chipped stone

[liz1022333]

Hello, as a child, my fiance inherited about a 2ct diamond ring set in platinum. It has been in his family for over 6 generations! However, the diamond is badly chipped. It chipped before it was given to him, so it was not insured. We haven''t taken it to Hardy & Hayes in Pittsburgh yet for their opinions; however, other local jewelers suggest re-cutting the diamond. It would then be about 1 ct & would be too small for the antique setting. Does anyone have expert advise about what I should do? I hate to have it re-cut as I would love to wear the ring exactly as his grandmother did. Is there such thing as filling the chip? I''m getting as much info as I can before we do anything irreversible. I welcome any advise.

 

[EdSkinner]

It sounds like the weight loss estimates you have gotten are to recut the entire stone to a round brilliant. Are the chips that bad that they can not be repaired? Or for that matter do the chips detract that much from the stone that they have to get repaired.

 

[liz1022333]

Hello Ed, Thanks for your reply. The chip is noticeable to the naked eye. If its not repaired, I'm afraid it would snag on things and chip further or even crack. Am I wrong to think that? Sorry for the ignorance; I know nothing about this subject. Please tell me more about chip repair. None of the jewelers I spoke with brought that up as an option. Thanks for your advice.

 

[tessa]

Maybe it would lose less weight if it was cut to a shape other than an ideal RB.
Like maybe a candlelight cut of some sort.

The ideal RB would take the most weight off.
But do NOT wear it as is because it could break and you would be left with dust or shards.

Maybe just polishing instead of re-cutting would help.

I have been through this too and my diamond lost over .50 ct and it was a heartbreaker.
I had it done by 8* and I am very ahppy with it but it doesn't sound as damaged as yours sounds.

Ask about polishing or cutting to another shape other than RB.
Especially since it IS an antique, maybe a nice re-cut antique shape would be good.

 

[winyan]

Maybe since it appears to be very old, OldMiner would add his 2 cents. He's the acknowledged old cut expert.

win

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 2/18/2004 9:04:07 PM liz1022333 wrote:



If its not repaired, I'm afraid it would snag on things and chip further or even crack. ... about chip repair. None of the jewelers I spoke with brought that up as an option. ----------------

I doubt that the diamond would get more easily damaged on the spot of the already acquired chip than anywhere else. The situation changes if the stone would have cracked throughout, but since it did not - the rest of it is just as hard as before, I would say.

I am not sure whether a jeweler would commonly propose to repair a chip in a diamond: this is done by repolishing or partial recutting (depending on what the issue is). The exercise is meant to cut off the damaged area and restore the symmetry of the stone, keeping the original shape and proportions as much as possible untouched. This is not something a jeweler could do: you need a diamond cutter for the job. I suppose some jewelers do work with diamond cutters, but this is not common: sellers of loose diamonds are more likely to help with this one, since they would have the right contacts upstream. If anything, I would have the stone inspected by a cutter to get advice on what minimum intervention an be done to 'repair' the chip. Having a more invasive recut is usually a great way to leave most of your diamond on the walls - literally, as dust - something only you can decide whether it is justified or not, of course...

 

[Mara]

What about just unsetting it and then resetting it into the same setting but with a prong to cover the chip? Assuming the chip is on the girdle, this could be an alternate that would lose you no carat weight and still keep the same look of the stone as well.

 

[tessa]

In my similar situation I was adivsed not to take it out and remount it.
Could be risky.
If you decide to do it they will probably make you sign a waiver, even for a re-cut or polish.