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Houston, we have a problem. Gouge in diamond. Mara????

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divergrrl

divergrrl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 9, 2002
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2,224
I went to go clean my ring today & found a HUGE gouge out of the table of my ring. I''m a little perplexed since I think it would require a pretty hard knock to do that and I don''t recall doing anything evil to my hand. The gouge is probably 4.5 mm long by 1mm wide. Awful. I can''t stop staring at it through my loupe. I''m drinking some wine to dull the pain.

Bah.

So I have to call my insurance co, but its covered, so I have a feeling I''ll be in the market for a new stone. I''m just sick at the thought of having to replace the stone my hubby gave me, but....I don''t think there is much other choice. The gouge is HUGE.

What the hell?

Anyhoo. I think I might opt for a round this time, they seem more durable to me. And I want something upgradeable. If I''m going to have to replace this one, then I want to go with a company that has a good upgrade policy.

Is Whiteflash still a fave? I''ve been away from Pricescope for so long I don''t know where to start.

I''m color sensitive, I have about a $7500 budget, and I don''t know where to begin. Other than calling my ins. agency and visiting my jeweler tomorrow.

Thanks!

xoxo

Diver.
 
So sorry to hear about your stone! That really is a bummer.

So you say you''re thinking about a round stone this time but what about a setting? Does your $7500 need to include a new setting?
 
Oh Diver, that is too bad about your stone; you have such a beautiful ring! I bought some new diamond studs from Brian Gavin diamonds recently and had a great experience with them; there are lots of threads in SMTR w/BGD. Whiteflash is great too. I bet your kiddos are getting so big; good to see you but sorry about your ring!
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Boo...
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I''m so sorry about your stone. At least you are handling it well. I would be doing the wine thang too!

There are so many great PS vendors, it''s really hard to choose. I waffled a lot before going with ID Jewelry. I''m very happy with my RB''s. Good Luck!!
 
Whoa!
So sorry to hear this.
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What was the clarity grade, was there a feather there?
 
Whoa!
So sorry to hear this.
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What was the clarity grade?
Was there a feather there?
(Yes, I realize that even a flawless diamonds can chip too.)

Is it the princess cut diamond in your avatar?
 
How in the world did you get a 4.5mm gouge on a diamond that''s 5.8mm or so that''s bezel set
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Is the bezel dinged too? I just can''t imagine a chip that large
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Didn''t you crack or chip 2 other stones? I wonder if you do some repeat activity that is causing the damage. Definitely a bummer.

How is your insurance handling covering the an ering stone 3 times? I worry about making a claim on my jewelry insurance and having them refuse the next claim or cancel the policy if it''s for the same thing. What king of insurance do you have.
 
Swinggrrl. I thought I had a chip in this stone and took it in to get it checked. The jeweler said no chip. I could feel a little crack with my finger and we went around and around. He Assured me no. Then I had it reset into a bezel- the one on my avatar- and figured it would be safer there anyway. That jeweler said it was ok too.

Besides where I though the chip was is covered by my bezel.

I''m just sick because I really love my ring.

As for inclusions I have no clue. It''s an SI2 so I''m sure there was something but I could not tell you the location.

I''ll try to take a pic of it. It''s so weird the setting is ok. It just the top alongside the bezel got scraped off inebone big line. I think I''d notice if I knocked my hand that hard on something.

I''ve had the worst headache now since I discovered this. My hubby is being very sweet about it. I was afraid he''d be upset too.
 
So to answer your question, I''ve never had an insurance claim. I have reset my ring on my own dime though. And yes - my budget is ring and setting. Makes reusing my original seem wise. If they can. I do love the princess.
 
I am so sorry Diver.....We are here to help you though
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Hope the kids are ok!
 
Date: 11/21/2009 4:25:01 AM
Author: divergrrl
So to answer your question, I''ve never had an insurance claim. I have reset my ring on my own dime though. And yes - my budget is ring and setting. Makes reusing my original seem wise. If they can. I do love the princess.
Click to expand...
So if you reuse your setting and get another princess stone, you''ve got a larger budget for stone alone. How big is the princess you have now?
 
Has the damage been looked over by an independent appraiser?

If it is not that bad, maybe a re-polish could work?
 
Had my diamond checked today. It''s toast. So my next step is to call my insurance company and make a claim.

So. Not. Fun.

I looked at a few loose stones today, just for inspiration, but it started giving me a headache. I''m currently gathering info...cut, specs, price, etc...

Hopefully, I can make a good decision.
 
Sorry to hear this, but glad it''s insured.

Look on the bright side.
The more time you spend on PS the more savvy you are so the better diamond you are going to get.
 
Date: 11/21/2009 9:54:13 PM
Author: divergrrl
Had my diamond checked today. It''s toast. So my next step is to call my insurance company and make a claim.

So. Not. Fun.

