Details on a diamond re-cut

[diamondseeker2006]

I recently had a diamond re-cut by Brian Gavin and then set into a pendant. The pendant thread is here:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/brian-gavin-re-cut-and-milgrain-bezel-pendant-redesign.160887/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/brian-gavin-re-cut-and-milgrain-bezel-pendant-redesign.160887/[/URL]

Several people asked me to post details about the recut. This stone was an old one and given to me by my mother. It had probably been in her family for 50 years, but it was NOT an old cut. It was a modern cut and the cutter made a major attempt to have the stone be 1.0 cts. Therefore, it was the most weirdly cut stone you can imagine (other than some on ebay!).

Anyway, in this post I will attach and arrows shot, a hearts image, an ASET, and Sarin pre-recut. Then I will post the after images.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Next is Brian's plan for the re-cut:

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I do need to add that Brian is very clear that he cannot promise a hearts and arrows diamond. His goal is to improve the stone to the maximum amount while preserving as much size/weight as possible.

After re-cut arrows, hearts, ASET, and Sarin:

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Now for a shot of the actual stone before and after! Brian and his team did a fabulous job with a diamond that I thought he might think was too wacky to be worth recutting! I think it is an amazing transformation and I certainly cannot look at it and tell it is any less beautiful than my H&A stones!

 

[nfowife]

Wow, that is amazing!! Enjoy your new pendant, it's beautiful!

 

[minmin001]

Thanks for the post! What a makeover for the diamond. So glad you did it, sure changed its live!

 

[iheartscience]

Wow, what a transformation! Very cool to see the before and after images-thanks for posting!

 

[slg47]

awesome, thanks for sharing!! I love seeing these recuts do you notice a big difference in optics?

 

[Dreamer_D]

The difference is pretty darn striking. The original picture looks pretty good, actually, considering the crooked crown! Amazing what a cutter might be tempted to do to make the 1ct mark. Could you tell the crown was so wonky before it was recut, or was it a surprise in the sarin?

 

[gemgirl]

The original ASET pre-recut looked like some kind of crazy random traffic jam, but the recut is amazing! Brian is really a master at what he does.

 

[swingirl]

The outcome is beautiful. A well-worth effort!

 

[yssie]

Wow, what a transformation! It turned out so perfectly proportioned for a pendant, specifically, too

Thanks for posting this - the before and after and especially the planning pic are really neat to see.


How did you handle insurance, can I ask? Did your provider cover the recut, or did BGD offer some sort of protection, or did you decide it was unnecessary for this project? I can see this being a big question for people who want to recut important and sentimental stones.

 

[bright ice]

AMAZING!! What a difference. It's beautiful.

 

[lknvrb4]

I think he did a great job!

 

[farmer gal]

Thank you for posting this it is really helpful! I just posted yesterday about possibly recutting an EGL 1.0 I have, I didn't even see your post yesterday It turned out beautiful, you must be thrilled, what a transformation.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The difference is pretty darn striking. The original picture looks pretty good, actually, considering the crooked crown! Amazing what a cutter might be tempted to do to make the 1ct mark. Could you tell the crown was so wonky before it was recut, or was it a surprise in the sarin?

Dreamer, in the setting you did not notice the crooked crown since you normally view the face of the stone. But when I was deciding how to reset it and was thinking about whether to recut it, I examined it closely and could tell that the crown was off from the side. Knowing myself, I just couldn't wear a stone that poorly cut. Before PS, I am sure I wouldn't have really known the difference because I probably had never seen an ideal cut diamond.

I do want to say that this diamond was pretty to look at in it's original form! That's why when people come on here and say they think a good cut diamond is pretty, I can understand it. However, they don't know the potential of how beautiful a diamond can be until they see some excellent cut ones! It was tempting to keep this stone at 1 ct. because I would have liked to have had a 1 ct. pendant! But I suppose I have proven for certain that I value cut over size!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

awesome, thanks for sharing!! I love seeing these recuts do you notice a big difference in optics?

Yes, it is night and day! I love looking at it now because it is so beautiful!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wow, what a transformation! It turned out so perfectly proportioned for a pendant, specifically, too

Thanks for posting this - the before and after and especially the planning pic are really neat to see.


How did you handle insurance, can I ask? Did your provider cover the recut, or did BGD offer some sort of protection, or did you decide it was unnecessary for this project? I can see this being a big question for people who want to recut important and sentimental stones.

Yes, it really did turn out to be an ideal pendant stone!

Regarding insurance, the ring was (is) covered on my mother's homeowners insurance. I honestly did not want to go to the trouble and expense of getting an appraisal on the ring and then have it recut and then take the ring off and get a new appraisal to add the pendant. So, I took the risk of having it recut with no insurance of my own although I could have attempted to have my mother make a claim had something happened to the stone (and I knew it was unlikely to be covered).

