Sourcing stone for re-cut - what matters?

[Divadly]

Hello!

Would love some advice on how to select a RB for custom cut to OEC.

Do I just focus on table size (56-57), clarity and color that i like? Since it's getting recut, does the cut of the original RB matter at all? Meaning, can I get a crappy RB cut to save $ or ???

Also, can anyone give an idea of cost to recut a stone?

Thanks!!!

 

[Kim N]

A lot of forum members, including myself, have used Southwest Diamond Cutters with great success. Here's their price list.

Services - Southwest Diamond Cutters

Southwest Diamond Cutters offers a complete array of services available to the industry Standard Cutting Services All stones will be cut to a fine make (generally Very Good to Excellent) Facet girdle Inscription removal Stones over 5.00 carats will be priced upon inspection There is a minimum...

southwestdiamondcutters.com

If you want to lose as little weight as possible, then there are some cut parameters to aim for, like a taller crown or smaller table. Some people don't care about losing carat weight and just go for the color and clarity they prefer.

 

[Divadly]

Thank you Kim!

 

[Inked]

I agree with Kim! When I was first looking I looked for the smaller table but gave up and just went bigger, because the color overall was more important to me.

I look for a body color I love (assuming you're going for a slightly lower color) like warm/creamy as opposed to grey, and how clear it looks (no graining striation) so i try for VVS1 or VVS2 if possible because they look clearer to me, but both of my favorites wound up being VS1 just because the color was so pleasing to me. I personally didnt consider VS2s in my filter. I had color of G H I and VS1 or better and i was looking for 5 carats end weight so i was looking at 6.5 carat and up.

Personally, I completely ignored the cut and just went bigger than needed so they can do whatever they need to do without worrying or stressing over the carat weight loss.

Since I do that, the cut is completely irrelevant and I can just get the cheapest one with the body color and clearness. It's just way less stress for me that way, and I am already "wasting" money and "overpaying" by buying a diamond and doubling the price with recutting it, so it's worth the extra $500-$1,000 to make it as perfect as it can be. TO me it's a "penny wise pound foolish" thing at that point. I didnt save any money if i skimped on the initial round carat weight and couldn't get the stats i wanted so the cut is off or wound up with smaller than I wanted.

It took me a week and probably looked at 10,000 diamonds to find the perfect one: color of the original I liked, clearness of the original , and then the cheapest. All of mine are CVD, I didn't see a difference with the HPHT and I didn't want to pay for HPHT, i could control it by making sure it was clear to my eye.

Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences as well!

 

[lavenderdragonfly23]

If it were me, I would just ask @Inked to be my “middle man” because her old cuts have turned out so incredible!!! At least this is my plan when I am working on my pendant and earrings!

You’ve been warned Inked

 

[RMOO]

If it were me, I would just ask @Inked to be my “middle man” because her old cuts have turned out so incredible!!! At least this is my plan when I am working on my pendant and earrings!

You’ve been warned Inked

I sheepishly admit this was my thought as I consider whether to go the re-cutting route.

 

[lavenderdragonfly23]

Ooooohhhh @Inked inmay have found your side gig

 

[Divadly]

LOL! @Inked how much do you charge to source a stone and be the middle man????

Ona more serious note, I called SW yesterday and was able to speak with Ashley (lovely man), he advised me on what to look for so now my search begins!

 

[Divadly]

Follow up question since Inked mentioned she bought a cvd. If I notice some streaking/ striations in the magnified diamond video / images but the clarity grade is VVS how much of a risk is that? Is that taken into account in clarity grading and therefore I should assume it's impact on light return is minimal? Or is clarity grading of lab diamonds only focused on inclusions???

 

[Divadly]

@Inked which vendor did you purchase your RB from?

 

[Kim N]

Follow up question since Inked mentioned she bought a cvd. If I notice some streaking/ striations in the magnified diamond video / images but the clarity grade is VVS how much of a risk is that? Is that taken into account in clarity grading and therefore I should assume it's impact on light return is minimal? Or is clarity grading of lab diamonds only focused on inclusions???

Graining is not always taken into account in clarity grading, so I would still personally avoid a VVS with graining.

 

[AdaBeta27]

A lot of forum members, including myself, have used Southwest Diamond Cutters with great success. Here's their price list.

Services - Southwest Diamond Cutters

Southwest Diamond Cutters offers a complete array of services available to the industry Standard Cutting Services All stones will be cut to a fine make (generally Very Good to Excellent) Facet girdle Inscription removal Stones over 5.00 carats will be priced upon inspection There is a minimum...

southwestdiamondcutters.com

Bah! They no longer post prices. It just says "Call."

 

[Inked]

If it were me, I would just ask @Inked to be my “middle man” because her old cuts have turned out so incredible!!! At least this is my plan when I am working on my pendant and earrings!

You’ve been warned Inked

I sheepishly admit this was my thought as I consider whether to go the re-cutting route.

I am at your disposal if you ever need! Seriously, Im happy to help, but I feel like it's mostly just liking the look of it!

I definitely dont and cant do what Kim and Deja do, i don't know what a pavilion twist or painting means, but I dont look at cut, i just look for the crispness/clearness of the diamond and the color to see if its a good recut candidate!

I will say the issue of "darkness" in regular light has come up in the past (a bunch of threads on that, and I am not talking about the going dark in bright sun thing) and I dont have that issue with my 2 recuts now that I can see that 'greyness' in the original MRB and avoid it.

 

[Inked]

@Inked which vendor did you purchase your RB from?

Ritani and Loosegrown !

Follow up question since Inked mentioned she bought a cvd. If I notice some streaking/ striations in the magnified diamond video / images but the clarity grade is VVS how much of a risk is that? Is that taken into account in clarity grading and therefore I should assume it's impact on light return is minimal? Or is clarity grading of lab diamonds only focused on inclusions???

Kim is absolutely right that the graining and striation is not part of the clarity grade, it was just my experience after going blind looking at what seems like thousands that when i was looking at VVS stones they just didnt seem to have it as often... Doesnt mean it wasnt there on some VVS and doesnt mean you cant get a kick@ss VS2 or even SI1 but i just noticed when i could find a VVS stone, it seemed to have less. That said, mine were all VS1 because i couldnt find the 'right one' in VVS.

Honestly, i feel like you will see when you start looking at a lot one after the other, you'll start to see it.

I LOOK for stones on Ritani or even Brilliance usually, but then take the IGI and check loosegrown and the others to see who has it the cheapest, it's usually loosegrown. Just loosegrown doesn't preview them in the main page, you need to actually CLICK on every single stone so it's more annoying and time consuming.

But like i said if you start looking at many in a row in once day you'll start to see the clearness and color better!

 

[Inked]

LOL! @Inked how much do you charge to source a stone and be the middle man????

Ona more serious note, I called SW yesterday and was able to speak with Ashley (lovely man), he advised me on what to look for so now my search begins!

LOL! I am happy to help if you need!

And thats super exciting, Ashley is awesome!!! Happy hunting!!!