Sapphire chipping question

[Dee Jay]

I have a sapphire and diamond three stone ring that I had made about 3 years ago. Over time (and being a klutz) I nicked the sapphire a couple of times, twice on the table and once on the girdle. The other day I noticed the stone was loose, so rather than have the jeweler tighten a chipped stone I took to get the nics taken care of. The gem cutter did a beautiful job, and when I took it back to the jeweler to have it reset the person at the counter dropped the sapphire on the granite countertop and the stone got chipped again. I took it right back to the cutter who confirmed that it was a new chip. Of course this chip is at the opposite side of the girdle of the other chip, so my oval sapphire is slowly but surely becoming a round. This started out as a 4.18 carat oval, now I''m down to 4.03, and who knows what it will be once I get it back again...

Sorry for this long post, but I''m wondering if this chip (and the ones that I caused before this) was more likely to occur because the stone was heated?

Fortunately the cutter didn''t charge me much to fix the original chips and I don''t know what the fee will be for this latest one, but at some point I might as well buy a new stone rather than keep nickel and diming myself to death with the upkeep on this one. Both the cutter and the jeweler said it was a really good sapphire (sheer luck on that one--I just bought the stone I liked the best without any real knowledge to off of), but all this cutting and resetting will add up over time. If I do get a new stone at some point, should I seek out an untreated stone? I.e., will it be more durable in the long run?

 

[bar01]

Sorry to hear about your chips - particularly the one caused by the jeweler!

About the issue of durability vs treatment - it appears the that the jury is still out on this issue as discussed in a very recent thread.

I am not sure how much the recutting and polishing is costing you (nickle and dime) but a fine color 4ct untreated sapphire can be expensive (say 2000/ct and more).

 

[Dee Jay]

Bertrand – Thanks for the reply. I read the thread that you reference and what I got out of it is that treated sapphires are generally more durable, but can be more brittle, than untreated. (I’m sure I’m over-simplifying… )

I have to be honest, I think maybe the person who sold me the stone didn’t value it properly because I only paid $1,580 for it 3 years ago, and every jeweler that has seen it since that has commented on what a good sapphire it is, so maybe I just got lucky. So, even though the gem cutter charged me $125 to take care of the original nics (not including whatever this last one will cost me) I guess even having this done a couple of times is still less than eight grand!

 

[bar01]

Date: 1/17/2006 2:25:43 PM
Author: Dee Jay

Bertrand – Thanks for the reply. I read the thread that you reference and what I got out of it is that treated sapphires are generally more durable, but can be more brittle, than untreated. (I’m sure I’m over-simplifying… )

I have to be honest, I think maybe the person who sold me the stone didn’t value it properly because I only paid $1,580 for it 3 years ago, and every jeweler that has seen it since that has commented on what a good sapphire it is, so maybe I just got lucky. So, even though the gem cutter charged me $125 to take care of the original nics (not including whatever this last one will cost me) I guess even having this done a couple of times is still less than eight grand!

That’s for sure!

You might have gotten a real steal at $1850 a few years ago. Which actually brings up something I have been thinking about - is your ring insured and have you had a good independent lab appraisal? I would recommend it. An independent lab appraisal will tell you the quality and what is actually worth these days. That may help you determine if it is worth continued repair over the years and if you ever had a major damage or loss - you could get a fair market replacement. You are in my area (Chicago) so you might want to take a drive over to Northbrook and have your ring looked at by Richard Drucker

 

[DiamondExpert]

Why would you be paying for the chip the jewler put in your stone?!...and why would a jewler be manipulating a loose stone over a granite surface - "it''s done/we do it all the time", does not count as an answer!...they owe you!!

Good luck with what sounds like a great stone...keep it out of the hands of novices!

 

[Dee Jay]

Oh yes, Bertrand, insurance up the wazoo on each of my pieces!!!

I have used Chicago Gem Labs for all my appraisals to this point, but I have read nothing but good things about Richard Drucker. Unfortunately he is in Northbrook and CGL is only 2 blocks from my office…

My appraisal has some detailed info about the stone; I’ll post the specs and a picture (if I can get a decent one) once it comes back from getting reset. Could be a couple (several?) days at the rate I’m going though!

 

[bar01]

Date: 1/17/2006 3:50:13 PM
Author: Dee Jay


My appraisal has some detailed info about the stone; I’ll post the specs and a picture (if I can get a decent one) once it comes back from getting reset. Could be a couple (several?) days at the rate I’m going though!

Pictures and specs????!!!!! Oh yeah!

 

[Dee Jay]

Gary - The jeweler has just done some fancy dancy renovation to his office, and now the lobby area is lovely -- and has a very dangerous granite countertop over which jewelry gets passed back and forth. It’s funny you mention the countertop; I was surprised by it the other day when I took the stone in to be unset (it was the first time I'd been there since the renovation), but it's the kind of thing you tuck back in your head and don't think about again... unless something like this happens. Personally I would prefer they had renovated with formica... And after this happened the assistant wanted me to take off my engagement ring so she could look at the basket. No dice on that that--one chipped gem per day is about my limit!!!

As for paying for the chip. I was handing the stone to her and it slipped through her fingers; it was a total accident. I supposed she could say I was not careful enough in the way I gave her the sapphire, and therefore it was my fault that it was dropped. She did tell me to take the stone back to the cutter and if the chip was fresh (and indeed it was—I scrutinized the stone 15 minutes prior when I picked it up from the cutter, and the cutter said he never would have turned the stone over to me looking like) they would pay for the recutting, but I didn't make a large issue of it. I have a good relationship with this jeweler and don't want to make a big deal out of a small thing if it would harm that relationship. Hopefully they will take this into consideration when they charge me for the resetting of the stone (or what's left of it at that point - LOL!) and when I have the new mounting made for my recently upgraded engagement ring.

 

[Allium]

Granite is so unforgiving. I''m kind of shocked your jeweler is handling pieces without a jewelry pad under him. Sounds pretty unprofessional and rather stupid.

 

[Dee Jay]

Allium -I went in on Friday to get my ring and the assistant started to unroll the paper it was in over the granite counter AGAIN. I screamed "NO!!!!" and took the whole package over to the carpeted area by the waiting room chairs to unroll. Do people never learn???

Now that I have it back I do owe pics. If I get home early enough today I'll try to get some in the good light.

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 1/22/2006 12:55:29 PM
Author: Dee Jay
took the whole package over to the carpeted area by the waiting room chairs to unroll. Do people never learn???

It''s a primary rule in most stores for stones to ALWAYS be shown with a pad underneath. It''s professional and it protects the stone/jewelry from accidents just like yours. Any stone can chip when dropped on a hard surface like granite (a terrible choice IMO for a jewelry display area).

Richard M.