opinions: can this sapphire be saved?

[fel]

So I bought a ring on bistro mostly for the semi-mount, and it came with a largish (8mm round) light green sapphire. The ring and sapphire come from Brilliant Earth. My question for you folks is -- do you think it is worth trying to recut this sapphire to render it attractive?

Negatives: cut and color. Cut appears to be terrible. There is a huge tilt window in every position but straight up and down. The color is quite desaturated. In indoor light in the evening the color looks like a mucky cream without the rainbows of a warm diamond. Whenever there is sunlight it is quite a bit more attractive (either yellow, green, or orange), but still has dark window in the middle.

Positives: It has a pretty minty green color in sunlight if one can ignore the tilt window. It responds to UV light with a wonderful pinkish orange, so sometimes, in just the right sunlight, it looks green with orange sparkles. Sometimes it even appears to color shift to orange entirely. It is large enough that there may be something left after a recut.

See pictures and let me know what you think... Jerry Newman thinks he can improve it, but my question is, will the improvement be enough?

Note that I couldn't get a picture of the orange incarnation.



If nothing else, I would love to hear if others have had a sapphire with this shift between green and pinkish orange.

 

[fel]

One more. Inside with LED penlight. Sorry stone is kind of dirty.

 

[OreoRosies86]

I have a soft spot for gems that need a second chance so I say let Jerry work his magic! If you're not drawn to keeping the stone after the fact or can't envision a project, see if it sells on the bistro, LT, or the preloved forum.

 

[chrono]

Yes, I think this one can be saved but you should only do it if you love the colour. There's no point in spending money on labour and shipping to end up not enjoying the stone.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Since you describe the colour as yucky cream, it seems that no matter how good the cut, you just won't like it. A good cut will solve the window and may even improve the colour somewhat but you need more than that. On the other hand, it sounds like a fun colour change.

 

[fel]

So let me clarify. At night unless it is under a bright LED light it is yucky cream. During the day when there is some sunlight available (even indoors) it has intriguing sparkles of green, yellow and orange but also the distracting overwhelming tilt window (see picture, but also note that the picture is not really showing the yellow green and orange as well as real life).

So I guess if it were recut, I could use it as a daytime ring?

I was also thinking of bezeling it (possibly in rose gold) so that it is a bit more saturated.

 

[chrono]

The tilt window is perfectly normal and to be expected at that angle. Yes, it can get very large if viewed from an extreme angle and no amount of precision cutting can fix it.

 

[GemstoneNoob]

The tilt window is perfectly normal and to be expected at that angle. Yes, it can get very large if viewed from an extreme angle and no amount of precision cutting can fix it.

I thought that some degree of tilt window was normal, but extremes were to be avoided. As in, if you look at it from the side and can see an object clearly on the other side, it was to be avoided. Or if you could read lines of text through it.

As for the OP, if you like the color, keep it. The color isn't going to change drastically, so if you aren't thrilled with it as is, I wouldn't spend too much trying to change it. If it wont cost you that much and you're really curious, go for it, but show us the results when you finish!

 

[chrono]

The angle of the stone is at a very extreme angle (almost 90 degrees off the table). There's no avoiding such a large tilt window. If the stone was only slightly tilted (20 degrees off the table) then yes, I would agree that the tilt window is too large and can be lessened.

 

[fel]

Chrono,

Please look at the 2nd picture I posted (at the beginning of the thread). Is that normal, or I am being unfair to this poor sapphire?

 

[chrono]

Chrono,
Please look at the 2nd picture I posted (at the beginning of the thread). Is that normal, or I am being unfair to this poor sapphire?

Can I trouble you with several in-focus pictures? One from the top, a profile view, and a slightly tilted view. I'm guessing that the stone has a large table and low crown, a combination that is highly likely to show a tilt window easily. The stone was probably cut this way to save weight. If so, a recut will make the tilt window less obvious but you'll still have one.

 

[fel]

This is the best I could do. These shots are hard to get without a macro.

 

[Arcadian]

If you're only marginally ok with the stone (seems to be the case to me) IMO, not worth the money. Save that for a stone you really feel is worth the time and money.

I don't think you can EVER get away without a tilt window. You're basically looking for a unicorn. So maybe because you're not terribly in love with the stone, you're being a bit overly harsh?

I'm the weirdo that color will trump tilt windows for. the ONLY time it doesn't is if the window is so big straight on its not worth the energy.

 

[chrono]

If you're only marginally ok with the stone (seems to be the case to me) IMO, not worth the money. Save that for a stone you really feel is worth the time and money.

I don't think you can EVER get away without a tilt window. You're basically looking for a unicorn. So maybe because you're not terribly in love with the stone, you're being a bit overly harsh?

I'm the weirdo that color will trump tilt windows for. the ONLY time it doesn't is if the window is so big straight on its not worth the energy.

I agree; the cut isn't all that horrible. If you don't love the stone, I wouldn't spend more money on it that could be spent on something else that you will love much more.

 

[fel]

Update: I sent it off to Jerry Newman and in fact the cut is horrible, owing to a lack of depth. As Jerry put it, there is a "constant window" owing to a 34 degree culet angle.

Is there an interesting recut for a too-shallow round (7.6 diameter, 4.4mm deep, ) to make it ok and perhaps to hold color a bit better? I thought perhaps radiant, but maybe there is something out there even more creative?

To make it a proper round, Jerry thinks it would need to be down to about a 6.25 diameter, which seems like too much weight off to render it worthwhile.

 

[ElleK]

Jerry would be the best person to answer your questions about what cut would be best suitable to bring out the color and maintain the face up size, if any, since he has seen it in person. It sounds like he is suggesting that the stone will have to lose it's face up size if you are wanting better performance. Which would render it essentially useless for reusing it in this setting.

Have you looked for other stones to replace this one with? It sounds as though you don't really like the stone all that much anyway, so it might be better to let the idea of keeping this stone go, and instead concentrate on finding something you like to replace it.

 

[valeria101]

http://www.concavegems.com/detail.cfm?zNum=7255

Good luck !

 

[fel]

Replacing a stone of that size is going to have to wait until something amazing comes along on loupetroop or on sale. All my unset stones are smaller or wrong shape, and I don't have a lot of funds for this. I would look for an interesting garnet, tourmaline, spinel or inexpensive parti sapphire.

 

[chrono]

Jerry would be the best person to answer your questions about what cut would be best suitable to bring out the color and maintain the face up size, if any, since he has seen it in person. It sounds like he is suggesting that the stone will have to lose it's face up size if you are wanting better performance. Which would render it essentially useless for reusing it in this setting.

Have you looked for other stones to replace this one with? It sounds as though you don't really like the stone all that much anyway, so it might be better to let the idea of keeping this stone go, and instead concentrate on finding something you like to replace it.

+1 to all the above.

 

[partgypsy]

I wouldn't bother unless you really love the color of the stone. I do not care for the color of the stone, myself.