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Whom to contact to polish out a chipped OEC?

GemFever

GemFever

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Nov 28, 2011
Messages
2,419
Dear PSers,

I'd like to polish out a chip from an OEC I got on ebay, and wanted to ask for advice on whom to contact. Someone who could preserve the beautiful old cut of the stone. Does anyone have an idea of how much might it cost and how long it might take (weeks, like a custom jewelry order)?

The jeweler who took it out of the setting yesterday suggested that the stone be recut, and how beautiful it would be as a modern brilliant :roll: Then he proceeded to tell me that light leaks out of the open culet, and how it could really be improved by a modern recut :angryfire: He was a nice friendly guy though, so I just smiled and said I loved old cuts.

Cheers!

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That's a very pretty diamond! Hopefully you can get it repaired soon. Years ago I sent a chipped old cut to Dave Atlas. I know he sent it out, but I can't remember where. They repaired the chip and redid/engraved the prongs. Maybe Dave could help, or point you in the right direction.
 
That's a pretty big chip, unforunately. I think it will take more than polish, but I certainly am not qualified to even say. But some here have used Singlestone for this purpose. I believe Gypsy has sent a stone to Brian Gavin for some rehab as well.
 
Alistra, thanks for the suggestion!

DS -- it IS pretty big. Somehow it doesn't seem to affect the performance of the stone, at least that I can see. Probably just because I'm not good at picking up this stuff. I'm also worried that this is a matter of re-cutting now, more than polish. I mean... if those facets were polished, wouldn't it throw off the symmetry? :confused:

Thanks for the suggestion on whom to contact. I've heard Singlestone referenced for this before. As well as Brian Gavin. And Alistra recommended Dave Atlas. Do they have different specialties, I wonder? Or maybe I should write to everyone and get some info (price, timeframe)? Maybe I'll do that.
 
GemFever|1353105772|3308195 said:
Alistra, thanks for the suggestion!

DS -- it IS pretty big. Somehow it doesn't seem to affect the performance of the stone, at least that I can see. Probably just because I'm not good at picking up this stuff. I'm also worried that this is a matter of re-cutting now, more than polish. I mean... if those facets were polished, wouldn't it throw off the symmetry? :confused:

Thanks for the suggestion on whom to contact. I've heard Singlestone referenced for this before. As well as Brian Gavin. And Alistra recommended Dave Atlas. Do they have different specialties, I wonder? Or maybe I should write to everyone and get some info (price, timeframe)? Maybe I'll do that.
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David Atlas is a fine appraiser, but he is going to just send it to a cutter. I'd probably go with one of the other two, but I am also thinking Jonathan at Good Old Gold said they will do this as well since they sell OEC's and have new antique style stones cut.
 
I'd agree with DS - contact GOG or BGD. Both have done recent examples on PS and they looked amazing with minimal diamond loss. Beautiful stone otherwise - and in your pics, it doesn't seem to show much ill effect... lucky find!
 
I think getting rid of it would take too much weight off, though it depends how "deep" the chip is, or if its jus ta surface chip. I'd just bezel it in a nice secure bezel, and wear and enjoy. The faceting is awesome.

Honestly, that is a really bad chip. I'd be tempted to try to return it or at least get a price adjustment. I can't see how that is an I1, with that damage, so the price could have been lower. Sorry to be a wet blanket :blackeye: ETA: The appraisal did disclose the damage, though. Still, it looks worse than the appraisal implied -- was the appraisal done mounted? I assume so.
 
That looks more like the Cookie Monster came to visit than I1 :sick:

I'd return it, honestly, unless you got it for a total steal. I like Dreamer's bezel idea except this chip is so large, I don't think a bezel would completely cover the chip, and I'm thinking dirt could get trapped between the stone and the bezel and dull it face-up since the open area within the bezel would be impossible to clean...
 
I will have to agree that I would not keep this stone especially if the severity of this missing piece of the stone was not disclosed.
 
Thanks everyone for your input. I'm technically a pretty hard-core returner, and I'm picky. If I don't love something, I'm very likely to return it if there is a return policy. But I also like to play by the rules, and the wedding set that this stone was set in was a no-return ebay auction. I took a chance on it, and I've got what I got. I paid 2K, which is a big chunk out of my budget, but a chunk I can handle at the moment. [Though to be honest, if I really felt like I got scr***d, I'd file a claim and try to return it. I don't though, not in this case]

Getting this stone was a journey in a literal sense -- DH and I drove 3 hours to the seller's house on Saturday to pick it up (because I was too impatient to wait for it in the mail over Veterans Day weekend). Having met the seller, I feel pretty confident that she had no idea about the chip. She is a busy professional and a new mom, and was just selling off her wedding set from her first marriage. And she was still in love with this set, it was pretty clear. (Now the store that sold it to her in 1998... :nono: )

Having spent a week with the stone, I'm in love with it too. The cut is gorgeous. The chip was not visible hidden under a fishtail prong. I'm pretty sure it could be hidden under a bezel as well and it wouldn't take away from the beauty of the stone significantly.

