What to check when stones been set?

[damo]

Hi,
I''ll be collecting a ring soon, the stone has just been set. I want to examine it with a loupe when I get it to check its ok.
Just wondered what I should look for to make sure its been set properly without any damage?
Thanks

 

[Richard Sherwood]

You'll want to look for any chipped areas near or under the prongs.

They often look splintery, sometimes whitish, sometimes with a slight stairstep cleavage effect. Sometimes obvious, sometimes not.

An experienced professional can see the area under the prongs by examining the girdle reflection on the opposite side.

 

[lucy]

how easy will these scratches be to see if you ask to see it under their microscope before you leave assuming you are not an expert? should you look at it sideways?

 

[lucy]

chips, i mean, not scratches

 

[Richard Sherwood]

The majority of times you can spot a chip or cleavage by careful observation under a microscope. Examine it from top, bottom and the side.

The ones that are tough to see are small ones contained in the area under the prong. These are picked up by examining the reflections on the opposite side of the diamond. If you're not used to looking at diamonds internally, it's pretty tricky.

If you're looking for total peace of mind, it might not be a bad idea to take the diamond straight from the setter to an independent gemologist appraiser. That way, if there's a problem, you can resolve it right away. If you wait, the jeweler could always say the diamond was fine when it left his store, and must have gotten chipped after being worn.