Question about re-polishing sapphires...

[mercoledi]

... to which I''m afraid the answer will be no, but here goes!

I finally found a sapphire eternity band that I like, the color is great and the price was too good to pass on, but some of the stones that I had thought were just kinda gunked up are actually abraded. Not chipped, but definitely scratched or something.

I''m wondering if it''s possible to have the stones re-polished without them having to be unset since the spots that are damaged are obviously pretty accessible already.

I know it''s a long shot, but anyone have any experience with this?

 

[Michael_E]

Date: 5/12/2010 10:48:11 PM
Author:mercoledi
I know it''s a long shot, but anyone have any experience with this?

Yes, and it''s not possible to repolish a faceted stone while in it''s setting. A cab can often be repolished like this, but a faceted stone has to be held in very specific positions during polishing and this is not possible with the setting in the way. If the stones are held in place with prongs and not beads, then it is usually fairly easy to remove, repolish and reset them. If they are held in with small beads, then the beads may be cut off, the stones removed, repolished and replaced with a new bead soldered in place since the sapphire can usually take the heat of soldering. If the piece is channel or flush set, then the setting will end up being destroyed to remove the stones...this is usually not worthwhile, or course. Does it have prongs or beads and do you really want to mess around with it ? If so you it is possible to fix it.

 

[chrono]

I’ve always heard that the stones have to be unmounted for polishing.

 

[Roger Dery]

Date: 5/13/2010 8:37:17 AM
Author: Chrono
I’ve always heard that the stones have to be unmounted for polishing.

Chrono - and Mercoledi,
Yes, this is true, having the stone unmounted allows the faceter an opportunity to match up the face-up alignment of each facet so that it can be properly polished. I''m sure some lapidaries have tried to re-polish mounted gems, but like Michael stated it is not wise to attempt it. The outcome is usually not the one desired.

 

[mastercutgems]

All are rather correct. I have polished cabochon bezel set opals and softer stones while still in the mount; but sapphire really takes a lot of pressure in the final stages of polish even in cabochon. If they are faceted in my world they would have to be removed and set up on the dop and precision pre-polished and then polished to get a good return; and if they are melee; not many people do that as it is not worth the time/labor costs. If the band is channel set that opens up a whole new can of worms in re-setting; and removing the gems from the channel without cracking something. Then I am sure some metal would have to be lasered back.

Sorry but it does not sound like something most cutters would want to do; and if they did you may not want to pay the price for them to do it. But it was worth asking for sure

Enjoy the new find...

Most respectfully;

 

[mercoledi]

Thank you all for your input!

It is indeed channel set and will tiny stones (.55ct total), nicely made and it was only $100 so not worth having remade.

Oh well. I have a week to decide whether I can live with the condition or need to return it and put the money toward a nicer one in the future.


Thanks again for your help!

 

[Kismet]

Date: 5/14/2010 7:50:58 AM
Author: mercoledi
Thank you all for your input!


It is indeed channel set and will tiny stones (.55ct total), nicely made and it was only $100 so not worth having remade.


Oh well. I have a week to decide whether I can live with the condition or need to return it and put the money toward a nicer one in the future.



Thanks again for your help!

So... where are the pictures?

 

[mercoledi]

Ah yes well, since I don''t have a microscope anymore, at least I have macro!

Here''s one of the band in a mix of natural and indoor lighting

 

[mercoledi]

Another, showing the structure of the band. It has a dent, but otherwise the gold has held up well.

 

[mercoledi]

Hand shot, outdoors on an overcast day. Sorry about the elephant hands, there seems to be nothing I can do this year to stay hydrated!

 

[chrono]

The combo of the channel setting, small size of the sapphires and $100 cost of the entire ring makes this a very non cost effective measure to repolish the sapphires. I’d leave it alone.

 

[mercoledi]

And zoomed in. You can see how nice the color is, and a sample of about the worst of the damaged stones.