But I am thinking seriously about investing in a polish/recut to fix it up to its best potential. I'll continue the journey with this stone and test new (to me) grounds of getting a diamond fixed up. The most important thing is to get a very competent person to do the polish/recut because I want to stone to keep its beauty.

So... contacting Brian Gavin and maybe GOG and Singlestone is on my agenda. Maybe I'll do some more reading and narrow down the list a bit.

Thanks again for your advice and input!
 
Since it will likely need a recut, I would use Good Old Gold since they have AVR's cut and their cutter is experienced cutting that type stone. If I were keeping it, I would do a recut.
 
The cut does look lovely in your pic - please keep us posted, I'll be really interested to hear what the experts think!

It *looks* like a bad chip but cutters can work miracles sometimes - I remember James Allen posting some before and after pics of a princess with a ghastly chip on the crown that was recut with minimal loss, it was quite incredible!

ETA [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/fixing-a-chipped-diamond-before-and-after-pictures.167918/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/fixing-a-chipped-diamond-before-and-after-pictures.167918/[/URL]
 
GemFever, where are you located?
 
Yssie, thanks so much for that link! I've actually seen it before, but totally forgot about it. Well, this lifts my spirits and gives me hope :praise: I will definitely keep PS updated on how this journey continues!

ForteKitty: I'm in the DC area.
 
love that stone!! i returned an ebay stone that had a chip that went from top to bottom like that, but it was so pretty.
what type of setting were you thinking?

i personally hate the idea of recutting if you lose the patterning, but i would recommend BGD for a recut, many PS'ers have used them and had great results with OEC's. i think SS does recuts too, they do polishes for sure.

overall i think you got a great deal, congrats.
 
Mara, I'm thinking a bezeled pendant. Yellow gold bezel, and then a darkened silver outer shell around that. Kind of to match the silver shell on my OMC earrings. And a YG bail, so I can easily wear it on chains of various sizes and lengths.

Thanks for the note on BGD. They're definitely on my contact list.
 
I would leave it be and just set it in a bezel. I have a .60ct oec that was chipped like yours (proportionally, and location wise), and the jeweler was able to set in in a semi bezel with the chip under the bezel. I think a skilled bench should be able to do the same. Recutting will probably alter the pattern and that would be a shame. It's such a beautiful pattern right now!! I happen to think you paid a great price, given the setting it came with was plat, and you got a matching band. That's worth probably a minimum of $600 on ebay (what I'd pay, and I'm cheap when it comes to bidding on ebay), which means the diamond is $1400. Great deal for a 1.3ct diamond!!! :bigsmile:
 
FK! I value your opinion highly, so now I'm back to thinking whether to polish/recut or not. Hmm hmm hmm.... HMMMM. Is there really a high chance that the pattern would be thrown off? That's my biggest fear. Hmm....
 
Something to keep in mind is that even when you buy something with "no returns" on ebay, they are still responsible to disclose and accurately represent the piece. So don't feel "trapped" because of the no returns clause. Be smart and think about this from a business perspective. The seller may not have known about the chip, but she is still selling something for a large sum of money and in my opinion, that means the seller is responsible for what they sell and to ensure THEY know what they are selling. If not, they need to take it back. That chip is large enough to really affect the value of the diamond. If she disclosed it, she would likely not have been able to sell the stone on ebay at all, and may have only gotten about $800 or so at pawn. That matters IMO. I know you feel attached and invested, I would too, but please think about it seriously. At least contact the seller and tell her about the situation. If I was a seller and sold something like that, I would take it back personally because I would not feel it is ethical to sell something to someone that is damaged so badly.

Just food for thought. Even doing FKs math I think its a tidy sum and should be considered seriously. Do not feel stuck. Keep it out of love and information, not obligation.

And if you keep it I also strong vote NO on the polish or recut. I just think the stone would be changed so much and you would lose weight, so not worth it. Return or keep as is.
 
GemFever|1353122017|3308455 said:
FK! I value your opinion highly, so now I'm back to thinking whether to polish/recut or not. Hmm hmm hmm.... HMMMM. Is there really a high chance that the pattern would be thrown off? That's my biggest fear. Hmm....
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I had one oec w/ a small chip polished, and it did change the pattern slightly. It was under 1ct, but I still noticed. :(sad
 
Dreamer, I definitely see what you are saying. Plus, if I add in the potential cutting/repolishing fees... it's not like a total ebay steal. The seller is a nice woman, perhaps she wouldn't mind taking it back. I'd probably have to re-set it back in her setting though.

