Lower limit on girdle thickness

[ringsearcher]

Here''s another question regarding girdle for the experts:

I''m a bit confused as to what would be an appropriate minimum girdle thickness on a round brilliant. Some sources indicate an ideal range of 0.7-1.7%, others 2-3%, and yet others 1-2%.

I found a great 1.6 carat round. All the AGS report specs look great, but the girdle thickness is 0.7-1.7%. Should I be concerned about this rock in a 6-prong setting? My main concern is chipping -- my girlfriend works in a hospital, so the ring would probably get moderately high wear.

Thanks in advance!

 

[niceice]

We "prefer" a girdle thickness of 1.0% to 1.8% but 0.7% is nothing to necessarily worry about... If the proportions are great for the rest of the stone, we wouldn't be inclined to worry so much about the girdle, especially in a six prong head which tends to be pretty substantial for that size stone... What we're trying to say is that if all else is good on the stone, we wouldn't worry too much if the girdle is a little thin or a little thick providing that it is not affecting the visual properties of the stone... The biggest risk of chipping a diamond tends to be during the setting process, after that it is really a matter of not wearing the ring during aggressive activities like digging around in the yard, working out at the gym, rock climbing, etc... and the ring should be insured against loss, damage, theft, etc. so that if something does happen to it the chip will be your insurance company's problem, not yours...

One unrelated piece of advice, if your fiance is likely to be in the operating room or somewhere she would be inclined to safety pin her ring to her "scrubs" buy her a sturdy necklace with a good clasp on it and tell her to hang her ring on that when she needs to take it off because we've replaced a lot of rings for clients who have pinned the rings to their scrubs and then tossed them out with the laundry at the hospital...