I looked at a few loose stones today, just for inspiration, but it started giving me a headache. I''m currently gathering info...cut, specs, price, etc...

Hopefully, I can make a good decision.
Click to expand...
I am really sorry.....
 
Lorelei, thanks hon! Actually, I decided, I''m not going to look at this negatively. I spent a few hours last night researching the advanced tutorials here, and feel a little better about shopping.

Really, all I need is to know what my budget is. Then I can begin.

So I''ll just break it down into easy steps. Step 1: Call insurance company and start claim. (actually step 1 should be "do other things this weekend so you don''t obsess about jewelry while the ins. co is closed"... good thing I have a girls day planned today)

Then once I hear from them, I can start looking. I just don''t know what their policy is. I don''t know if my reimbursement is going to be Retail Replacement Value, I specifically remember asking my agent about this, and he told me yes, but he''s kind of a ditz. My insurance paperwork only lists the separate jewelry items and their insured amounts, but no specifics. So that makes me the ditz for not getting it in writing.

My appraisal on my stone was $7300--I had it done by an independent GIA appraiser back in 2006. 1.13 princess cut...h/sI1

I''m not looking forward to the call.

I do have pics....the jeweler who looked at it (I took it to two. My jeweler and another close to my house) took pics for me.

One question about B&M stores. There is one in my town (very close to my home) that is locally owned, has 3 locations, etc. They carry an excellent selection of designer settings (after my custom adventures, if I decide to to a different setting, I don''t think I can handle custom again. I''ve fallen for a specific setting years ago & would just like to get that....kwim?)

The manager was extremely helpful/understanding y''day and the prices he was quoting me weren''t far off from Whiteflash or my other jeweler (small, private, reputable). Plus I do believe they price match.

When I went into my jeweler, I got a funny vibe from my regular SA, even though I''ve done a fair amount of business there. She did show me a fabulous setting, and a pretty nice stone (F, SI1, Ideal Cut RB for $7100, 1.25 carat--55% table, 59% depth--I think--I''m not sure if that''s a good price)

But when I wanted to talk about cut & performance, it was like I hit a brick wall.

I guess...if I''m going to get a new stone, I want to be sure the cut & color are the best I can afford, so I''m not willing to just take any old stone. And I felt like she was annoyed that I asked her to pull stones from the vault. She wouldn''t even let me compare them, I had to urge her along. Finally she started to warm up, but it left me feeling like I wouldn''t get helped the way a PSer needs to with a stone.

Whereas the B&M manager was really open-minded about bringing in stones, etc for me to look at & emailed me at home to send me pics to help with the insurance.

I am somewhat open to working with an online vendor (GOG, James Allen, Whiteflash) but part of me wants to SEE the stone before I buy. I do like keeping my $$ in my community as well.

Anyhoo, this is the stuff that has kept me up the last 2 nights. And like I said, I need to coordinate with my insurance co before I can proceed.

But I''m pretty sure I''m going RB this time. I am looking at cusions as well, but I put a RB next to a Cushion y''day (loose) and there was a huge difference for me in brilliance.

If anyone can recommend any other good threads to read on here re: choosing a round (I read all the advanced tutorial stuff and am printing it off, putting it in a notebook & taking it with me, so I don''t get flustered).

On a romantic note, my hubby is going to surprise me with the new ring & possibly re-propose to make me feel better about the whole ordeal so I can feel "romantic" about the new ring.(he won''t tell me exactly, he wants it to be a surprise--but our anniversary is next month) Isn''t he SWEET?
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That was a nice thing to hear from him.


My kids are great...my son will be 5 in Dec & my little banana-head daughter just turned 2. They are a joy. Busy! But a total joy. They crack me up. My girl is just hilarious...such a banana head.

bangupring.jpg
 
Well what about something like this if it is eye clean? http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2199903.htm
If you want a round brilliant I would get (write down) the numbers (the pavilion angle, crown angle, table% and depth %) from the GIA certs or AGS certificates and use the HCA to plug in the numbers. The HCA is a tool to weed out bad performing stones. https://www.pricescope.com/cutadviser.asp Numbers from 0-2 are good and above 2 you weed out. Your hubby is sweet to propose again and pick the new setting!

eta: I had to submit a claim with State Farm. They just gave me the money but they checked the value of my stone though before they gave me the money. I guess it varies on what they do. I did have the cert and appraisal and pictures of my ring on file w/my agent. I hope it is an easy process for you; I do remember it took a few weeks to know anything as far as my claim went.
 
Thanks Skippy! Awww...so nice to see you! I missed you!

I got all caught up in knitting about a year ago (totally enabled by some PS friends, go figure) and have kind of dropped off this forum in favor of Ravelry. Oh yeah, now I obsess about luxury fibers. Sheesh.

Thanks for the resources. I just went on my ins. co website & found this:

"If an item is scheduled, you’ll receive full replacement cost coverage for the item, and no deductible will apply".

