Suggestions on 4.5ct M color diamond pendant

[etphonehome]

Hi all,

Have really enjoyed reading the posts on this forum. My mother recently gave me an old ring handed down from her mother. Imagine my shock when I found out that the diamond in it was genuine (got it GIA-graded, and it is VS2, M color round brilliant). I am thinking about putting the stone into a pendant so that any of the women in our family can wear it for a special occasion.

Do you all think this is too large to make it a pendant, and if not, any suggestions on settings? (yellow or white gold, halo setting or just a simple solitaire?)

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[Wewechew]

No, I don’t think it’s too big. I think a simple solitaire would be amazing. I can’t wait to see pictures!

 

[Starfacet]

I am thinking about putting the stone into a pendant so that any of the women in our family can wear it for a special occasion.

I think this is such a cool idea! A simple solitaire setting would be lovely!

 

[dkata]

OMG...please, post pictures of the stone!!!

 

[OoohShiny]

Personally speaking, I wouldn't entrust anyone else to wear a 4.5ct rock that was gifted to me as part of an inheritance so would go with a ring for you rather than a pendant!

We do need some pics, though

 

[dkata]

I just would second @OoohShiny and keep the diamond for myself and set a ring.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Can you take a couple of close-up pictures of the stone so we can see the color and make suggestions about what metal would look best with it? A bezel pendant is another option that would maybe be more secure. If the stone is not well cut, we could tell you where it could potentially be recut. 4.5 cts is large for a pendant and a ring. Seeing it would help us make better recommendations.

 

[sarahb]

I would love to see your diamond as well! I have a N colored diamond, & surprisingly enough, rose gold actually did not compliment the diamond. IMHO, metal choices are hard to make, as once the decision has been made, you can't go back. I pasted a couple of SMTB threads that might give you some ideas, hope they help.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-me-your-m-n-o-colored-diamonds.154012/
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-me-your-m-and-under-diamonds-please.180912/
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/which-metal-compliments-a-warm-stone-best.160706/

 

[scarsmum]

It’s imossible to know without seeing many pictures.

 

[junebug17]

I'd put that baby in a ring and wear the heck out of it!

 

[etphonehome]

Thanks to all for your responses. I'm a newby at taking pictures of jewelry, but I will try to get some decent shots of the stone, especially as it is no longer in the original ring. Thanks in advance for your patience as I figure it out.

 

[bludiva]

It's lovely and generous of you to mount this in a way that your female relatives can also wear it. You may have taken care of this already but would just make sure you have insurance to cover in case of an accident. I'm sure whatever you choose will look amazing! There are some beautiful large pendants on this board for inspiration. Will try to find some images later. Congrats!

 

[etphonehome]

Okay, here goes with some pictures:


Original setting in a weird white metal.


Loose stone (white paper background)




Side view, didn't come out well.

More pics in next post.

 

[etphonehome]

Photographed in different light (background is same sheet of white paper)




Put stone in houseplant to try to get camera to pick up detail.

Hope this helps!

 

[missy]

I would consider getting it recut to improve the cut and maximize the beauty of your diamond. And then you can make it either a ring or pendant and it would be gorgeous. Brian Gavin does recuts and a number of PSers have happily used him for this service.

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/search?query=recut

Good luck. It's a good dilemma to have.

 

[GearGirly]

I would do a slight recut too if that doesn’t bother you, this is amazing! I would also do a ring so you can see it. You can still lend it out and people can wear it on different fingers if needed. As far as metal I think with diamonds around M,N,O the metal color really does matter. I had an M that looked bad in rose gold and came alive in yellow, even though it faced up pretty white. In my opinion if the stone has brown undertones rose gold is better, and if it has yellow undertones yellow gold is better. White gold/platinum is always pretty to me as well if you want to show off the contrast.

 

[etphonehome]

Can those of you who are knowledgeable give me more information about why you recommend doing the recut? (i.e, can you tell me more specifically what is not so good about the way the stone currently looks? - I won't be offended.) I can tell that the stone seems to be more shallow than is ideal, but other than that, I don't know how to describe any particular characteristics.

Also, what is the cost typically involved with a recut, and how much would you guess the stone would lose in size? (I'm happy to list dimensions, etc. if that would be helpful.)

Also, any feedback about what color undertones you see from my imperfect photos would be helpful.

