Getting yucky diamonds irradiated?

[Cleo]

I''m hoping someone here can help me with this one, as Google searches are drawing a blank.

I have possibly the most revolting pair of diamond studs ever made, in my possession.

0.5ct, bezel set in yellow gold.

Actually, to be fair to them, they seem reasonable well cut and totally eye clean. The problem is they are SOOOOO yellow!!

I am incredibly colour sensitive and I hate the colour of these stones with a passion - they must be something like Z colour!

Anyway, I realise that generally irradiated diamonds are not really the done thing - so please don''t shoot me down in flames for this. However, in this situation I am stuck with a horrible pair of earrings that reaaaaally bug me, and would love to turn them into something wearable by getting them irradiated.

Can anyone please point me in the direction of someone that might be able to help with this? Short of buying a suitcase full of dodgy plutonium from Russia, I just don''t think I can figure this one out for myself.

Thanks in advance!!

x x x

 

[Lorelei]

Cleo, off the top of my head, you could ask Wink or Jon at GOG as they might be able to point you in the right direction. What is the clarity of them, and do they have a grading report? I don't know how much any treatment would cost, as to whether it would be worth doing, but it is a good idea to find out! Or might a recut or even a reset which might show the colour to a better advantage, perhaps give them a makeover as an alternative? Are they 0.50ct each or the pair?

 

[LegacyGirl]

Good topic! I have the baby sisters of your diamonds. I have no idea what color they are but I was thinking around a z too! LOL I don''t want to get rid of them because my dad got them for my mom but I''d like to see them look a little better.

 

[Elmorton]

Oooh, and when you find out, can you post it here? I do love the color of irradiated blue diamonds and probably wouldn''t buy one (I''ve just never seen one that wasn''t so heavily included that it was worth having) - but taking one of my pre-PS diamonds and making it blue, that''s something I''ve never thought of! Kewl idea.

 

[Cleo]

Thank you Lorelei.

I did actually send a message to Wink a week or so ago via their website, but didn''t get a reply.

The earrings are .5ct total weight, uncerted B&M (junk) I mean, jewellery. Even so, I think they were about £600 ($1200).

I figure at least they have a semi-decent cut & great clarity, so it would be nice to salvage something from them.

Recutting/resetting are lovely ideas - but these really are beyond that!

x x x

 

[joflier]

One of the vendors in Tucson had an irradiated green diamond ring. It was quite eye-catching! I know there are probably a lot of people on here that think its a big no-no, but I personally think its a cool idea. I mean, hey, if it''ll help you enjoy them more, why not?

 

[niceice]

Without a doubt, the person to contact for a referral to somebody for something like this would be Marty Haske of Adamas Gem Labs not because he will be able to help you get the diamonds irradiated (so I''m not making a referral to Marty for business purposes) but he''s simply a wealth of information on this subject. Marty has conducted volumes of research on irradiated diamonds and in doing so has developed relationships with most of the companies which provide this service.

I don''t know much about the process personally, it''s not something that we play with, however I do believe that whether it can be done or not has to do with the crystal type, I believe that it has to be Type II crystal, so you''ll probably have to have the diamonds tested to determine whether it can be done or not.

Question. You know how sometimes it''s less expensive to buy a new house instead of remodel the one you''re living in to what you want it to be? This might be one of those cases... Why not sell the diamonds you have on Craig''s List or something and then use the money to pay a pair you''ll really like?

 

[dmus]

Could the yellow gold bezel setting be contributing to the yellow cover? Or is this a stupid question? Like to know though.

 

[DiamondGirlHH]

Once I read about this company in Utah where they greatly improve the color of any diamond. I have no further knowledge but take a look at their web site and ask them directly to see what they suggest:

Sundance

 

[Cleo]

Wow - thank you so much for all your replies!

It''s nice to know that others have kind of the same feelings about improving pre-PS diamonds.

Joflier - my best friend has an irradiated blue-green diamond that is a beautiful colour. Like you, it''s not something I''d necessarily buy - but it might be a good fix for something horrible!

Todd - thankyou! I have sent an email to Marty. What a great website! Some amazing info on there... and that cracked emerald situation is quite incredible. I appreciate your suggestion - thankyou.

Dave - I''d thought about that too - but honestly they are soooooo yellow I think even if I painted them blue they would STILL be yellow!

DiamondGirl - wow! Thankyou!! That''s an amazing website!! I haven''t read it all yet.. but I''m heading there right now. Cool!

x x x

 

[CaptAubrey]

There are a couple of things needing unraveling in this thread.