This is what my agent told me & all my stuff is scheduled. Yay.

That''s a relief.

I am not as concerned with clarity as I am with overall quality/performance. PS style. Yanno?
 
From the pic it looks like if they let you keep the old diamond you could send it out for a recut without catastrophic carat loss compared to if it was split right down the middle.
 
If I lost or mangled my stone today, I would surely buy from an online vendor. I think you get more for your money and if performance is your main objective, you''ll certainly find it with these vendors. I wouldn''t think twice about going back to that jeweler and begging them to show you stones. If you get a bad vibe, there is usually a reason for it. I understand wanting to keep the money local but the bottom line is that it''s your money and you want it to as much for you as it can. If that were local, fine. If not, go someplace else.

What setting is it that you had your eye on in the past? That would maybe help so you''d know how much you''d have left for the stone.
 
Kenny: 2 jewelers already said that''s a no go. The pictures don''t show how deep/bad it is IRL.
 
no go? weird, do they actually have experience with re-cutting/polishing process or are they trying to push a sale, I am wondering.

Not sure really how bad it is, but it is definitely going to be re-cut once the insurance company pay for it, that''s how they re-coup their loss. How much value is loss is another business.
 
Hi

with your old diamond I would get Brian Gavin (used to be with WF and has now started his own company) to look at it, he is a real cutter and I wouldnt trust anyone else to tell me objectively what to do with the old stone. he has done some other recuts, if you search on here.

with your stone, WF, BGD (Brian Gavin Diamonds) GOG, etc are all great as always. Take your time and dont rush, find the stone that speaks to you, iykwim, I month to the anniversary is not far away, just take your time

good luck

I really really recommend going to Brian with your old stone.

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d2b
 
Sorry about your stone Diver. I would definitely chat with Brian. Not just about getting a round but also seeing if there is hope for this stone.
I can''t believe you DD is 2!! Time sure does fly. I remember what a cutie your son is too!!! You make beautiful babies.

Anyway, best of luck...

Let us know how it goes.
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Diver!!! I saw your post in the preggo workout thread...long time for sure!

I am so sorry to hear about your stone...! I didn''t see the response to this but was there a feather there or any sort of inclusion that might have taken a knock and cleaved the stone? That would be the most ''likely'' scenario I''d think, but yeah you would imagine a bezel set stone would be so much safer right.

Why considering a round now instead of another square? The square technology for some of the cutting is pretty darn amazing now... I remember seeing those WF Princess stones a few years ago, just stunning!

I saw you are teaching Zumba...SO JEALOUS. I miss it so much right now! I am 30 weeks, it''s so odd giving up my body to anothers control, but I''ve made it this far so just a bit more to go. We''re having a BOY and we are getting very excited as the countdown nears. And Jake is one of the names we are considering (Jacob/Jake). Can''t believe your 2nd is 2 now... time totally flies.
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It seems like ages since our dinner but I guess it wasn''t that long ago eh???
 
Just wanted to add if you look into recutting it have the cutter recommend a shape that retains maximum weight.
It may not be a princess.
 
I''m sorry about your diamond Diver! I think you should buy online because the PS vendors are used to PS crazies
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and their trade up policies and customer servcie are great.

Some vendors that get lots of recommendations:

Good Old Gold, Brian Gavin Diamonds, Whiteflash... there''s more but those pop into my mind first.
 
I am so sorry to hear about your diamond. Have fun shopping for the new one though.
 
Mara: Hey I can hijack my own thread right??

*Hugs!!!* I am so excited for you! My son''s name is Jake, and its a great name. I love it on a boy. He''s "just Jake" though. Yeah, Delaney turned 2 in September and she''s hilarious.

Hey you are only 30 weeks...keep that Zumba going!!! I danced until 40 weeks with Jake...was too uncomfortable to do much but walk though after my 7th month with D. I''m sure you look so cute as a preggers...

Well, I decided to not do anything/think anything until I get my claim squared away.

As it turns out, the claims 800 number is open 24/7, so I called and started it yesterday and we''ll just go from there. So I''m just waiting right now. Guess I could call my agent and give him a heads up, but would that really help? I doubt it.

I know I''m a PSer and all, but I''m trying this mantra out

"I will not over think this, I will not over-obsess this"

Yeah...good luck with that, right?

But I will try to keep my head on.

As for recutting, no. I kind of feel like my diamond has been damaged and cutting isn''t an acceptable solution. What if it breaks again?

I''m also not willing to lose any more carat weight. This ring started out as a 1.25 when my hubby bought it, and the setter chipped the corner of it putting it into the setting. It had to be sent out, repolished/cut (if that even happened--not sure I believe the guy he bought it from) and now its a 1.11

So while I appreciate all the re-cut advice, I''m not even willing to consider. Thanks but no thanks.

It will all work out fine. I''m doing what I need to do to get this resolved.
 
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