Do you repolish your stone?

[pwsg07]

There is a feather on the upper half facet and the bezel facet of my tsavorite. It is a almost flawless stone. Repolish will result the stone from three carat to 2 carat. Should I repolish the stone? It is an unset stone

Any experience in repolishing the stone?

Thank you.

I think I am too hard on my stones. I like to display the stones and play with the stones. Now I put it in the gem jar. I have learned my lesson.

 

[gempeaks]

There is a feather on the upper half facet and the bezel facet of my tsavorite. It is a almost flawless stone. Repolish will result the stone from three carat to 2 carat. Should I repolish the stone? It is an unset stone

Any experience in repolishing the stone?

Thank you.

I think I am too hard on my stones. I like to display the stones and play with the stones. Now I put it in the gem jar. I have learned my lesson.

Do you have a magnified picture of the gem where the feathers are located? How did you determine you would lose 1ct?

To answer your question it entirely depends on what you want to do with this gem. Losing 1 ct is a lot to lose on a tsavorite, especially since you would go from 3 to 2 cts. However, if you want it to be flawless because it would have more appeal to you, then it might be worth it to you. If you plan to set it in jewelry and bezel set it, you might not see the flaws once set, especially since the flaws are on bezel facet. In the later case, you still have a 3ct tsavorite gem with great color. When I source rough for tsavorite or grossular garnet and cut gems I always cut out every inclusion/feather and usually sacrifice weight for clarity. Given the environment in which garnets form it is very rare to get clean flawless gems. To some people, they want to see the feathers and the inclusions as it helps aid them in identification and gives the gems character.

 

[pwsg07]

Do you have a magnified picture of the gem where the feathers are located? How did you determine you would lose 1ct?

To answer your question it entirely depends on what you want to do with this gem. Losing 1 ct is a lot to lose on a tsavorite, especially since you would go from 3 to 2 cts. However, if you want it to be flawless because it would have more appeal to you, then it might be worth it to you. If you plan to set it in jewelry and bezel set it, you might not see the flaws once set, especially since the flaws are on bezel facet. In the later case, you still have a 3ct tsavorite gem with great color. When I source rough for tsavorite or grossular garnet and cut gems I always cut out every inclusion/feather and usually sacrifice weight for clarity. Given the environment in which garnets form it is very rare to get clean flawless gems. To some people, they want to see the feathers and the inclusions as it helps aid them in identification and gives the gems character.

When I got the stone, it is sold to me as vvs. I looked at the stone before I didn’t find any blemish. Today I wanted to document my stone I found the feather. I think I caused the feather. I want to repolish because I thought the feather will get worse since it is on the crown. Don’t have a magnified photo now. Will take one later. I was not looking for a flawless stone but the vendor only showed me very few options. As long as it is eye clean and no durability concerns, I am fine with any clarity.

 

[gempeaks]

When I got the stone, it is sold to me as vvs. I looked at the stone before I didn’t find any blemish. Today I wanted to document my stone I found the feather. I think I caused the feather. I want to repolish because I thought the feather will get worse since it is on the crown. Don’t have a magnified photo now. Will take one later. I was not looking for a flawless stone but the vendor only showed me very few options. As long as it is eye clean and no durability concerns, I am fine with any clarity.

It will be interesting to look at the magnified view of the gem to see the orientation and depth of the feather. If the feather is in the crown and depending on big it is and the thickness of the girdle, you might not lose as much weight on a recut if you don't have to recut the pavilion facets. I have seen feathers in Tsavorite gems crack when pressure is applied during setting. It really depends on the skill of the gold/silversmith or setter, whether or not it will go in a ring or pendant, the type of setting, and/or the nature of the feather in the gem. Recutting/Polishing is pretty routine for most gem cutters.

 

[gempeaks]

When I source rough or finished gemstones I always take a small pocket sized LED flashlight and a shortwave UV light for ruby and sapphire. Usually the lights at various shows are not always the best and depending on how you orient the gem you might not have seen the feather right away. I will usually put the gem over the light and rotate it from every angle to see if I can see any inclusions in the gem. If the gem was listed as VVS the vendor may have known about the feather or they may have noted small gas bubbles that are typical in green garnets. I hope this helps.

