reset the chipped diamond in a bezel setting and it'll be ok?

 

[Karl_K]

I love the one with the halo

So are you saying that I could just reset the chipped diamond in a bezel setting and it'll be ok?

not likely the chip would have to be taken care of first.
If it is small it might be possible to slightly square off the corners then hide it in the setting.
I would recommended not wearing the ring at all at this point until it is fixed.

 

[Natylad]

I love the one with the halo

So are you saying that I could just reset the chipped diamond in a bezel setting and it'll be ok?

It is quite possible that setting your diamond in a bezel setting will both hide and protect the chipped part, but you definitely need to take the stone to a reputable jeweler who will examine the damage thoroughly and will tell you if this can work for you. Obviously the smaller the chip, the better. I know for a fact that many PS members have solved similar problems by bezeling their stones and there were threads about it but i can't find them right now. Can you post a picture of the stone and a closeup of the chipped girdle, so that we can evaluate the problem? (i also hope that more knowlegeable people than me express their opinion too!).

 

[mayerling]

I wish I could but, as I've demonstrated numerous times on PS, I'm crap at taking pictures of my jewellery, especially close-ups of the diamonds. I just can't seem to do it right

 

[Amys Bling]

Oh no!!! I'm so sorry . I personally wouldn't wear it except your wedding day until this gets fixed. Hopefully you can polish it out ?!?!?