Emerald recut?

[gigialgorithm]

Last week I won a bidding on a 4ct emerald and didn’t pay too much for it. I like the color but it is a window there that I can read texts through so I’m debating whether I should recut the emerald. The measurements are 9.41 x 8.14 x 6.48mm. Taking pictures that show the color accurately was extremely difficult but I finally found a way of using my indoor herbs garden in the background.

Is there any hope if I can just use a good setting (and what kind of setting would help?) to mask the window? I used a small piece of foil to cover the bottom of the emerald and I found it got improved significantly. Or should I try the recut route to make it look better? Honestly I don’t want to loose the face up size but would be fine with loosing ct weight.







I don’t have an empty setting with me so I made one to have an idea of how it would be on my hand and you can see the wires under the center.

with foil under

on a silver background

 

[dk168]

Personally, I would not re-cut the stone to remove the window, for the stone is quite included and the window is not that obvious in the photos to me.

To me, it would be one of those "love it as it is" kind of stone - the colour is nice and a good size.

DK

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

As long as you don't have a very open gallery on your ring it won't be so bad; you could even have it cupped if you wanted. It's very pretty and will make a lovely ring.

 

[T L]

It’s tricky cutting emeralds due to the internal fractures, filler and inclusions, so unless it’s a really clean stone, I wouldn’t take the chance.

 

[Rad_Fan]

JMHO, set it and enjoy it. I saw an emerald ring by Chopard and it also has a big window.

 

[peacechick]

The window is not obvious at all, and will close up more once you set it. In fact, I only see it in the first picture you posted and not in the others. The emerald cut for gemstones is very different from a cushion or round cut, and tends to looks more "shallow" in the centre. I consider it part of the look! If you still worry about it, you could ask for a closed undergallery with fine metalwork, such as this.

I think you have a very lovely emerald! Look forward to what you do with it!

 

[gigialgorithm]

Personally, I would not re-cut the stone to remove the window, for the stone is quite included and the window is not that obvious in the photos to me.

To me, it would be one of those "love it as it is" kind of stone - the colour is nice and a good size.

DK

I agree it would be risky to recut it so I need some inputs before moving forward. I’m so glad I asked Thank you for your valuable input!

 

[gigialgorithm]

As long as you don't have a very open gallery on your ring it won't be so bad; you could even have it cupped if you wanted. It's very pretty and will make a lovely ring.

Thank you for your help! I’m thinking about a halo since I have a three stone already. Would that setting help with the window? I’ll do more research on the cup setting to see how it works. Thank you!

 

[gigialgorithm]

It’s tricky cutting emeralds due to the internal fractures, filler and inclusions, so unless it’s a really clean stone, I wouldn’t take the chance.

Thank you!!
Now I think I need a good setting instead

 

[gigialgorithm]

JMHO, set it and enjoy it. I saw an emerald ring by Chopard and it also has a big window.

Thank you! I’m searching for a dream setting....

 

[gigialgorithm]

The window is not obvious at all, and will close up more once you set it. In fact, I only see it in the first picture you posted and not in the others. The emerald cut for gemstones is very different from a cushion or round cut, and tends to looks more "shallow" in the centre. I consider it part of the look! If you still worry about it, you could ask for a closed undergallery with fine metalwork, such as this.

I think you have a very lovely emerald! Look forward to what you do with it!

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with me! I’m still very new to the colored gemstone kingdom and am learning a bit everyday. That setting looks lovely! I’ll definitely post more photos after the stone is set. But before that I will probably ask more questions about the setting, too

 

[PrecisionGem]

The problem with recutting a stone to remove a window is that in almost all cases the angles used in the stone are too low. To cut a steeper angle, you would need to make the stone deeper, which of course is not possible. So what needs to be done is change ratio of depth to width which makes the face up size smaller.

Some stones are good candidates for recutting, these are ones with a deep belly but the last tier or two of facets are cut with too low an angle. For these they can be recut and not loose face up size, but your stone is not in this group.

