Diamond rings FOUND! Tips on recutting?

[swaragirl]

Hello everyone!

I am a longtime lurker on this forum, but I hardly ever post, mostly because I own no diamonds, and had no plans to buy any (finances will not permit such an expenditure.)

Lo and behold, today my father called me up out of the blue and told me that he found my mother''s wedding rings. I had long ago given them up for lost (and so had he!) but it seems that they were in a pocket of a suitcase in the attic. So I am inheriting my mother''s wedding rings! Yay me!

To the best of my recollection, the rings are white gold, in one of those square old "illusion" mountings they used to use in the 40''s. There are two rings, each with five stones. I am hoping the center stone might be as big as 5mm (though I suspect it is 4mm) and that the other 9 stones might be as big as 4mm (though I suspect they will turn out to be closer to 3mm.)

In all the time my mother wore those rings, I do not ever once recall seeing them sparkle.

Now, in all fairness, I don''t recall her cleaning her rings either, so it is possible that once I receive them, I will clean off fifty years of grime and suddenly the rings will blaze forth with rainbows, light, and magic.... but I doubt it. So, to make a long story even longer, I am planning on having them recut. Now, obviously I don''t have the rings in hand at the time of this writing, so I don''t yet have sizes, specs, etc. I am mostly posting to get a feel for recutting in general.

Unless something has happened to the rings in the intervening time, the stones are not damaged, and I don''t believe they are old enough to be anything other than a standard round brilliant. I realize that recutting the stones will only make them teensier. But I know exactly how i want them to look...

Tee hee!

At any rate, I have already written to Wink (poor, longsuffering Wink whom I pester endlessly) about possibly getting the stones recut into 8-stars. I have also heard that there are other brands and styles of super-ideal cutting, and plan to explore these avenues more thoroughly once I have more information.

However, I have heard some stones cannot be recut. What makes this so? Is it because they are too teeny? When I eventually pick up the rings, what would I look for?

Oh, and by the way - I presume it is possible to ship rings? Yeeeeek! Any tips on such a thing?

Thanks for any insights,
Jen

 

[ladykemma]

i think you would spend more than the stones are worth. 5 mm stones (about 1/3 - 1/2 carat can be had for couple of hundred bucks secondhand.)

 

[justjulia]

When you receive them, please post pictures.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I have no knowledge on recutting, but like ladykemma, I suspect it would cost more than the stones are worth. Plus, there is the sentimental aspect of them being your mother''s stones. I''d be willing to bet she never cleaned her rings. My mother never does. You''ll probably be pleasantly surprised when you clean them!

 

[He Scores]

Re-cutting is my business. The answer to whether a diamond can be re-cut is more often an economical question rather than anything physical with the diamond. Whether or not they can go to the patterning super-ideals is something along both lines, however I''m not at liberty to say because I don''t offer H&A or Super Ideals, simply because there is no demand from my wholesale customers and also that re-cutting is a price sensitive business. It takes more time (read higher labor charges) and more weight loss to cut to these premium cuts. This is easier to pass onto the consumer when it''s wrapped up in the purchase price of the stone. With no purchase price, the labor charges are more transparent and easier to scrutinize.

That being said, you have to know what you have, your cost (in this case zero...a true metziah) the cost of re-cutting, an estimate of what you will end up with and then compare those to what it would cost you to buy the same diamond new.

In rare instances, a diamond may be too poor of material that the cutter will not want to handle it due to difficulty in cutting.


Bill Bray
Diamond Cutter

 

[He Scores]

RE: Oh, and by the way - I presume it is possible to ship rings? Yeeeeek! Any tips on such a thing?


Registered mail with an insured value is the most secure way.


Bill Bray
Diamond Cutter

 

[AdaBeta27]

"In all the time my mother wore those rings, I do not ever once recall seeing them sparkle."

It''s possible that they might have really huge tables, in which case it''s going to be a lot of white light and not so much fire. My mother''s is like that. It looks like 75% table or something.

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 10/6/2006 12:24:04 PM
Author: AdaBeta27
''In all the time my mother wore those rings, I do not ever once recall seeing them sparkle.''

It''s also possible they are gunked up with dirt. Give ''em a good ultrasonic bath.