I live in an area where there aren't many jewelers around, so anything I can do to educate myself would be great!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Since the stone has been to GIA you have the dimensions + cut parameters + cut grade. Why don't you post them?

cheers--Sharon

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We can look at it and tell that it is not well cut. That was quite common for older round brilliants. Often cutters just cut for size and not best light return. I'd definitely recut, personally. I had a much smaller family stone recut, and it looked 1000 times better even though it lost some size. That won't be a problem with this one since it is so large! Well cut stones face up whiter than poorly cut ones, and that's important with a low color stone. I can't remember the amount from the last person who did a recut with BG, but I think it was around $4000 per carat, so this would be between $1600-2000.

 

[Luce]

How beautiful! It looks like it might have a tiny culet and it could be a transitional to my non-expert eyes. In that case I would hesitate to recut it and enjoy it as is.

 

[Lookinagain]

I don’t think DS meant $4000 per carat. I think $400. But my recollection from what I read here is that it was about $350 per carat if recut was by Brian Gavin. And I agree with the others that you should investigate a recut. It’s a large stone so even if you lose some weight it will still be large and will be very much improved from a performance standpoint.

 

[the_mother_thing]

How beautiful! It looks like it might have a tiny culet and it could be a transitional to my non-expert eyes. In that case I would hesitate to recut it and enjoy it as is.

I think you are right - it does look like a transitional.

 

[etphonehome]

Here's a copy of the GIA report.

 

[etphonehome]

How beautiful! It looks like it might have a tiny culet and it could be a transitional to my non-expert eyes. In that case I would hesitate to recut it and enjoy it as is.

Luce,

What do you mean by "a transitional"? I googled the term and realized that the little information I have about the stone might be helpful. Since the ring supposedly came from my grandmother, who lived in China, I'm assuming the ring was purchased there sometime between the 1930s to the early 1950s. Unfortunately, that's all I know.

Thanks.

 

[SimoneDi]

@etphonehome welcome and what a cool diamond + story you have!
As someone who has done 3 diamond recuts in the past, I can definitely recommend one for improving the look and performance of your large diamond! I have done my recuts with BGD and each time they came out looking amazing. The price was was about $350 per carat, but you will need to inquire. I am not sure if I would call the diamond a transitional, it definitely looks to be an early MRB with a large table and shallow crown angle, but the old cut experts can comment further. If recut to a MRB, I might recommend on keeping it 60/60 style with complimentary crown and pavilion angles, so it doesn’t lose much of its diameter and weight. Another option might be recutting it into an OEC with optimal cut proportions, but I am not sure who might be able to do that. @diamondseeker2006 do you know if AV offers recut services?

Either way, you have a gorgeous, large diamond! As others have said, I would be very careful when/if allowing other people to wear it. Please make sure that the diamond is adequately insured

 

[diamondseeker2006]

@SimoneDi Jonathan has done it before using an OEC, but it will lose less weight being cut into an ideal cut round and it will cost less, too.

That stone has a large table and a very flat crown. You'd be amazed at what a recut would do!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Lol, yes, sorry, $400 a carat is more like it, to equal $1600-2000! It was $350 years ago when I did mine, but I thought I saw someone say a higher price more recently. But it would be awesome if it is still $350 per carat!

Here are the images of my original stone. It had a big table and flat crown like yours and was an old round brilliant. You can see the aymmetrical facet pattern and in the 2nd image which shows light return, the red is good light return and the green is just okay.




The after...

 

[Wewechew]

Lol, yes, sorry, $400 a carat is more like it, to equal $1600-2000! It was $350 years ago when I did mine, but I thought I saw someone say a higher price more recently. But it would be awesome if it is still $350 per carat!

Here are the images of my original stone. It had a big table and flat crown like yours and was an old round brilliant. You can see the aymmetrical facet pattern and in the 2nd image which shows light return, the red is good light return and the green is just okay.




The after...

I go back and forth recutting my early modern brilliant... how much weight and spread did you lose?

 

[Luce]

Luce,

What do you mean by "a transitional"? I googled the term and realized that the little information I have about the stone might be helpful. Since the ring supposedly came from my grandmother, who lived in China, I'm assuming the ring was purchased there sometime between the 1930s to the early 1950s. Unfortunately, that's all I know.

Thanks.

A transitional cut is newer than an OEC but not yet a modern brilliant cut. This makes sense since if it was purchased in the 1930's or 1940's.

 

[motownmama]

I’m another person who did a BGD recut! So happy with results!