Irradiating diamonds is generally not expensive, depending on who you get to do it. But fresh out of the "oven," all the stones are blue to green. If that''s what you want, fine. If you want other colors, further or other treatment is necessary. There are several different methods of irradiation, each with variying results.

The "type IIa" treatment Todd mentions as well as the stuff Marty Haske discusses on his site and what Sundance does is not irradation but rather high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) annealing, in which the stones are subjected to very high pressures and temperatures, similar to the conditions under which diamonds grow. What you get depends entirely on what you put in, and even then, the results are unpredictable. Brown type IIa stones can be made colorless, other type I stones can be made various shades of yellow, yellow-green, blue, or pink. Combine it with irradiation, and you can get all sorts of other colors. HPHT treatment is more expensive and the stones must be repolished after treatment. So I suspect that this isn''t what you had in mind.

 

[Cleo]

CaptAubrey - thank you for your reply!

I expected that irradiation would turn the colour a blue/greenish shade. This is fine, as anything''s better than the way they look now!

I didn''t think that any treatment could actually *whiten* the stones, I didn''t expect it to.

(The info on the HPHT process amazed me when I read they could whiten brown type IIa stones - wow!). Repolishing etc is far too much expense and trouble to go to for a couple of second rate stones, so whilst the HPHT is fascinating and new info to me, it''s not really for me in this instance.

Of course, I guess there''s a risk of my diamonds ending up different colours, but then they could always be used in another piece of jewellery in future. At least they''d still be pretty diamonds afterwards, which is more than can be said for them now.

You say irradiating diamonds isn''t that expensive, depending on who you get to do it - which sounds like you know some places where it can be done.

Could you please let me know of any places worth contacting?

Thankyou!!

x x x

 

[belle]

Date: 2/22/2008 1:57:46 PM
Author: niceice

You know how sometimes it''s less expensive to buy a new house instead of remodel the one you''re living in to what you want it to be? This might be one of those cases... Why not sell the diamonds you have on Craig''s List or something and then use the money to pay a pair you''ll really like?

i agree with this. besides, i can''t imagine a well cut diamond of *any* color looking bad. if they are truly that bad, it would seem the cut isn''t that great either. are you sure you will be happy with just a possible color change? sparkle looks good in all colors. non-sparkle....not so much.

 

[CaptAubrey]

Date: 2/23/2008 6:07:17 AM
Author: Cleo

You say irradiating diamonds isn''t that expensive, depending on who you get to do it - which sounds like you know some places where it can be done.


Could you please let me know of any places worth contacting?

Didn''t see this post until today--sorry.

I would contact Prism Gem Services. They are one of the few US treaters I know of who will accept stones directly from consumers.

 

[Cleo]

Date: 2/26/2008 3:39:16 PM
Author: CaptAubrey

Didn''t see this post until today--sorry.

I would contact Prism Gem Services. They are one of the few US treaters I know of who will accept stones directly from consumers.

Thank you so much!!

x x x

 

[disney777]

Just wanted to let you know that I had a .76 diamond I just wasn''t happy with, after finding a jeweler that had real sparklies. He accepted my diamond, to submit to his "guy", but couldn''t guarantee the color. He said that the color depends on certain components in the diamond. Most turn out blue, but there was a chance I would get a gray stone. Since I wasn''t happy with the stone and wasn''t wearing it, I took my chances. It turned out a beautiful blue, and now I can wear it again! I just ordered a new setting for it last week. Can''t wait to see it in a new "outfit". This jeweler is a friend of a friend. The irradiation cost about $120.

 

[Cleo]

Disney777 - wow that is fantastic!

I would love to see pictures (before and after if possible!) if you have them!! Did the diamond have to be removed from the mounting to be treated?

$120 is a bargain for gaining a diamond you can wear, from something you wouldn''t.

PrismGem didn''t get back to me, so I have contacted them again and hope they bother to reply this time...

Thanks for sharing your experience and do post pics if you can!!

x x x

 

[disney777]

Unfortunately, I didn't take a before pic. I should have the stone/new setting back in a couple of weeks. I'm new to all this, but will try to get a decent pic and try to post it. The stone is very clear, but the color just didn't thrill me. I don't know that if it had inclusions, they would have showed more after being colored. I am very happy with the blue color, and now it will be in a white gold setting. I thought it was pretty, even in a plain yellow gold band.
Yes, he plucked it right out of the setting and sent it off. I got lucky, as his person was doing a batch. He said I may have to wait a couple months, but the timing was right for me. I guess it was meant to be.