Extinction and Re-cutting.

[Gypsy]

If you experts please, tell me if my Topaz is showing extinction and if you think it would benifit from re-cutting. It''s native cut and I ADORE the color of it, it''s not shallow at ALL. And it''s large 12 x 10, and findihg a setting for it might be a bit of a challenge so I''m thinking that I wouldn''t mind losing some carat weight and a little size to get a brighter stone that might offer me more setting choices in terms of size.

Here''s the thread with all the pics of the Topas posted. Any advice would be great appreciated!



https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-spinel-quandry-and-another-impulse-buy.67418/

 

[movie zombie]

it seems you''re not getting any response from the professionals so as a fellow consumer i''ll give you my take on it.....and i hate extinction. are you sure that''s what you''ve got in your stone and not just over saturation of color? extinction isn''t usually a result of a shallow stone but the result of angles being cut in such a way that they don''t let light do its job within the stone and flash it back at you.

there was....may still be....a poster in the business that liked native cuts. nothing wrong with a native cut if color is good and crystal. native cut is done to preserve carat weight which will get the cutter more $ rather than for beauty. also, not all rough is quality rough so as the saying goes, we get what we pay for. another factor in your decision: is carat weight loss. you could have a loss of at a minimum of 1/3 but it could even be a lot higher.

if you love the color, why not live with it?

movie zombie

 

[Gypsy]

I do love it. And I wouldn''t know the difference between extinction and over saturation, so I really can''t tell. Thanks for responding MZ. Most of all a 12 x 10 stone, while calibrated, doesn''t have a lot of stock setting choices. So I was thinking if I could have it cut down a bit, it would be easier and less expensive to set... and if in the process the stone''s performance increased. Great.

My stone isn''t shallow at ALL. It''s actually quite... perfectly deep. I think.

 

[movie zombie]

my limited experience is that color stones and stock settings don''t mix........calibrated or not. color stones seem to be more whimsical and capricious re cutting where as diamond cutting is very precise and geared for specific calibrated stock mountings. don''t know if that''s because of the rough, the cutter, market influences or what. but buying color gems does mean being open to custom setting. exception: when working with a vendor who is going to set the gem for you and letting said vendor source the stone seems to get the buyer a gem that will fit into a stock mount. the vendor has more sources than you and i and lots more experience as to what will work and won''t. however, one does pay a price for that expertise. btw, a custom setting for your gem may not be any more expensive than getting your stone cut and buying a stock mount. i love the world of color gem stones but i''ve said it before and i''ll say it again: its a lot more work than diamonds.

movie zombie

 

[Gypsy]

It is more work. The re-cutting will cost about 150... I''ve gotten qoutes. I need to ask Wink about this stone (might just mail it to him) with an idea of the setting I''m looking for and see what he says about it. Thanks for the information MZ!

 

[movie zombie]

wink was the vendor i was thinking of.......good luck and have fun with your precious.

movie zombie

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 9/3/2007 6:42:38 PM
Author: movie zombie
wink was the vendor i was thinking of.......good luck and have fun with your precious.

movie zombie

I''m going to recut it. WHEN? I don''t know. But I asked Wink and Jeff White about the stone and they both thought it could use re-cutting. And Wink, being as wonderful as he is, recommended I go with Jeff for the recut as it''s flat facetting I want and RHomer would cost more than Jeff. SO, I''m going with Jeff for the Topaz recut. I''m aiming for sometime in November. I am going to ask him to do a calibrated recut, if possible. Then I''ll see what setting options are available to me.

 

[chrono]

Good plan, Gypsy. Wink is sometimes too honest to a fault, but I have to agree with him that Jeff is a better option with the Topaz recut. Jeff is a very good cutter too and I''ve seen his amazing recuts. I think you''ll be very pleased with his work.

 

[Gypsy]

Thank you Chrono. I will be working with Jeff, and look forward to it.