Trying to figure out what I saw at a resale store

[rockmission]

Hi everyone,

I am new at this, so your patience is appreciated

I saw a ring at a resale store with a rather unusual stone set in a simple 14kt white gold setting. The stone was just over 7mm wide and had a bit of color to it (I think my eyes are sensitive to color but it was at least an I or lower). I could not see any inclusions using a 10x loupe.

Faceting:

The stone had some really unusual (likely branded) faceting. The pavilion gives it the pinfire look of a LEO diamond and the table was medium in size. The crazy thing is the crown. The bezel or kite facets alternate from wide to narrow to wide all the way around. It isn't really obvious from a distance, but up close it is quite distinct and not at all unintentional. It is a repeating pattern, just one I have never seen before. The symmetry looks great. This is not a hearts and arrows stone. There is a lot of fire out of the stone when I hold it up to my eyes in indirect indoor light. I have done a lot of online searches for similar faceting, but cannot find anything like it. It is not a LEO, Radiant Star, Peerless, Celebration, or other branded cut on the market in typical retail jewelry stores these days.

Testing:

The seller used two different devises to test the diamond. One devise was a Presidium tester; on this devise, the stone tested as a diamond (the needle pointed to the diamond range which is marked green). The other devise was a diamond tester that tests for diamonds, Moissanite, simulants, and metals. On this devise, the results were mixed: sometimes it tested as a simulant, sometimes it tested as a diamond. The test results never pointed to Moissanite. The seller said the Presidium tester is more reliable and that the diamond tester is finicky and unreliable. I do not know what to believe.

The seller doesn't have any paperwork on hand, but said that he could meet me at a jeweler or appraiser of my choice to give me some comfort.

So, there are a lot of strange things going on here. I'm just trying to see if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[arkieb1]

Hi,

Did it look like a Solasfera or a Star 129? Google them you can see images. There are mossies and CZs out there with extra facets, so taking it to an appraiser is a great idea.

 

[rockmission]

Thanks for the reply! I searched both of those online and the faceting looks different. I tried looking up each of the branded diamond shapes listed on this site (at least the ones with working links), but I haven't been able to find a match: http://www.diamondsourceva.com/Education/BrandedDiamonds/branded-diamond-shapes.asp

 

[arkieb1]

There are possibly some new lesser known ones being cut that aren't on there, they do come and go all the time. I would definitely take it to a valuer to see what it is and also if its a genuine diamond if you are interested in it. It does sound cool!!! Its not an old cut by and chance is it? You mention that it could be a lower colour, many old cuts are lowered colour....then again some of the crazy new cuts are as well!!! Could you ask the seller for a quick pic of it and post it, I am sure there will be someone on here that could identify it.

 

[John P]

How many facets? A clarity-plot wire-frame would be particularly helpful.

For fun, you can look at this partial-library of popular proprietary cuts D. Riley posted about 10-years ago. As a resale there's at least a chance it matches one of the 80+ examples he diligently compiled, although there were hundreds even at that time https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/proprietary-diamond-cuts.13712/

For years a list of new diamond cuts was maintained by a G&G staff member. The compilation has stopped for now. Considering the explosion of new/promotional cuts since the Asia-Pacific has evolved into a major consumer-market editing that list would be a daunting task for anyone - especially with some notions which come and quickly go, or become modified without notice.

 

[Circe]

It sounds almost like somebody tried to do a portuguese cut on diamond ....

 

[rockmission]

Hi everyone. Sorry for my delayed response. After my many repeated phone calls to the seller requesting to meet at an independent appraiser's location, the seller never called me back. I stopped by his store last week and he said he never got my messages and sold the diamond to a dealer a few days after I stopped by. No worries. I suppose it wasn't meant to be. Frankly, the whole thing was perplexing and made me uneasy.

On another note, I have been eyeing a used diamond ring at another place for about 5 months. I have stopped by every few weeks to look at the ring and take a look at their inventory. Each time I stopped by, I would look at the same ring for about 20 minutes. We developed a good rapport, and eventually, we started to talk about price. They kept asking me to make an offer, so eventually I made a very low one. They countered and said it was their final offer. This turned into a sort of ritual over the past few months and their "final offer" keeps getting lower. It is mutually amusing.

During each visit, I look at the diamond with a 20x loupe in different lighting (including indoors in incandescent and LED lighting and outdoors in direct and indirect sunlight); they patiently wait as I rotate the diamond 360 degrees, examining the diamond from every possible angle and then reversing the direction of the rotation and repeating the process. While I am by no means an expert on these things, the diamond satisfies my "eye" test. The diamond is actually really pretty. The color and cut are really nice. It is about 6.3mm in width. There is one thin curved feather under the crown that is easily identifiable using the 20x loope and pretty much only slightly eye visible under direct sunlight. The feather may make it an I1, but the nice cut and most lighting conditions render the feather virtually undetectable. The diamond faces up great and has some really nice light return and fire. The diamond has no paperwork, but today, I reached a point where I am content with what I know and what I don't know. I bought the ring.

It is currently in a worn yellow gold 6 prong tiffany style setting. So, I am going to take this pretty diamond and reset it. I don't have a camera at home, so I will try to use my iphone to get some pictures of the diamond (fingers crossed). This will be a new adventure as I enter search the world of semi-mounts. It will be a surprise. As for some initial styles, I am considering a white gold cushion shaped halo with a polished shank or a simple tapered baguette setting. Any thoughts?

 

[rockmission]

Hi everyone,

I tried taking pictures of the ring with my iphone but the results were not stellar. Here is what I could capture so far (in the dark).

 

[TC1987]

You should get it appraised. Resale shops rarely have top cut grades in a diamond of that size, so it's probably not GIX Ex or VG, but you are satisfied with the appearance and the price. I have some older diamonds that are not modern H&A, or ideal cuts, but they are still nice-looking.

Tapered baguette settings,imo, need the color of the center stone to match the color of the baguettes which are usually very very white. A color difference between the center and smaller round sidestones, or even a lots of small baguettes doesn't bother me nearly as much as a yellow-ish center paired with two glare-white baguettes.

I still like halos, but if this is for an engagement ring,try to find out what she likes. Certain color undertones in a diamond, like green, might affect the color choice of metal. It's nice to be able to drop the diamond into a few different mountings to see how it looks. Also, leaky diamonds sometimes go dark in settings where the the pavilion is boxed in as opposed to raised in prongs.

 

[rockmission]

Hi all,

I realized that I never posted close up pics after it was remounted. Below are some pictures I took outdoors on a very sunny day. I took the pictures while casting a shadow on the ring. As I mentioned in a prior post, the feather is very thin curved line and is really, really difficult to locate without a loupe. Even with a loupe, the feather isn't jarring by any means. The appraiser mentioned the diamond has faint fluorescence, which shows a bit in the photos. I don't have the appraisal or ring on hand - they are out of state. Overall, I am very happy with how it turned out - let me know your thoughts

Here is the link to the semi-mount I picked: https://www.stuller.com/products/67866/2969434/?groupId=104474