I'll buy sapphires to recut from time to time, but I maybe go through 100 stones to find a few that are good candidates to recut with out too much loss of size.

 

[gigialgorithm]

The problem with recutting a stone to remove a window is that in almost all cases the angles used in the stone are too low. To cut a steeper angle, you would need to make the stone deeper, which of course is not possible. So what needs to be done is change ratio of depth to width which makes the face up size smaller.

Some stones are good candidates for recutting, these are ones with a deep belly but the last tier or two of facets are cut with too low an angle. For these they can be recut and not loose face up size, but your stone is not in this group.

I'll buy sapphires to recut from time to time, but I maybe go through 100 stones to find a few that are good candidates to recut with out too much loss of size.

Thank you so much for your helpful information! The face up size is kinda small compared to a typical 4ct stone so I thought the pavilion was cut deep to keep the weight. The belly looks fat to my eyes (photo attached) so I thought it might be a good candidate to recut. I greatly appreciate your expertise and input on this. Now I think I will love the stone as is and will set it in a lovely setting.

 

[PrecisionGem]

Now that I see the side view, I think there would be enough depth to recut the pavilion and remove the window.

 

[Rfisher]

im interested in what you decide to end up doing @gigialgorithm

this is another example that makes me wonder if (insert the PC version of ‘native cut’ we are encouraged to use, but cannot remember) would be better for color perception our eyes see from face up
vs cutting to a precise step cut/brilliant cut pavillion layout pattern.

 

[gigialgorithm]

Now that I see the side view, I think there would be enough depth to recut the pavilion and remove the window.

Thank you for confirming the depth for me. Now I’m debating even more whether I should recut it Maybe contact with a lapidary for more opinions?

 

[gigialgorithm]

im interested in what you decide to end up doing @gigialgorithm

this is another example that makes me wonder if (insert the PC version of ‘native cut’ we are encouraged to use, but cannot remember) would be better for color perception our eyes see from face up
vs cutting to a precise step cut/brilliant cut pavillion layout pattern.

Next step is still uncertain... But I’ll definitely post any updates here.

 

[LilAlex]

I would not recut to eliminate the window in this instance (even after the very knowledgeable comment above from @PrecisionGem.) I don't think closing the window will improve the overall appearance of this stone; it's only one issue of many.

 

[gigialgorithm]

I would not recut to eliminate the window in this instance (even after the very knowledgeable comment above from @PrecisionGem.) I don't think closing the window will improve the overall appearance of this stone; it's only one issue of many.

Thank you for your input. Now maybe I should start to think about selling the stone as is. I paid around $1500 for the stone (thought it was a good deal?) and was excited about the project with it but now I’m really stuck. Should I keep it? Or sell it and purchase another stone instead?

 

[LilAlex]

Thank you for your input. Now maybe I should start to think about selling the stone as is. I paid around $1500 for the stone (thought it was a good deal?) and was excited about the project with it but now I’m really stuck. Should I keep it? Or sell it and purchase another stone instead?

Not sure what to say.

Sometimes I come in in the middle of these and mis-read the room . I may think it's a "What do you think of my new boyfriend?" question when it's actually "What do you think of my new husband?" Totally different answers.

This forum skews toward the "supportive" once the check has cleared but for anyone at the still-considering stage, they are appropriately merciless.

I realize that it is a good size, but I think you would have trouble selling it as a private party. It would need a report and I suspect it's at least moderately treated. And it would need some "optimistic" vendor photos to generate enthusiasm, imo.

Hopefully others will chime in about how off-base I am.

 

[Rfisher]

I think you’ve already stated you like the look of the emerald gently cupped in tin foil.
Set it and enjoy it.
In a fairly enclosed basket. That’s not made of wire - think cup with cutouts or filigree.
DK does a modern looking collet set that I think would look great with your stone.