ebay aquamarine dilemma!

[Venti25]

I purchased this aquamarine and diamond ring second hand off ebay two days ago for a RHR, and I am a little if not more than a little smitten with the colour. I've been looking for a round in this size (approx 1.1 ct) and similar tone for a while but nothing has quite ticked all the boxes.



My main concern is there are obvious scratches on the majority of the edges on the exposed facets. You can sort of see it around the attached photos around the table where light hits the edges and there are these blurred lines.


Now my question is.. is there any way to have the stone unmounted and just polished? Is it even worth it? Or should I just live with it as is, knowing that it may scratch over time given how soft aqua is. I have one week to make my mind up about whether or not I keep it...and I waver between keeping it and sending it back.

Any opinions or advice is definitely welcome, Thanks!

 

[FrekeChild]

Looks like the facets are abraded. As to whether it's worth it or not, depends on how much you paid for the ring, how much it'd cost to get the stone removed, get it repolished and then reset, and figuring out if it's worth that much money to you. Or if you just want to keep it and enjoy it even with all of it's flaws.

 

[MollyMalone]

I'd consult with a trusted, local jeweler re the repolishing of your eBay find... and one with a gemologist on staff whom you could ask to verify that it is an aquamarine (unless the ring came with an independent appraisal -- or you're willing to pay more at this point for a full-blown appraisal of the ring or send it off to AGL for a "gembrief" report on the stone). A fair number of eBay listings for "aquamarines" are actually blue topaz because the vendor either is dishonest or genuinely believes the stone to be an aquamarine, but doesn't have a grounded basis for that conclusion.

If you'd like to pursue this angle, you have more than 1 week to ascertain whether it's an aquamarine. Regardless of an eBay seller's return policy, buyers have 30 days to claim a refund under eBay's own guarantee if an item is not as represented in the seller's listing & the purchase otherwise qualifies:
http://pages.ebay.com/ebay-money-back-guarantee/how-to-help.html
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/buyer-protection.html

 

[chrono]

That looks like facet abrasion to me, which a skilled lapidary can repolish to look new again but the stone must be unmounted. The carat weight loss will be minimal and there will probably be no face up size difference. I don't know where you are so I don't know how easy/difficult it will be to find a good jeweller who can help you. A good jeweller will also be able to do a simple RI test to verify that the stone is indeed aquamarine and not some other gem type. My definition of a good jeweller excludes mall or chain type stores such as Jared's, Kays, Gordon and the like.

 

[Venti25]

Hi all,

Thanks for your help earlier . I took it to an appraiser and it is indeed aquamarine. I did overhear the appraiser initially say maxixe aquamarine, which I believe is irradiated beryl, however that was not included on the paper and when I asked after about treatments they said heat treatment and that I shouldn't be worried about "fading". A little puzzling! I might have to investigate further

As for repolishing I've been told there isn't a lapidary in my area (Perth) so I might have to sit on that for a while until I head over east.

 

[T L]

Hi all,

Thanks for your help earlier . I took it to an appraiser and it is indeed aquamarine. I did overhear the appraiser initially say maxixe aquamarine, which I believe is irradiated beryl, however that was not included on the paper and when I asked after about treatments they said heat treatment and that I shouldn't be worried about "fading". A little puzzling! I might have to investigate further

As for repolishing I've been told there isn't a lapidary in my area (Perth) so I might have to sit on that for a while until I head over east.

If it is truly irradiated, then the color will fade. Heat treatment only eliminates the green of greenish blue aquas, but heat treatment doesn't deepen the saturation of color.

If it's truly irradiated, I wouldn't bother getting it repolished as it will fade. I think you're better off using the setting for something else.

 

[pregcurious]

I had no idea that aquas were irradiated to obtain that color, and that they could fade. Thanks for teaching me again, TL.