Chips in Girdle

[House Cat]

When an OEC has little chips in the girdle, is it still safe to set it in a six prong setting? Is it common for OEC's to have little chips in the girdle? Are they largely ignored and set anyway? How concerning are chips and should they be polished?

My current OEC does not have any chips in the girdle, but the appraiser said he didn't think it was ever worn. I am currently shopping for a larger, warmer OEC, but I keep seeing nibbles in the girdle and I don't know if I should reject stones because of this.

 

[LightBright]

Tiny "flea bites"are normal in the girdle of an old cut stone. Most have them. If you find an old cut stone you love, these flea bites can be polished out by an expert for little carat weight loss if you care about a super clean girdle. A few of us old cut nuts prefer the flea bites to remain in the stone and the original bruted girdle to remain intact. Unless they have large chips, it's usually safe to set old cut stones with flea bites in prongs. If the girdle is extremely thin, you may want to get advice before setting.

 

[House Cat]

Ok, that makes sense. Is there a limit to the number of little flea bites I should accept? One of the diamonds I am considering has 8. Is that too many?

 

[LightBright]

This is just my opinion: it depends on the stone. In evaluating an old cut stone for purchase, your first criteria should be quality of the cut, and if you like the size and color, rather than slight wear to the girdle. If you have found the cut you want (check with experts on this forum) then you could get a cutter to evaluate the safety of the stone and possibly how much weight it would lose if the flea bites were polished out. If you post photos here, people can tell you if the stone is nicely cut or not, and if the girdle is acceptable. For a very rare cut or size, I would personally tolerate flea bites within reason.

 

[RockBrat]

I've seen many older cut diamonds and have never seen one with flea bites on the girdle. I've never ran into one in the many I have seen. So maybe it's not that common? Or is it? You can't really determine the cut of an old diamond based on the parameters of a modern RB, however, I do think there are things that will stand out and declare some older diamonds obvious for elimination.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Thanks for posting this topic, HC! It's something I've often wondered about in my own early OEC, which does have a couple of tiny flea bites in the girdle (under magnification), so I'll be following the responses on this.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I absolutely would have girdle rehab and restore the diamond to it's original beauty as much as possible. If the girdle is very thin, I would not set in a solitaire with an exposed girdle unless you have it polished to not be very thin. You could end up with more chips. Otherwise, I would set in a bezel or halo if I didn't want to touch the girdle.

 

[House Cat]

This is all so interesting to me.

Do chips affect the clarity grade? The diamond I am considering is VS2. I am not worried about losing weight on the diamond from having the girdle polished, but would the diamond look different? Perform different after polishing?

Also, I don't know if this is crass, so please excuse my naïveté, would one negotiate a lower price for the diamond because it would need to be polished or would one assume that the chips were already considered?

 

[RockBrat]

Yes, chips most likely will always affect a clarity grade, but I don't know specifically how much leniency, if any, is given to a chip in an OEC. You can always try to negotiate, the worst they can do is say no.

 

[LightBright]

Pricing really depends on the vendor. I don't believe a girdle clean up would cost more than a couple hundred dollars. You would want to get an experienced person to look at the girdle before assuming anything about carat weight loss and cost, however.

Would you care to share a photo of the stone you are considering? I'd love to see it!

I'm hoping someone with old cut girdle rehab experience will chime in here!

 

[House Cat]

Pricing really depends on the vendor. I don't believe a girdle clean up would cost more than a couple hundred dollars. You would want to get an experienced person to look at the girdle before assuming anything about carat weight loss and cost, however.

Would you care to share a photo of the stone you are considering? I'd love to see it!

I'm hoping someone with old cut girdle rehab experience will chime in here!

OK, now that I know girdle rehab takes only a nominal fee, I wouldn't ask for a price adjustment.

I am not totally settled on this stone yet. Ha ha, how do you get over the fear that someone might swoop in and buy the stone you are considering if you share it with everyone on this forum?

 

[the_mother_thing]

I am not totally settled on this stone yet. Ha ha, how do you get over the fear that someone might swoop in and buy the stone you are considering if you share it with everyone on this forum?

Can you put it on hold, or just share a picture or two perhaps (vs a link)? Or would they be 'telling' as to it's offering vendor?

 

[LightBright]

That's a totally valid concern. I'd ask the vendor to hold it. Or take a screen shot and crop out identifying logos. (I recently used my phone to take a cropped photo of a screen, LOL). If you provide a photo of top-down and side view people here can help you assess "cut". A GIA (not EGL) certification will confirm color and of course weight and dimensions

If you are considering this stone from one of the three old cut vendors I'm familiar with, they will be able to candidly talk to you about the condition of the stone's girdle and your options. Erica at Love Affair Diamonds, Grace at Jewels by Grace and Adam at Old World Diamonds are all well known and respected old cut vendors here on Pricescope. They will be happy to facilitate a quote for a girdle rehab if you want that.

It sounds like your stone might not be from any of those vendors. If that's the case, you might have a great stone or you might have found something you should skip. I'd get an opinion or two before you commit.