natural

[jds]

I had a jeweler reset my diamond b/c I wasn''t happy with the style. He agreed to on the condition that I must take it or leave it when it was done. He felt that since the ring (shank and prongs) was custome made, he''d lose money on it.
When it was finished the way I wanted it, and I went to his office (he''s an importer/wholesaler) to pick it up, he said he must be honest and point out that in setting it, a flaw that was on the edge near the girdle "popped out" and caused a natural. Imperceptible to the naked eye but visible with a 10x loupe, which I confirmed there with him.
He offered my money back, if I wasn''t happy, or the ring, as is, not subject to anything. No further money back guarantee. He believes that not only will this natural not reduce the diamond''s value, but it may raise the clarity from SI1 to VSI2.
This man worships with my father and has known him for many years. The word is he is very reputable and ethical.
My questions:
1. Does a natural matter?
2. What are the odds of this happening? Does it sound peculiar that it happened to the self same stone I had reset? Might the setter have switched the diamond? Might the jeweller have?
3. The ring is gorgeous, my girlfriend will not notice the natural, indeed I did not myself without a loupe.
What would you men out there do in this situation? Take it, or leave it and start the shopping process all over again?
Much obliged!!!

 

[Rank Amateur]

Naturals are made by God, not benchmen. A real natural would be part of the rough that was never polished. I think they are kind of neat because a little part of your diamond is as it was formed deep inside the earth.

It sounds to me like your jeweler chipped it and it worries me that such a "reputable" guy would call it a "natural". I suppose it is indented like a natural may be, but natural it is not. I also would love to hear how this could RAISE the clarity from SI to VS. Maybe he/you meant lower the clarity from SI1 to SI2. In that case the value would be lower accordingly. As for future durability, iIt would take a real expert to asses whether or not more chipping is likely now that this has happened - and even then it is often more guesswork than science.

As for getting your money back, only you can decide if you are happy with the ring for the price you paid.

R/A

 

[Richard Sherwood]

I tend to agree with Rank. It sounds like the jeweler chipped your diamond, and then gave you the run around when delivering it to you.

The only way to know for sure is to take it to a gemologist appraiser, preferably an independent. If it was in fact chipped, he can issue you a damage assessment report. It will detail the loss of value due to the chip.

Did you have a certificate or appraisal which had a diagram drawn of the inclusions, and if so, did it show a flaw near the area where it is now chipped? It could be indeed that there was a flaw which predisposed the diamond to chipping at that point, but it would not be a "natural" (as Rank pointed out) but a chip.

Here's the bad news. Even if the jeweler chipped it, technically he's not responsible. All diamond setting is done at your risk. (Unless set by the seller of the diamond and setting). This has been upheld in court several times.

The good news is that your homeowners insurance will probably cover the damage up to a $1000 with the submittal of the damage assessment report from the appraiser.

The way damage is assessed is in one of two ways:

Assessing the drop in value from the higher clarity grade to the lower, or -

Assessing the drop in value after having the diamond recut to eliminate the chip. This drop would include the cost of recutting, the drop in carat weight, and the drop in per carat pricing if the weight dropped past a critical juncture (such as a 1.01 dropping to a 0.99 or less).

 

[jds]

Thanks for replying.
The total price I paid for the ring is, I believe, very good. I paid $7300 for a 1.24 F SI1 w/ very good proportions and finish. The setting is a good guage platinum shank with tapered baguettes totalling .30 carat.
The chip, and I can see your point on this, that it's a chip not a "natural" is not visible to the naked eye, as I've said.
As you can probably imagine, I'm agonizing over this decision.
Anybody else have any advice? I will make a decision by Tuesday and let everyone know. Decision is mine to make but it's nice to have input.

 

[3hearts]

jds,

my 2cents. you may think that your girlfriend may not notice the chip or inclusion now, but in time she will. Woman love to look at their rings.

My husband bought me a beautiful sapphire ring. A few days later, I notice a little mark by the girdle. I thought I cracked the stone on something. I felt horrible. I went to the nearest jeweler and he confirmed it was a natural inclusion and reassured me that it would not get any bigger. When we contacted the store that sold us the ring, they said "all sales are final". They were not going to do anything for us. My husband and I felt horrible because we both thought we were getting a quality stone. I see that inclusion everytime I put on the ring and remember that horrible experience.

If we had to do it all again, we would not have bought the ring. I would have started the whole process over. As a woman, I want everything perfect and I'm sure your girlfriend would want the same. That chip or inclusion will always be there and to me its an imperfection that you will always see with or without the loupe.

just my opinion...

 

[Richard Sherwood]

JDS, do you already own the diamond, or is this a diamond you're considering purchasing?

I ask, because originally you said "I had a jeweler reset my diamond...", and then in your last post it seems like you're trying to decide whether to purchase it or not.

If the diamond was chipped, there's a possibility the clarity grade has dropped. Let's say it just dropped one grade, from an SI1 to an SI2.

There is a 16% price drop between those two grades. If that's the case with this diamond, then the value might have dropped a little over a $1000 (adjusting for the price of the platinum baguette mounting).

If you're still intent on purchasing the diamond, my advice would be to have an independent third party take a look at the stone (a reasonable request), to determine if it has indeed dropped in clarity. If so, ask the appraiser what the drop in value is, and then tell the jeweler you're still interested, but feel the stone should be re-priced.

You're crazy if you don't have this checked out. Just tell the jeweler you're interested, but would like to have an indepedent appraiser take a look at the stone. People do it everyday. It's nothing to feel embarassed about. If the jeweler balks, then you know there's a problem.