 

[Gemobsessed]

Hmm well your situation is a bit tricky. I do repolish my stones if they get a scratch but they don’t lose this much weight. In fact it’s barely a difference and can even help bring out the shine.

But even with those I have realised most of these things are just about personal preferences so you have to love the stone even with the flaws to let it go. I have a peridot only I can see a scratch in but it bothers me!

However if an inclusion can actually make it risky to set by a normal bench because it may crack then I would still get it repolished even if it lost weight. Inclusions are fine if they don’t compromise the overall integrity of the stone or it’s value. Its rarity should be preserved carefully for future generations. If not it should have some resale value and a flawless tsavourite would probably get you an offer (only if you ever needed to sell it)

 

[T L]

I would get a second opinion on the recut. A whole carat is too much to sacrifice on a three carat tsavorite. If it were a much less valuable gem, then I would consider it.

 

[chrono]

A feather is a pretty big deal and needs to be recut, not repolished, hence you are losing almost an entire 1 ct. For me, it would also depend on the expected end result colour.

 

[pwsg07]

I got some photos of the feather. They are not great photos but I have tried my best






Thank you

 

[T L]

I am not a lapidary, but if setting that stone, I would make sure the prong avoids the feather. I would tell the setter to avoid ultrasonic cleaners. How does the stone look face up?

 

[gempeaks]

I got some photos of the feather. They are not great photos but I have tried my best






Thank you

Thanks for sharing the photos. The color of the gem is fantastic. It is too difficult to determine the extent of the feather based on the photos. Based on photo #2 it looks significant. Really need to loupe the gem to determine the extent of the feather. Can you determine how many millimeters or fraction thereof does the feather travel towards the center of the gem? The gem will need to be louped and examined in person by an experienced gem cutter to give you a better estimate on loss. Will you set the gem in a setting or leave it as a lose gem?

 

[shinyrocks]

No matter what you do, you'll probably have wear on garnet over time. It is just such a soft stone. I have a beautiful mint garnet that has gotten some scratches and abrasions at the facet junctions over the last few years, despite my being very careful with it.

I think I see what you're talking about there - looks like a small chip part of the way up the crown? If it doesn't run under where you'd place a prong, I would probably leave it. Losing that much ct. weight just doesn't seem worth it unless it is really obvious when you are looking at it face-up or unless it threatens the durability of the stone. Just my 0.02. Gorgeous stone by the way!

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

What a pretty color! I’m not a very knowledgeable person, but I think you should celebrate having such a large and beautiful stone. It seems a shame to reduce it.

 

[pwsg07]

I am not a lapidary, but if setting that stone, I would make sure the prong avoids the feather. I would tell the setter to avoid ultrasonic cleaners. How does the stone look face up?

Thank you for your advice. Here is the video.

Does the stone have any window or just tilted window? Don't understand why the stone looks dark under sunlight, looks brighter under regular floor lamp.

 

[pwsg07]

Thanks for sharing the photos. The color of the gem is fantastic. It is too difficult to determine the extent of the feather based on the photos. Based on photo #2 it looks significant. Really need to loupe the gem to determine the extent of the feather. Can you determine how many millimeters or fraction thereof does the feather travel towards the center of the gem? The gem will need to be louped and examined in person by an experienced gem cutter to give you a better estimate on loss. Will you set the gem in a setting or leave it as a lose gem?

The feather is about one millimeter towards the centre of the stone. It is shallow. I haven't think about setting the stone but now I think setting the stone may protect it.

 

[T L]

Thank you for your advice. Here is the video.

Does the stone have any window or just tilted window? Don't understand why the stone looks dark under sunlight, looks brighter under regular floor lamp.

Although not an ideal or precision cut gem, there is no window. Tilt windows exist in almost all gems, and it's definitely not a pronounced one. I would say it's a medium dark stone, with a pine green color. In some lighting, gems can show more extinction (dark areas) than in other lighting. I prefer tsavorite in sunlight myself. It's a nice gem.