red spot on ring ?

[berry]

Looking down at my ring this afternoon I noticed a red spot on the lower left corner ... close to the prong. I thought that it was just something stuck in the setting ... but after numerous soaks and gentle brushings ... nothing has changed! It almost looks like paint or red marker...very visable. I have had this ring for 3 years and it is a beautiful GIA certified stone ...

Emerald Cut 9.75 x 6.66 x 4.03 2.32 carat VVs2 E

I won''t have a chance to take it to a jeweler for over a week so my question is ... can a stone become damaged in this way 3 years after it has been graded? Ack!

Thank you for your thoughts.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/14/2009 6:27:28 AM
Author:berry
Looking down at my ring this afternoon I noticed a red spot on the lower left corner ... close to the prong. I thought that it was just something stuck in the setting ... but after numerous soaks and gentle brushings ... nothing has changed! It almost looks like paint or red marker...very visable. I have had this ring for 3 years and it is a beautiful GIA certified stone ...

Emerald Cut 9.75 x 6.66 x 4.03 2.32 carat VVs2 E

I won't have a chance to take it to a jeweler for over a week so my question is ... can a stone become damaged in this way 3 years after it has been graded? Ack!

Thank you for your thoughts.

Hi Berry and welcome!

I am not an expert but it doesn't sound like damage to me but like something stubbornly stuck to the diamond or the setting. Diamonds can certainly damage at any time, I wouldn't panic as it sounds more like a foreign body so to speak. What I would do is definitely get it to an expert who can take a closer look and tell you for sure what it is, sometimes if it is a stuck on substance, a professional cleaning can be needed by using powerful chemicals or techniques to remove it.

If you have some sudsy ammonia, you could try a soak in this then scrub provided your setting isn't white gold as the ammonia can harm it. Use one third ammonia to two thirds hot water, soak for at least half an hour, scrub and rinse. See if that helps, if not then a pro is the next step. Have you been wearing the ring to do any jobs involving any red paint, markers or any red materials recently?

 

[berry]

Thank you Lorelei! I''ll try it.

 

[beach]

Do you by chance use a steam cleaner? My jewel jet has done exactly what you are describing. It is like the red plastic steam cleaner tip gets so hot and then adheres to the diamonds if you touch the tip. It is very hard to get off and has only happened to me a couple of times when I accidently touched the tip. It looks like red marker. I ended up heating it back up and used a brush and my finger nails to get it off. Takes a good amount of effort but it comes off.