Hello,
I have a 64 point diamond cut in an oval and I am making a wedding
ring for a friend. He ordered this diamond online and another friend
who is a diamond dealer checked it for me and found a tiny chip on
the girdle. I will be putting it in a palladium white gold bezel that
I will purchase. My fear is that something may happen to the stone
while I am setting it. I only work with diamonds occasionally so I
am unsure about what to do. I have told him about this and I think he
doesn’t want to have to buy another stone and he can’t send this one
back.
Any advice about what I should do about this will be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks and I hope if it will be in a bezel that it will be o.k.
Lona
Hello Lona, Use a thin bezel that you can puss rather than using a
hammer. Give the diamond a firm seat so that it doesn’t rock. Go
carefully and youl’l be fine. Although I don’t, I do know a setter
that use a tiny bit of epoxy. Not to hold the stone in, but to act as
a " shock absorber".
Have fun. Tom Arnold
Lona, here are some suggestions for setting your slightly chipped
diamond. You go ahead and make the ring and then give it to someone
who you know to be an experienced and skilled diamond setter to have
them set the stone. If that is not an option or you would just
prefer to do it yourself, then set it under strong magnification. As
you know, setting a diamond is not like setting a cabochon. You want
to undercut the bezel to match the shape, crown and pavilion angles
of the stone. So that you are slipping the stone into a seat that
matches and surrounds the stone so that you can push or tap it down
onto the stone rather pushing a vertical wall over to the stone as
you do with a cab. The key to avoid further damage is to hold the
stone in place as it is being set, I use my fingernail, and to stop
tapping when the stone is tight! That sounds obvious, but the way
most diamonds are chipped is that the setter continues to apply
pressure after the stone is tight. Sometimes that’s in order to force
the stone into a slightly different position, you never want to do
that. The magnification helps because you can see the moment that the
gap between the crown and the bezel is closed and the stone is tight.
It can be tricky, because part of the process in bezel setting is to
secure the stone, but the other part is to shape the bezel
beautifully as you set it. The objective being the by the time it’s
tight, it’s straight, no gaps between the stone and the bezel and
the bezel is shaped as you want it, leaving you with minimal clean
up. You need to be very gentle as you pass over the chipped area, but
you still need to push the bezel down to cover the chip and make the
bezel symmetrical.
Good luck!
Mark
Lona- Tim and I do not set chipped diamonds unless the diamond’s
owner signs off. Nor would I accept a chipped “new” stone. It should
be sent back to the dealer. It should have been louped as reported to
the seller immediately.
We find that once a diamond is chipped the risk for further chipping
is higher. No scientific studies here, just four decades of working in
the trade.
Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
www.timothywgreen.com
I agree with Joe, once a diamond is chipped it becomes a higher risk
to set. I would also send a chipped stone back to the dealer and
would let them know I was not pleased with damaged goods. You can
send the stone out and have it polished or re-cut at several diamonds
cutters who specialize in such service. I use Southwest diamond
cutters in Dallas, Tx. I don’t have the address and phone handy but
if you want it I will be glad to pass it along.
Frank Goss