Still, I spent about a month on ebay, and I didn't see anything else I liked as much as this stone, for a price I could afford. I could go smaller for 2K, with less damage. Or I could keep waiting and searching, but it's exhauuuusting (to me). I enjoy ebaying, but I'm not super patient. Not good at sitting on cash and waiting for the perfect catch. So in a way, psychologically, I'm ready to keep this stone. The fact that I love the faceting really helps. ::)

Ok, another vote from Dreamer against polishing. I'll write DanielM and let them know that I'll just send it their way tomorrow. That's what I wanted to do initially, anyway. Unless DanielM says he doesn't feel comfortable bezeling it, I'll just make the pendant and enjoy it for some years.

Thanks so much everyone! Really appreciate the input.
 
I spent about 6 months on eBay looking for a pendant stone exactly this size. Based on what I saw out there, this is a great deal, even with the chip. It's hard to find stones that are about this size, without a ridiculous markup or aren't super warm ...what's the spread on the stone? Most stones I saw in this size were far more than you paid. And you got the setting with diamonds and in platinum to boot. Even with polishing and/or re cutting you'd still have a good price IMO. The one I returned was about this size and I paid more than you did AND I didn't have the extra rings/diamonds to offset the cost.

I ended up finding a fantastic 1.4c pendant stone, paid a little more than I wanted to but the pattern on the stone was amazing and it's about a J color. Funnily enough, it's got some girdle chipping (was originally worn in a ring). I thought about repolishing and some touchups to remove the chips, if I ever sold it, I probably would do so but I love it the way it is for me. I saw the chips when I looked at the stone, and negotiated a bit off but not much, she would have kept it if I didn't buy it and I WANTED IT. :naughty:

Anyway FWIW, since you want to bezel set it, I say leave it as is and don't mess with that pattern.
 
Mara, the stone is 1.31 (6.72 x 6.82 x 4.43), around an L-M. It looks pretty white though, especially unset. I imagine it will look warmer once its set in a yellow gold bezel, but I don't mind. My ering is a GIA-J in yellow gold, and that's my white fix. Now I'm ready for warmer.

Thanks for sharing about your ebay experience. Ebay is a fun place, but you gotta invest time time time. Glad you found your perfect stone! I'll go see if you have a thread on it, i want to check it out :))
 
Found it. Amazing!!!!
 
Another vote for Dreamer and ForteKitty's suggestions. I would bezel that baby for a pendant ... it will be beautiful. I wouldn't consider recutting it but if I did .. SingleStone would be my choice. Based on the examples I have seen on PS, they seem to do the best job in keeping with the look of a true OEC.
 
i love the look of the stone face up. I would definitely say no to recutting. it looks deep enough that you would lose too much weight or at lease too much diameter and lose the beautiful facet design you bought it for! the chip doesn't seem to affect the stone face up.

if the chip doesn't ruin the stone for you mentally, you put it in a protective setting and don't plan on reselling it then keep it as it is!. if the presence of the chip bothers you or you plan on reselling it at some point then send it back because even if there no return policy it's not what it was represented as and its value is much much lower than what you thought

i personally would bezel it as is and keep it forever (unless i was willing to risk spending the time to find another 1.3c diamond for 2k). enjoy it for what it is! flawed but beautiful
 
If you love the stone (and I can see why you do!), I'd contact the seller and see if she'd give you a significant discount (from what you've said about her, it sounds like she might be willing). Then you can assess your options. I have to say, if the chip was hidden under a fishtail prong, it sounds like it could easily be hidden in a bezel. I did the same thing with a stone I found on eBay...it's in a pendant now....

Keep us posted on what you decide to do.
 
Thanks for your suggestions Charmy, hippi, and Yennyfire. Following the good advice, I'll be sending off the stone to DanielM to be set in a bezeled pendant without a recut or polish. I'll come back and post in SMTB once it's done, in about a month or so :))
 
GemFever|1353163061|3308686 said:
Thanks for your suggestions Charmy, hippi, and Yennyfire. Following the good advice, I'll be sending off the stone to DanielM to be set in a bezeled pendant without a recut or polish. I'll come back and post in SMTB once it's done, in about a month or so :))
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Exciting!!! I'm glad you are happy with your decision! This diamond will be a beautiful bezel pendant - and Daniel M is awesome with a bezel! A whole month, huh??? rats!!
 
yay...! I can't wait to see pics!

and thanks, i do love my pendant stone. the pattern is one of the most visually pleasing OEC's i have seen. it does have some head obstruction, which is why i think it's perfect as a pendant...you don't get any of that. in pics it always looks like a bright dot on my neck.
 
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