Fractured Topaz (?) ring

[El301]

Hi All,

Just after some advice please....

My grandmother passed away in February, and I inherited an old ring from her. The family story was that it dates from around 1920, and is comprised of a large dark yellow rectangular-cut topaz (about the size of a little fingernail) with a small diamond on each side. I''d like to give you a photo, but the ring''s back at the jewellers. The setting was old and thin, and the topaz had fallen out from its claw setting, and my mother-in-law offered to have the stones reset for my birthday present.

So we went to the jewellers. The jeweller said that the two diamonds were not diamonds, but either clear spinels or glass. My mother-in-law offered to replace them with diamonds, but I decided not to as the setting had significant sentimental value as is, and I was not fussed as to the actual value of the stones. The jeweller believed that the central stone was either topaz as we''d thought or citrine.

I got the ring back on the weekend after my partner picked it up. Lovely setting, no worries there, but straight away I noticed that there was something wrong with the central stone - it was refracting differently. Upon closer inspection, a flake had fractured away on the back of the stone, from around the middle of it to one corner (so a sizable flake), and was only being held in place by the setting. I was pretty upset, so my partner rang the jeweller. The jeweller said that they hadn''t noticed anything, but if it had fractured it was probably due to a flaw in the stone, and the ultrasonic machine they used to clean the finished product had caused the flaw to fracture and there was no way that they would have known it would do this (ie not their fault; the stone''s fault).

My partner took the ring in today to show them exactly what the problem was, and again they blamed the ultrasonic cleaner, saying that old stones tend to be more fragile. They are going to take it to a valuer to determine exactly what the stone is (topaz, citrine or glass) and that will determine if and how it can be fixed (recut or polished I guess). Again, no responsibility indicated.

My questions are:
1) From a quick Google search, topaz should never be cleaned with a US cleaner, right? Let alone antique topaz? In fact, no antique jewellery, glass or otherwise, should be put in a US cleaner?
2) I never noticed a flaw when I held the stone up to the light before I took it to the jewellers, and the jeweller didn''t mention a flaw when she looked at the stone through a loup... Would a flaw causing a fracture not be visible? It is a very clear stone, and the facets and refractions seemed perfect.
3) Can anyone recommend what the next step should be? The jeweller is indicating that fixing the problem might actually cause further damage

How easy is antique topaz/citrine/glass to resurface? I''d hate to just leave the problem though and wear the ring as is, as it''d always make me annoyed whenever I saw it.
4) Can the jeweller just walk away from this? The problem is that they''re not an actual store, but a jeweller working from home, and advertising only through word-of-mouth. But before you think they''re dodgy, I''ve seen some of their other work and it''s been beautiful.

The jeweller is saying that she could get a replacement stone for very little, but that''s beside the point as this one means so much to me. I''m upset and angry that they''ve damaged the perfect stone I dropped in to them, and they are saying that that''s the inherent risk of using the US cleaner. But surely that''s the risk they took, not me, and they should really be doing all they can to fix or compensate me for this. Not to mention my mother-in-law is upset that her present to me has turned out badly, and I haven''t even told my mum as I know she''ll be very upset....

*sigh* What to do? Sorry for the epic post, but I''m p''d off. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Why did you send the ring to the jeweler in the first place? Was it for a repair or an appraisal? Did you ask them to clean the ring and if so, did you approve the use of the US?

 

[oldmancoyote]

1. Topaz should not be put in an ultrasonic. Full stop. A jeweller ought to know, and if he didn't, it's easy enough to check.

2. A flaw may not be visible when the stone is set, but topaz is also infamous for its perfect cleavage...

3. If it's dark yellow, it should not cost a lot to replace. It's not the same stone, but it's probably the best that can be done; a re-cut may be possible, but depending on how it broke it may take away a lot of the stone or look ugly (assuming you find someone willing to do it - which is not easy).

4. "Antique" has diddly squat to do with it. Most gems are millions of years old; it's not a few tens of years that make the difference. If the jeweller identified the stone as topaz, he should not have put it in the ultrasonic. If he couldn't identify it, he should still have asked you whether you wanted to risk an ultrasonic.

As to what your remedies are, I think the jeweller is at fault both in law and based on common-sense/fairness, and should pay for a replacement stone and setting work. I'd suggest you putting this to him tactfully, but in writing, and seeing what the reaction is; be ready to follow suit with a lawyer letter if it really means a lot to you - otherwise, given the relatively low cost involved, I'd go somewhere else and buy a new stone.

 

[El301]

Mmmm, thanks for the advice guys!

Hudson_Hawk, I sent the ring to the jewellers in the first place as the setting was too far gone to be worn. It must have been worn a lot as the band was very thin, and the claws weren''t holding the stone in any more. After consultation with the jeweller, we decided it''d be best to replace the whole setting and use the original stones.

Hell no, I didn''t ask them to clean the ring, and I didn''t approve the US!!! To be fair, I guess I would have expected the finished product to be clean, but if they''d said beforehand that I had a choice - a very clean but potentially broken ring using the US, or a less-clean but perfectly safe ring with hand-polishing, I would have gone the latter!

Thanks too oldmancoyote for the advice. Yeah, I guess the stone could be replaced, and it''s cheap enough, but it''s kinda beside the point for me. The only reason for getting the ring done was to use the stones from my grandmother''s ring, and I wouldn''t have bothered if otherwise. I mean, she''s set it in white gold and charged my mother-in-law AU$400, so I certainly wouldn''t want to replace the topaz with a $20 stone, if you know what I mean. It''s only as it''s special to me that I went for the gold setting.

Yeah, I understand about the stone being millions of years old - I just didn''t know if there was something to do with the way the old stones were cut back then that made them more fragile.

I was wrong about the dark yellow - it''s aqlmost identical to this one, but with a flat profile middle-top, rather than the diamond facets.

Ah well, guess I just have to see what the valuer comes back to the jeweller with. If it is a topaz like I told the jeweller it was (she identified it as either topaz or citrine), and it''s clear that they shouldn''t be US cleaned, then I will be asking a few pointed questions!

 

[chrono]

I am in agreement with OMC on all 4 points. If the jeweller himself stated it is a topaz, then he should know better than to put it in the US. Therefore, he should pay for a repair or replacement stone.