Now what to do with my old stone? Recut?

[yrrp3738]

I am thinking these days of my old stone which is 0.5 ct H/vvs2 GIA certified. At the time, GIA only had polish/symmetry grade w/o cutting grade. Both "very good". I can see it's not a perfect ideal. I am thinking recut it to "ideal" and set it in a pendant with halo. Is it worth the recutting for a 0.5 ct stone? How much will it cost and what's the final size will be? Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[AprilBaby]

I'm guessing for a pendant no one will notice its not ideal and it will look beautiful in a halo anyway?

 

[stone-cold11]

No way to tell how much reduction in weight/dimension it will actually be. Depends on the proportion it is.

Recut is probably not worth it, and there is a chance of the stone damage on the wheel, unless it really lacks sparkle.

 

[swingirl]

I had my original ering's 0.5 ct stone recut and put into a pendant and I love it. It started off as a poor cut with a huge girdle, no certificate. It became an beautiful stone, not quite H&A but close and only slightly less carat weight. Cost several hundred dollars but was well worth it. I wear it everyday and am very sentimental toward it.

Getting it recut depends on how much of an improvement can be made.

It sounds like your stone isn't so bad, though, especially if it's GIA.

 

[minmin001]

I wouldn't recut it for what it will cost and it sounded like a good diamond for a pendent~

 

[John P]

I am thinking these days of my old stone which is 0.5 ct H/vvs2 GIA certified. At the time, GIA only had polish/symmetry grade w/o cutting grade. Both "very good". I can see it's not a perfect ideal. I am thinking recut it to "ideal" and set it in a pendant with halo. Is it worth the recutting for a 0.5 ct stone? How much will it cost and what's the final size will be? Any suggestions? Thanks!

Yes. No. Maybe...

If it's spready and shallow-crowned it's probably not worth the reduction or effort.
If it has room and needs small adjustments to the main angles it could be easy and pop like never before.

To answer decisively will require more specific information.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I recently sent a 1 carat stone (ironically an H VVS!) to Brian Gavin to recut for me. The stone came from my mother so I wanted to use it. But it killed me that it was not well cut when my other diamonds were! The price when I sent my stone was $350 a carat with a minimum of $350. So you'd be looking at around $350 or so to recut (if you went with Brian). I am going from a 1.0 to around a .82, so you could expect to go maybe to the .40 range as an estimate. But only you can decide whether the stone bothers you enough as it is to go to this expense and have the stone possibly end up smaller. (I have not had my original diamond recut because it is a lot like John mentioned, large table and very shallow crown.)

 

[John P]

So you'd be looking at around $350 or so to recut.

That depends on the recutting/repair company selected.

I am going from a 1.0 to around a .82, so you could expect to go maybe to the .40 range as an estimate.

I'm not trying to be thorny DS - you offer good information - but here again there's no way to say decisively whether it would finish at 0.49 or 0.25 or somewhere in-between without knowing specifics of the original stone and the target finish.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I know, John! I tried to make it clear I was just giving her an idea of what to expect. I think Brian has recut several stones around here with very good results, but I do think I recall an instance of where he recommended the person not recut. It helped me to know the price because that helped me determine whether I'd even be interested in doing it at all. If it had cost too much, it wouldn't have been worth doing. Hopefully she can decide whether it is worth pursuing at all.

 

[John P]

Got it DS. Thanks.

 

[Gypsy]

I bought an old cut (faces up like a .5) and it had a seven day 'inspection period'... had it sent straight to BGD to find out if it was a candidate for a recut-- I wanted to keep the old facet structure but improve performance. Brian had to have the stone in hand to tell me this.

If you want, send it in, and find out what it will take and whether it's worth the effort. I know Brian will tell you the truth. Then you will know and can make an educated decision.

 

[yrrp3738]

Thank you all.

dimensions: 5.10-5.13-3.21
depth 62.8%
table 56%

No idea of crown or pavilion angels. Currently set in 6-prong plat.
I think the symmetry causes the stone not as sparkle as it should be. Color is so good and vvs2!

 

[stone-cold11]

VG symm/polish should not have noticeable performance issue compared to Ex.