Using Diamonds from Diamond Crusted Watch on Auction

[Cma04]

A super blingy watch just came up for auction and I wanted to ask if you guys think this would be a good deal to possibly make other jewelry out of it? I don't care about the watch itself which supposedly is a replica, however, I was thinking about getting it for a couple hundred dollars for the diamonds and having my jeweler make something with the diamonds. Would love to hear some thoughts, experiences, etc.

Approximately 35 carats of aftermarket natural diamonds, Diamonds measure as follows: 170 - .01 carat each, 1.3mm round diamonds, prong set 36- .20 carat each, 3.6mm round diamonds, channel set 870 - .03 carat each, 2mm round diamonds, prong set Diamonds total approximately 35 carats total weight, average Sl2 clarity and HI color.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Rfisher]

IMO
Really depends on how much my naked eye likes those individual diamonds. Is there something unique about them that catches my eye? Or are they really nicely cut?
That plus how much the jeweler will charge to unset it all. Some do. Some don’t.
Then cost factor of this vs what jeweler would charge me to source stones without cannibalism (if there’s nothing charmingly unique about the watch stones).
There is a custom jeweler local to me who absolutely would add a PITA charge to do this, compared to them just supplying the stones.

Sometimes things are a deal/steal.
Sometimes things are an expensive labor of love

 

[tyty333]

Ditto @Rfisher

Sometimes the manpower cost to "unset" pave costs more than the pave. I would not buy it until you have checked with your
jeweler on the cost to remove and reuse.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Not to mention the breakage rate!

 

[monipod]

I think this will end up costing way more than you may hope for, as others have suggested. Better to work out what you want to create, what stones/sizes are needed and buy fresh pave. Put it this way, gold/metal salvagers don't bother saving pave stones as they aren't worth anything to them compared to the metal.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

I think this will end up costing way more than you may hope for, as others have suggested. Better to work out what you want to create, what stones/sizes are needed and buy fresh pave. Put it this way, gold/metal salvagers don't bother saving pave stones as they aren't worth anything to them compared to the metal.

That is not always true. Larger operations can use acid baths to extract the gold leaving the diamonds in the bottom since diamonds are inert to all acids.
But a private has no chance of that. We made a shoe for an exhibition with a couple of thousand 1.8mm diamonds set in it and it was very hard to find a refining company prepared to process it for us.

 

[monipod]

That is not always true. Larger operations can use acid baths to extract the gold leaving the diamonds in the bottom since diamonds are inert to all acids.
But a private has no chance of that. We made a shoe for an exhibition with a couple of thousand 1.8mm diamonds set in it and it was very hard to find a refining company prepared to process it for us.

Wow! Yeah, that's what I figured. I wouldn't want the job of looking at hundreds of tiny stones to sort which can be reused or not. I have a bunch of tiny stones that my jeweller kindly salvaged from old mall store rings and zero clue what I'll do with them. I don't think I can even flog them on ebay!