Help! Antique green beryl ring with chipped facets

[anne_h]

Hi all,

I just bought a 3ct green beryl antique ring (1930s). See attached photo.

Unfortunately, the stone is damaged on all four of the corners of the table facet. Some of the other upper facet edges have (lesser) damage as well. (IMO, the table''s corners appear more whitish and "crushed" in person.)

Is there anything I can do? Can it safely be repolished? Would it need to be removed from the setting? Is this a costly undertaking that is not worth it?

Arggg, I''d like to return it, but the seller may not allow that.

Thanks for any tips!

Anne

 

[widget]

Hi, Anne...I like it!

Do you?

It's greenish tone makes me think it might be unheated, which is sorta fun...

I'm pretty sure it could be repolished, but I'm sure the experts know more about difficulty, weight loss, costs, etc.

I'm wondering why you might have difficulty returning it if you want to...were you forewarned that the stone showed wear? Curious...

Anyhoo, I like it and if it were mine I'd definitely look into having the stone repolished..

widget

 

[anne_h]

Hi Widget,

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I like the ring, although the damage bothers me enough that I''d have trouble wearing it (would be too distracted and would keep obsessing about it).

The seller''s normal policy is no returns, which I was aware of (I think Fay Cullen has a similar one). No, the damage was not mentioned in the seller''s description of this item. And the upclose photos don''t adequately reveal the damage either. However, I bought another item from this vendor and am very pleased with it, so am willing to try to work it out nicely.

With this damage, I feel the ring is *definitely* not worth what I paid, and will try negotiating with the seller.

Will also wait to see if any stone experts weigh in on the repolishing bit.

Thanks again!

Anne

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Hi Anne. Pretty ring. Is that upper portion platinum or white gold?

The only facet which could be repolished with the stone in the ring would be the table facet. The setting would interfere with repolishing any others.

In order for the stone to come out, it would have to be sawn out of the bezel setting. A new bezel would have to be made to reset it. It would probably be a bit pricey overall. The bench guys could probably give you an idea.

If it were me, I would leave it alone. It doesn't look that bad overall.

How much did you pay for it? If you bought it cheap it might be worth keeping, damage and all. It's definitely a pretty ring.

 

[anne_h]

Hi Rich,

Thank-you very much for your reply.

The upper portion is platinum, shank is 18k (so I''m told).

I''ve just heard back from the seller who says that such wear in an antique piece (with a gemstone vs diamond) is to be expected, and that "any jeweler" can repolish the table for $5. Is that true?? I''m in Canada, and don''t want the customs hassle of shipping the ring to a specialist in the US for repair.

IMO, the ring was already sort of pricey *without* the damage. Although I think it''s pretty, it''s definitely not worth what I paid with all the wear! But I fear I have no choice but to keep it... seller seems firm about no returns.

Anne

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Date: 12/2/2005 10:27:10 AM
Author: anne_h

The upper portion is platinum, shank is 18k (so I'm told).

That's quite a nice mounting.

I've just heard back from the seller who says that such wear in an antique piece (with a gemstone vs diamond) is to be expected,

True enough, but it should have been disclosed in the description.

and that 'any jeweler' can repolish the table for $5. Is that true??

Probably more like $30 to $50, especially with green beryl (more fragile). But that's not going to take care of the problem. The damage I see appears to be four abraded areas on each corner of the table and abrasions down one star facet junction. To get those out completely you'd have to remove the stone. Without removing it you could minimize the four corner abrasions, but not completely get rid of them. The star facet abrasion (and any other bezel area abrasions) can not be repolished without removing the stone.

Removal, repolishing the crown, new platinum bezel installed and resetting a green beryl is not going to be cheap. The bench guys could tell you better, but my guess is it would run in the $300 neighborhood.

That's why I say I'd leave it alone and chalk it up to wear & tear on an antique piece.

IMO, the ring was already sort of pricey *without* the damage. Although I think it's pretty, it's definitely not worth what I paid with all the wear!

How do you know this without having it appraised?

But I fear I have no choice but to keep it... seller seems firm about no returns.

If the seller did not disclose the damage up front he doesn't have a leg to stand on. You could make trouble for him if you wanted to expend the energy.

But then again, you might have purchased the ring for a bargain, abrasions and all. Why not check it out before jumping to conclusions?

 

[jszweda]

Anne,

I have a mandarin garnet that I accidentally chipped near the top of the crown where it meets the table. The table had a slight scratch on it too. I took it to a lapidary who did a flawless job with it. It cost me $10. If you took it to a jeweler, they would charge somewhere around $40 to repolish it worse case scenario. It also depends on what kind of stone it is I think, but generally it''s not very expensive to repolish if it''s just a table type thing like Richard was saying.

 

[anne_h]

Hello again Rich,

Thanks for your knowledgeable input. You''re right; I could be jumping to conclusions. It''s true that I am merely assuming that it''s not worth what I paid (given the damage), but of course I am a total layperson. Would you (or anyone else reading) be willing to express what you think it might be worth, in your opinion? (I realize this is not necessarily your area of expertise.) If I keep it, I will probably have it professionally appraised later at some point.

Since the seller will not provide refunds, perhaps another option is for me to ask her if she would take it back and give me store credit (vs a refund). I''ll keep you all posted.

Any other opinions or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks again,

Anne

 

[prettyinpave]

Its lovely...what did you decide to do?

 

[anne_h]

Hi Pretty,

I''m still in limbo! The seller has agreed to exchange the ring for store credit, but she currently has nothing I would prefer in its place. Plus, I do rather like the ring, once I got over my initial dismay.

Arg, so I''m undecided... but will need to decide soon, since the seller probably won''t keep our agreement open forever.

BTW, for anyone reading who may know... I''m in Canada, seller''s in the US... if I ship the ring back for either exchange or repair, what should I do to avoid the recipient (in this case, the seller) from having to pay any duty or fees? As far as I can find, I just have to indicate a special US Customs classification number. Anything else??

Thanks,

Anne

 

[prettyinpave]

That''s such a tough call....I would be torn, too. I wish there was an easy fix for those chipped facets, because both the stone and the setting look pretty special. Good luck!

 

[anne_h]

Hi all,

Just a final update to this thread... I did send the green beryl ring back, and the vendor allowed me to have store credit for it. I recently selected a small diamond daisy cluster ring instead (18k, with platinum on the top). Attached is a pic.

I''m really happy with the exchange. The daisy ring actually cost *less* than the beryl ring!! I''m not sure how she goes about pricing her stuff, but I''m totally satisfied now.

Thanks to everyone who offered advice on my issue.

Take care,

Anne

PS - I''m in Canada, and the vendor in the US... luckily, I was able to ship the beryl ring back and receive its replacement without paying duty a second time.

 

[Kaleigh]

Oh wow, Ann it''s gorgeous!!! I love it. Glad you were able to send the other one back and get this.

 

[widget]

Wow, Anne...I like that ring even better than the beryl! It''s darling!

May I ask who the vendor is???

widget

 

[monarch64]

That is a beautiful ring you''ve got there! I love the detail and the stones on the sides. Very pretty choice, if I do say so myself!

 

[anne_h]

Thanks, everyone.

Widget - have messaged you privately.

Anne

 

[innerkitten]

I''m not sure but wanted to say the color is pretty and unusual. Nice ring

 

[innerkitten]

Anne, you should write them a letter.