Does repolishing/recutting an antique stone remove the romance?

[Lakefront]

I love antique diamonds (yes, I say that a lot). I love their wonky facets. I love the history and romance. You had me at “cut by candlelight.”

I know that some of these stones have survived the years set in gently worn treasures and were handled with kid gloves…but every single antique stone that I see offered today looks pristine! Where are the abraded facet edges and girdles that look like mice enjoyed a nibble?

I get that those stones have been cleaned up to restore them to their former glory, but doesn’t that remove some of the romance for you? I have a hard time deciding just how much of a “touch up” it takes before the stone loses its true sense of history - the hand of the artist and all that…

Where do you draw the line? How much polishing or even recutting can an antique stone take and still be “cut by candlelight”?
Sometimes I miss the little flaws that show the stone’s history.
How much modern intervention does it take to remove the romance?

 

[Karl_K]

If its wonky kewl the max I would do is a girdle cleanup to stabilize the durability as needed.
Now the ones that are just plan blah at both ring and pendant distance I might consider more work.
The key word is both distances as there are a lot out there a bit blah in a ring but blow your eyeballs out at pendant distance. They should not be recut just used in the right application even if that means passing it along to someone else.
just my 2c

 

[Lakefront]

I like this idea! The stone may just need a different home instead of a recut. Maybe a more fragile stone just needs to move to a pendant where it will be out of harms way. I wish more (larger) stones still had their marks of time.

 

[Lakefront]

Any other antique lovers care to weigh in?

 

[Gone_]

this was just discussed in this thread

To recut or not to recut (an OEC)?

Would you ever recut an antique stone to make it a bit more "perfect"? I'm not talking about a complete makeover, just a few slight enhancements Or do you think that the imperfect cut is part of the charm when it comes to the antique stones. Let me know your thoughts.

www.pricescope.com

 

[Lakefront]

this was just discussed in this thread

To recut or not to recut (an OEC)?

Would you ever recut an antique stone to make it a bit more "perfect"? I'm not talking about a complete makeover, just a few slight enhancements Or do you think that the imperfect cut is part of the charm when it comes to the antique stones. Let me know your thoughts.

www.pricescope.com

Perfect! Thanks for pointing this out. I appreciate it.