Please tell me this can be fixed..

[:)]

I am hoping you guys can help - after not really seeing any settings that were screaming ''buy me", I set my diamond in a $600 6 prong pseudo-''temp'' wg setting so that I can wear it to my childhood friend''s wedding this coming weekend that we are traveling to, and where my family will also be traveling - my family has not seen me (or the diamond) since we got engaged (we live on opposite coasts) and I know my parents are dying to see a ring on my finger. I selected the setting from a jeweler that actually offered to set it the same day (although that was not necessary, I was hoping to find someone who could do it in a week to a week and a half), when I called inquiring about length of time for setting, and if they had any plain settings in stock that could be directly purchased without having to wait for custom.

Although I again offered to come back a week later to give them time, they were kind enough to insist it was no problem and send it across the street after purchase for immediate setting that day (I think it took like 20 min).
I will mention that it was a handmade ''stock'' setting, and was a bit more brownish than most of their stock settings (pre-rhodium) and had a lot of dust in the bowl at the bottom only b/c I think it may play into what I think may be going on (or at least plays into my theories)

I now have two problems:

1. there are black areas around the edges where several of the prongs hit the diamond (visible with the loupe - I only louped it to make sure it was my stone, and because I was trying to figure out why the stone looked yellowish which is problem #2)) - initially I thought it was because they must not have cleaned out the bowl prior to setting it and all the dust got trapped between the diamond and prongs (I was kicking myself for not insisting then that I really come back another day to pick it up because I now concerned they did not clean it out properly because they were trying to do it quickly). After scrubbing it at home, I took it back and expressed concern that something was trapped because I could not clean the black off, and was told it was polishing paste left on the stone, and only needed an ultrasonic. I was walked back across the street to the place that set it, and it was taken into the back for an ultrasonic. When it came back out, it was still there (the guy that took me over there could still see it with the loupe) and at that point there was a discussion in a different language that took place which at the end the seller (who sold the setting) agreed to something. The guy disappeared to the back and I heard all kinds of machine wrrring noises, etc and he was gone for quite a while. He eventually returned maybe 10 min later and gave the ring back to the seller who louped it, said it was okay, and returned it to me. However, it STILL has the black between several of the prongs and now I am now worried that maybe there was some type of damage to the stone that caused it to turn black? Is this possible? I am only thinking this now because it did not respond to the professional ultrasonics. Or alternatively, is my original concern correct and they really did do a poor job cleaning it out prior to setting it and the prongs are so tight that black is trapped there and will never come off with an ultrasonic (because the prongs are so tight)? Some of the black areas, though, do not look like they are directly below the prongs, but are slightly adjacent, and I would have expected at least those to resolve with the ultrasonic. I am unable to scrape anything off either.

2. my diamond looks slightly yellow from the sides since setting it!!! It is really weird, but I am so used to seeing it so crisply white, but I can now see ever so faint of a yellow to it. I have tried changing lighting environments back to where I was used to seeing it (In white rooms) to eliminate possible environmental coloring causing the appearance, but it is still different than it was before. I probably would not have noticed it if I had not gotten so used to seeing it so incredibly icy white in the temp setting. I thought perhaps it was because the setting is white gold and maybe the yellow component in the white gold was reflecting into the stone? If you recall I mentioned it was a bit brownish prior to setting it - I was thinking maybe the rhodium did not get between the prongs and the diamond because they rhodiumed it after setting it (maybe the prongs are so tight that the rhodium cannot make it between the prongs and diamond?), so the brownishness of the setting prongs was reflecting through the stone causing the yellow appearance. I don''t think the diamond was switched or anything, but I can see a difference from what I was used to. OR is this just normal for ANY stone that gets set to appear faintly yellow?
I thought maybe I needed to switch to platinum to eliminate any yellow ''contaminants'' from the setting, but the jeweler was very dismissive of this. He assured me that he had louped it and that there are no areas that were not rhodiumed, that my theory is impossible, because when the ring is placed to rhodium it does not matter if it is set tightly, the rhodium will still go between the prongs and the diamond. He says (paraphrasing) it is because the rhodium is done electrically so that rhodium goes anywhere that is charged whether the liquid could get to the area or not. Is this correct? Somehow I have a hard time believing that something will go where it cannot touch (otherwise wouldn''t the entire thickness of the setting become rhodium?), but if you guys tell me this is true, then I will accept it. He is certain that there is no yellow appearance ''your stone is colorless'', and that it is all in my head - that I am just seeing things because I am ''so excited to have the ring on your finger and you are not used to having a ring there''. My fiancee and my friend (the only 2 people I have shown it to) can both see the slight yellowishness too, so I don''t think it is just me.

The black areas would not have bothered me (can only see with a loupe) except that in combination with the slightly yellowish tinge I feel like the ring is dirty or something and keep feeling the need to unset the diamond and scrub the heck out of the setting (kind of like seeing dust under the bed or something and needing to clean it up!)

I appreciate your help.