Here's why I did it:

1) It was going to be insured for it's full value on the way to Brian and on the way back from Brian.
2) I trusted the person to whom I was sending the stone. (critically important!)
3) I am sure Brian has insurance on his inventory, although I didn't even ask him if my stone was lost what would happen.
4) I believed that it was extremely unlikely that the stone could be damaged or lost while in Brian's possession.

Would I do it without insurance if I could not replace the stone? No. But I felt the risk was extremely low since the major risk really was the time transporting it back and forth, and that part WAS fully insured. I have 6 or 7 jewelry items that I do not wear frequently that are worth $3-6k and they are not on insurance. I insure the things I wear most and have the most opportunity to lose or damage and take the risk on the others. So it all boils down on how much risk one is willing to take. The same goes for buying stocks, mutual funds, etc.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

gemgirl..I will agree that Brian is a master at what he does! How fortunate for me to know a master cutter when given a family diamond!

Everyone, thanks for all your comments! I am actually going out of town today to see my mother and can't wait to show her the pendant! I hope she doesn't want it back!

So I will have limited opportunity to use a computer for the next 36 hours, so if you have further questions, there my be a delay in my reply!

 

[Sheherizaad]

Gor....

geous !!!

 

[yssie]

Wow, what a transformation! It turned out so perfectly proportioned for a pendant, specifically, too

Thanks for posting this - the before and after and especially the planning pic are really neat to see.


How did you handle insurance, can I ask? Did your provider cover the recut, or did BGD offer some sort of protection, or did you decide it was unnecessary for this project? I can see this being a big question for people who want to recut important and sentimental stones.

Yes, it really did turn out to be an ideal pendant stone!

Regarding insurance, the ring was (is) covered on my mother's homeowners insurance. I honestly did not want to go to the trouble and expense of getting an appraisal on the ring and then have it recut and then take the ring off and get a new appraisal to add the pendant. So, I took the risk of having it recut with no insurance of my own although I could have attempted to have my mother make a claim had something happened to the stone (and I knew it was unlikely to be covered).

Here's why I did it:

1) It was going to be insured for it's full value on the way to Brian and on the way back from Brian.
2) I trusted the person to whom I was sending the stone. (critically important!)
3) I am sure Brian has insurance on his inventory, although I didn't even ask him if my stone was lost what would happen.
4) I believed that it was extremely unlikely that the stone could be damaged or lost while in Brian's possession.

Would I do it without insurance if I could not replace the stone? No. But I felt the risk was extremely low since the major risk really was the time transporting it back and forth, and that part WAS fully insured. I have 6 or 7 jewelry items that I do not wear frequently that are worth $3-6k and they are not on insurance. I insure the things I wear most and have the most opportunity to lose or damage and take the risk on the others. So it all boils down on how much risk one is willing to take. The same goes for buying stocks, mutual funds, etc.

Thanks for the details DS.

BGD's recutting service is only going to get more and more popular, I'd wager - I can see them implementing some in-house routine for the actual recut portion as requests become more frequent. And until then it's useful to know that coverage depends on your policy specifically!

 

[mrssalvo]

It really is quite an amazing transformation. I'm so glad you decided to go for it because it really does look incredible now!

 

[Sky56]

Thanks for posting all the great before and after pictures.
This is really cool! Enjoy your beautiful "new" pendant!

 

[SuzyQZ]

Diamondseeker:

I was waiting for you to post this!
Thank you!

WOW! What a transformation, for sure!

I too had Brian recut my diamond (princess cut) and that was the best decision I ever made.

Yes, your stone is a little smaller, but what a difference!!
I bet it is actually worth more now than before the recut.
What a spectacular transformation!

I think of Brian as a diamond whisperer, he knows just how far to push the recut to get the maximum sparkle and spread out of a diamond! The results are nothing short of miraculous!

Enjoy your "new" diamond!

 

[Dancing Fire]

DS,very nice, job well done!..

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I LOVE it!!!! (and I love your pendant!!!!) Great results on an awesome project. Sentimental value of the stone, but with much improved optics

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Sheherizaad, Yssie, MrsS, Sky56, SuzyQZ, DF, and Bella.....I appreciate your comments about the transformation of my stone! I do imagine more people may consider this option for stones they owned pre-PS!

I was out of town yesterday and today visiting family. When I walked into the room where my sister was, before she said hello, her eyes went straight to the pendant and she said, "Oh, DS! That is gorgeous!!!"

Suzy, that is really interesting that you had a princess stone re-cut! I think we are both very fortunate to have had Brian do this!

 

[MissGotRocks]

Thanks for sharing that - it truly is amazing! I love to see what he is able to do with these stones.

So glad you are enjoying your new pendant - I think it looks perfect.