Recut my sapphire

[TKC]

Will a diamond cut on a sapphire make the sapphire more sparkle? I have a heart cut sapphire that I am considering to recut its pavilion into diamond cut style. The sapphire''s color looks like the color of the Heart of Eternity (I only see from the pictures of the Heart of Eternity, have not seen the real one

) diamond, but has a bit dark tone because its pavilion is a bit deep. The cut of the sapphire is native cut, but perfectly cut. Any opinion? By the way, how many facets does the Heart of Eternity diamond have? Is it just a regular heart cut with 58 facets? Thank you very much.

 

[mogok]

Hi,
I just put an answer on an other topic that i could copy/paste here:


About cut and beauty regarding colored gems

Now if your stone is perfectly cut why do you want to recut it? If you appreciate a blue gem to sparkle, you might consider to buy why not a nice benitoite or a blue diamond and keep your sapphire its own traditional beauty? Dont you think so?
All the best,

 

[valeria101]

Date: 11/1/2005 1:10:18 AM
Author:TKC

The sapphire''s color ... has a bit dark tone because its pavilion is a bit deep. The cut of the sapphire is native cut, but perfectly cut. Any opinion? By the way, how many facets does the Heart of Eternity diamond have? Is it just a regular heart cut with 58 facets? Thank you very much.

A heart cut too deep would be quite a sight - the usual problem is having them too shallow. I can hardly immagine...

The respective blue heart is allegedly brilliant cut, but have not found its exact facet pattern anywhere. From photos it appears very flat - not a fine cut (well, as if anyone cared!), so you may not want to take that as refference for a brilliant heart cut after all.

"Three of the world''s most famous blue diamonds. Left to right: The
Heart of Eternity,the Hope, and the Blue Heart Diamond; 27, 45 and
30 carats, respectively. The Hope looks larger than 45 carats because
it is a rather flat stone."


Even having seen pictures of your sapphire, I would still not know if the sapphire would lighten up if cut differently etc. You might need to ask a cutter about that if not done already. However, this doesn''t mean I would not appreciate seeing some

 

[TKC]

Here is my sapphire. It weighs just a bit over 4 carats

 

[TKC]

And seen from the side

 

[TKC]

I think I will take Vincent''s advice not to recut my sapphire. Thank you very much.

 

[TKC]

The reason I want to recut my sapphire because I want to make a necklace for my gf that looks like the Graff necklace like the picture

 

[TKC]

How many facets do you guys think the blue heart diamond on the Graff necklace?

 

[valeria101]

No... I would not recut it. Is the shadow on the pavilion, next to the girdle an inclusion ? That may show if a shallower pavilion gets to light it up (a tentative guess).

Anyway, Perhaps setting it into a pendant is feasible - why not? It would be a bit deep, but you cna always have something interesting done to the basket setting to loo nice from the sides and since this is large enough it may sit as it should on a shorther (or relatively rigid) necklace. Just IMO. Have you asked a jeweler about it and they said ''no go'' ?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 11/3/2005 2:45:54 AM
Author: TKC
How many facets do you guys think the blue heart diamond on the Graff necklace?

It looks like a normal brilliant heart - maybe there is some twist to it, but the many flickers of color are not facets - just their reflections into one another ... if that is what you are referring to.

 

[Michael_E]

TKC,
I agree that your sapphire should not be recut. The reason for this is that if it were recut to a more shallow style, you would increase the green overtones of the stone, (looking at the side view it''s apparant that this stone has a green cross color), and actually change the balance of color showing in it. The reason that many of these stones are cut deeply, (besides retaining weight), is to increase the distance that the light entering the stone has to travel along the blue colored axes, making the stone both deeper in color and more blue.

I have actually cut dark blue round sapphires as shallowly as possible and ended up with a stone that had a "bulls-eye" effect where they would show a deep blue center and a distinctly green perimeter coloration. Very strange and not particularly desirable.

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 11/4/2005 1:40:59 PM
Author: Michael_E
if it were recut to a more shallow style, you would increase the green overtones of the stone...and actually change the balance of color showing in it.

An excellent point, Michael. I''ve also noticed that sapphires from some sources like certain Tanzanian stones tend to display much stronger dichroism than those from other places like Sri Lanka, for example. I''ve tried to find an explanation for this but have so far failed. Any ideas why? The same question would apply to why some tourmaline crystals are "open" on the C-axis and others are "closed."

Richard M.

 

[TKC]

Date: 11/4/2005 1:40:59 PM
Author: Michael_E
TKC,
I agree that your sapphire should not be recut. The reason for this is that if it were recut to a more shallow style, you would increase the green overtones of the stone, (looking at the side view it''s apparant that this stone has a green cross color), and actually change the balance of color showing in it. The reason that many of these stones are cut deeply, (besides retaining weight), is to increase the distance that the light entering the stone has to travel along the blue colored axes, making the stone both deeper in color and more blue.

I have actually cut dark blue round sapphires as shallowly as possible and ended up with a stone that had a ''bulls-eye'' effect where they would show a deep blue center and a distinctly green perimeter coloration. Very strange and not particularly desirable.

Hi Michael, you are right, the sapphire has a green cross color. I decide not to recut my sapphire. I will just leave it the way it is. Thank you very much for your advice and info.