Modern love? And I don't mean the column.

[Circe]

I'm trying to decide if I should send my MRB engagement ring to Singlestone for a recut.

Despite my strong intention to wear my anniversary ring BESIDE and not INSTEAD OF my engagement ring, I default to the anniversary ring about 80% of the time. When I'm not wearing it, I'm either just stacking bands, or wearing a smaller vintage ring. I seem to have gone all-old-cut. I'm even starting to eyeball my beloved pair pendant, facet-wise.

Selling it is not an option - I'm waaaaaaaay too sentimental. And my husband, somewhat unexpectedly, is sentimentally averse to a reset, which would have been my first instinct - modern stones look awesome in aggressively modern settings, so I might have gone with a Sholdt semi-bezel, or a yellow gold bezel in a brushed finish, or something.

But I don't think he'd have any feelings about my recutting it, any more than he did about my messing with the prongs.

Are there any potential downsides to recutting? The crown isn't particularly high, so I'd probably ask for just the pavilion, and wind up with a stone in the vein of a typical transitional. It's already below the "magic number" at 1.46, so I don't think there's much value loss if it goes down another few points. Thoughts from those of you who've done it?

 

[SB621]

I have no idea on any of questions you brought up but I will be watching this process as it might work for my MRB as well. I would love to have it cut to a tranny. But at the same time it sort of takes away the romance for me knowing it isn't a true antique cut. Decisions right?!

 

[Rosebloom]

Half way through your post I had my answer all ready - reset in a brushed YG Sholdt semibezel! Clearly great minds think alike. That and a LM three stone with pear sides are my favorite settings for a MRB. So gorgeous.

Is it an ideal cut? If it is, I wouldn't mess with it. You have such a vast collection and this provides some diversity. You may in a decade crave the precision and totally different look of a MRB, even if just once in a while. Also if someday you pass this collection to your child, they may prefer a MRB so it might be nice to leave one in the mix. Not that you should make decisions based on that but just another version of the diversity argument.

Also your anniversary ring is so spectacular (and the size so satisfying), I feel like if it was me I would mainly be wearing this ring for sentimental reasons. So if you're going to be sentimental about it, keeping it as close to the original as possible makes sense to me.

However I'd get that pear recut ASAP!!! It's amazing as is, especially with the awesome setting, but a gorgeous chunky pear with a culet? OMG.

 

[Rosebloom]

One more thing - maybe your husband will come around on a reset someday. Especially since if you keep your original setting you can always put it back. And then you could happen across an authentic antique diamond to set into the original setting and have the best of both worlds.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Do you actually think you would wear it more with a recut?

I think size might be the bigger factor affecting your choice, especially since your two stones are actually more similar facet-wise than most MRBs and old cuts...

 

[Circe]

I have no idea on any of questions you brought up but I will be watching this process as it might work for my MRB as well. I would love to have it cut to a tranny. But at the same time it sort of takes away the romance for me knowing it isn't a true antique cut. Decisions right?!

I know what you mean ... but I think I lost my aversion when I saw an AVR in person. It doesn't have the history, but those big, beautiful facets get me every time.

Half way through your post I had my answer all ready - reset in a brushed YG Sholdt semibezel! Clearly great minds think alike. That and a LM three stone with pear sides are my favorite settings for a MRB. So gorgeous.

Is it an ideal cut? If it is, I wouldn't mess with it. You have such a vast collection and this provides some diversity. You may in a decade crave the precision and totally different look of a MRB, even if just once in a while. Also if someday you pass this collection to your child, they may prefer a MRB so it might be nice to leave one in the mix. Not that you should make decisions based on that but just another version of the diversity argument.

Also your anniversary ring is so spectacular (and the size so satisfying), I feel like if it was me I would mainly be wearing this ring for sentimental reasons. So if you're going to be sentimental about it, keeping it as close to the original as possible makes sense to me.

However I'd get that pear recut ASAP!!! It's amazing as is, especially with the awesome setting, but a gorgeous chunky pear with a culet? OMG.

Heheheheh - great minds think alike INDEED! My stone isn't an ideal cut - it's in the parameters for an FIC, but it's uncerted, bought in my pre-PS days. And I see what you're saying about sentiment ....

One more thing - maybe your husband will come around on a reset someday. Especially since if you keep your original setting you can always put it back. And then you could happen across an authentic antique diamond to set into the original setting and have the best of both worlds.

... though I also think this makes a lot of sense! I probably wouldn't put an antique diamond into the original e-ring setting even if the hubs wasn't reset averse - getting another just the same size would feel redundant to me, somehow, . His birthstone, the ruby, on the other hand? THAT could work ... but *he* gets sentimental so infrequently that I think I'm going to let this one go and just think it's cute.

Do you actually think you would wear it more with a recut?

I think size might be the bigger factor affecting your choice, especially since your two stones are actually more similar facet-wise than most MRBs and old cuts...

I'm not sure if I'd wear it more often. I certainly I THINK so ... but I also thought I'd be alternating them pretty evenly, so what do I know? I don't think it's a size thing - for me it's seeing big facets and the high crown that makes it. I'd only get one out of two if I did this, but ... that has the potential to be fulfilling, if it will give me the play of light that I love.

Part of the problem, I think, might be that I simply haven't seen any "traditional" transitional's in person for more than a minute in a jewelry store, so I don't know how they'd perform. I don't know if they have a lot of fire, which is what I'm hoping for. Can you guys think of anybody on board with a transitional-type diamond with a low-ish crown for an old cut, table around 57-59%? I'd love to see their pics!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Do you actually think you would wear it more with a recut?

I think size might be the bigger factor affecting your choice, especially since your two stones are actually more similar facet-wise than most MRBs and old cuts...

I'm not sure if I'd wear it more often. I certainly I THINK so ... but I also thought I'd be alternating them pretty evenly, so what do I know? I don't think it's a size thing - for me it's seeing big facets and the high crown that makes it. I'd only get one out of two if I did this, but ... that has the potential to be fulfilling, if it will give me the play of light that I love.

Part of the problem, I think, might be that I simply haven't seen any "traditional" transitional's in person for more than a minute in a jewelry store, so I don't know how they'd perform. I don't know if they have a lot of fire, which is what I'm hoping for. Can you guys think of anybody on board with a transitional-type diamond with a low-ish crown for an old cut, table around 57-59%? I'd love to see their pics!

The larger carat weight has a HUGE impact of the visual size of the facets. HUGE. Like, much much more of an impact than you would achieve recutting your 1.42. So I am not at all convinced that a recut would even achieve what you want.

For me, overall balance in the optical properties of the cut are most important. So, recutting the pavilion might make the facets larger but could negatively impact the overall optics -- the fire, scintillation, leakage etc. I don't think its a win, to be totally frank. I still don't think it would compete in the bold facet war!

Fire is a function of all the proportions. There is no rule regarding crown height specifically. But only a master could determine the optimal pavilion to yield the greatest fire.

ETA: not relevant given your stone's proportions.

What about a super ideal MRB recut? That is different too.