 

[Beacon]

Strange stuff.

Could the black spots be reflections of some discoloration of the setting itself? Maybe a discoloration under the prongs? Discoloration near the girdle is easily reflected back into the other side of the stone.

I had a small diamond (.65) set in a WG pendant. The setter did a bad job. Those prongs were squashed down and looked like they occupied a lot more area than they needed. The stone was ill seated in the setting too. I guess through the setting process those prongs also looked yellower than the body of the pendant, maybe b/c the disturbed the white gold finish. This in turn made the G color diamond look much yellower than I wanted.

I didn''t even bother to complain about it. I just took the whole mess to a new jeweler who knew better what they were doing. They retipped the prongs and it''s beautiful. Small, tapered, nice white prongs. The stone looked much whiter afterwards.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I have nothing... just wanted to give you a bump! I don''t remember you ever spilling about your stone... what color is it?

 

[denverappraiser]

Did you have an appraiser look at it before it was set? If so, show it to that same appraiser and ask them what’s up. If not, get it appraised now and tell the appraiser what your concerns are. It sounds sort of like crud on the inside surface of one of the prongs that’s reflecting through the stone and the machine noise you heard was an attempt to polish it off. The color can be a similar problem with something on the prong between the prong and the diamond that''s reflecting into the stone. Someone with a good microscope should be able to get to the bottom if it if this is the problem. If this is the issue, it shouldn''t be all that hard to repair. They can take out the stone, polish and rhodium the inside of the prongs and reset it. $600 is quite a bit for a temp type setting. Is this just a solitaire type mounting or is there more to it than that?

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[risingsun]

I agree with Beacon. I would take the ring to another jeweler and have them start over or fix the problem with the first setting. I sounds more like a setting problem than a stone problem. The diamond shouldn''t look worse after it''s set

 

[oldminer]

It does sound as if there is some dirt, polishing dust or other foreign material between the prongs or trapped under the prongs at the stone. Probably it can be removed.

Doing things in a hurry sometimes makes a small problem into a much larger one.

I''d be glad to take a look and see if it is something we could correct. The look would be at no cost, just shipping expenses in both directions.

Maybe one of the listed Pricescope appraisers in your local area would do the same and save you the shipping costs. Many appraisers have nearby resources to help fix problems, or enough expertise themselves to fix such situations.

 

[:)]

Beacon, C, Rising Sun, Denverappraiser, Oldminer,

Thank you all for your input. I feel better to know that what I think happened is not completely impossible, and at least it doesn''t sound like random damge to the stone itself. My gut really tells me it is the inside of those prongs - dirt and maybe lack of rhodium. I initially took it back to him, thinking that he would fix it (or at least be able to explain that I was seeing things) because they are so extremely nice in that store, but I felt that he was dismissive, although when I finally brought up the dirt (my main concern that I was discussing was the faintly apparent color, and I made it clear I didn''t think anyone switched stones or anything), he did take me across the street to the ultrasound. I am very disappointed. I actually have a loose 8 carat oval pink sapphire that I have had for a while that I took with me that day, as I was going to have them start a custom setting project on it at the end of the visit. Sort of a Thank you repeat business type of thing. The visit made me feel so bad that I decided I did not to give them that stone to set because I don''t want to deal with them anymore.

Cehra - Thanks for the bump! I have been feeling bad thinking that I am having visual hallucinations, but this makes me feel better that maybe I am not so crazy. The stone is an F. When Richard Sherwood appraised it he used his spectrophotometer on it and it is really close to an E - that combined with the strong blue fluoro seems to make it super bright. I had never seen a stone quite like it. I am sort of sad that it isn''t popping like it was (it is funny because the new warmth wouldn''t have bothered me if I hadn''t been so used to the particular brightness of this stone), so I think I will have to take everyone''s advice and seek out another jeweler.

I just tried to go to Yale Jewelers to see if they would look at it (they were NOT involved in any of this, I was just hoping they could confirm or disprove what I was thinking), unfortunately they are closed today.

Denverappraiser, I agree $600 is a bit for a plain 6 prong WG setting (14K at that!). He did have one for $3something, but this $600 one, although plain, has those little unsplit double prongs (they are single prongs with a little indentation in the middle) and a slight knife edge (not very sharp) - I spent the extra money because I thought it was pretty, I thought I might like it enough to make the ''temp'' my ''permanent'', and I actually was so grateful to them that I wanted them to be able to make some money off of it, especially as they were only selling a setting and not making any money off of the stone.

OldMiner - Thank you for the offer to look at it, I am grateful for that. I think if it is just the setting, I am just going to start over fresh as this setting feels dirty and dusty to me (mental thing now) (I will see if Yale is willing to give me their brief opinion as a quick look first, then I will likely go with them). Unfortunately the shipping would require the Fed Ex thing, which adds a bit.

Is it correct that if the prong is tightly solid up against the diamond that the rhodium may not have been able to make it underneath the prong to color it properly?

Thanks again