Who can I sent a chipped,.18ct diamond to re-cut.
Thank you,
Laurie
Who can I sent a chipped, .18ct diamond to re-cut.
Stuller. They work magic.
Hi Laurie;
Who can I sent a chipped,.18ct diamond to re-cut.
I know of several people that can re-cut a diamond, but Stuller now
does re-cuts and their prices are quite reasonable. That said,
depending on the color and clarity of the diamond you have, it might
be cheaper to get another diamond. For instance, suppose it costs
$75 to re-cut it, a few bucks in shipping, and you end up with a.12
carat, which, if it were, say, SI1, G, would be worth about $100
wholesale, tops. If it’s SI2, H, you’re losing money, especially if
you value your time. Also, there are people who buy chipped
diamonds, but not for much. My advice, put it in a container with the
other chipped diamonds you’ll probably accumulate in the next few
years, then sell the chipped ones. Meanwhile, buy another.18ct. By
the way, I’m not inferring that you’re a habitual diamond chipper,
but the reality is, even good setters chip the occasional diamond
(preferable only small ones).
David L. Huffman
Send it to Stuller. They have a first rate shop for just this
situation, and the prices are reasonable. Last year we had the
opportunity to see it/them in operation, it was a real education.
You can see it for yourself as this years workshop is coming up later
this month. It’s an event that should be on everyone’s calendar. By
the way - we have no connection with Stuller, financial or otherwise
- we’re just loyal customers.
Rgds…Ski & Cathy
Rocks to Gems
Any idea how much they’d charge to recut a 5-6ct diamond with a chip
in a corner of the table? It was my grandmother’s ring and I’ve been
told the chip reduces the value by $2-$3K but that by having it
recut, while it’ll be made smaller, it could increase the value
considerably more. But there’s always the chance of a bad cut.
Michele
MikiCat Designs
Sorry, Stuller is one of the highest priced on cutting out there,
far from quite reasonable.
Hi Laurie,
David Huffman is right, by the time you’re done, it will cost almost
as much as to replace the stone, especially if it costs $75 plus
shipping. If it’s going back in the same setting, you’re going to
have to get another 18 pointer anyway, so just start a little
collection of chippers.
I used to set them in nugget rings cast from scrap gold back in the
eighties when nugget was still cool (so were disco, leisure suits and
mullets, so don’t look at me like that! None of them were my idea!)
and sold them cheap. Called them “Junk Yard Dogs” and some folks
really loved the option. Beat the heck out of selling the chippers
for $15 or $20/ct and the gold for scrap.
Welcome to the Stone Setter’s Club, Laurie!
Dave Phelps
For diamond cutting and repair, I highly recommend Roger Flanders at
Flanders Diamond Cutting.
Very experienced, very skilled, fast and economical. Give Roger a
call, tell him I sent you. You’ll be dealing with one of the very
best…
Contact:
Roger D. Flanders
5999 S. Park Ave. #270
Hamburg, New York. USA, 14075
Phone: 1 (716) 870-2316
Wayne Emery
www.thelittlecameras.com
Hello Michele,
I could do it for you,need references? Can supply you with many.
Cost? depending on how much to be done and if you are looking for
Maximum weight retention, ideal or cut to modified Round brilliant.
Anywhere from $100 to $200 pr crt starting weight. Photos before and
after, sarin reports and gemex reports available.
Roger Flanders
Flanders Diamond Cutting
Hi Michele,
The only diamond cutter I would recommend for a 5 to 6 carat diamond
is Dirk Verbiest, his contact info is at the bottom of my post. He is
the finest diamond cutter I have ever worked with (I’ve worked with
several), he can almost perform magic. He is from Belgium and was
raised in a diamond cutting family, so he’s done it almost his entire
life. He is exceptionally good at retaining weight and estimating
weight loss, I’ve never known him to miss. He will let you know
exactly what the options are, and how each option might affect the
value, although diamond valuation is not what he does normally. He
has cut many custom shapes for me and they always match and fit
perfectly.
I’m not sure what he would charge you, but he is also pretty
reasonable in his pricing. He charged me a dollar a point for a
diamond he polished a chip out of this week (two day turn-around),
but it was only 0.72ct. Lost 2 points, and saved a nice pear shaped
diamond with a very ugly chip in the girdle and a little tiny one on
the other side. He removed some burning from a bunch of thirds my
brother smoked due to a cast-in-place burn-out error a couple of
years ago, and lost less than a point from each one, again at around
a dollar a point with a two or three day turn-around. He gets a
little more for larger stones (like maybe $1.50 a point?), when they
need repolishing on both the crown and pavilion, but the savings in
weight and the increase in brilliance he can produce more than pays
for a little extra cost.
I would not send a diamond from my family to anyone else.
Others have recommended Stuller, I’m not sure I would concur for a 5
or 6 carat stone, and as RD says, they are certainly not inexpensive.
I love Stuller and order from them practically daily, but for a
diamond like your mother’s, go with someone that does only diamond
cutting and nothing else. Their livelihood depends on their skills,
unlike others that do it as an additional service that won’t break
them if they’re not that successful or good at it.
No affiliation with Dirk. I just like to share when I find good
products and good people - that’s what Orchid is for, right? Dirk is
good people and really knows his trade.
Diamant Verbiest
PO Box 62216
Durham, NC 27715-2216
(919) 361-5557
All the best,
Dave Phelps
precisionplatinumjewelry.com
it could increase the value considerably more.
Unfortunately there’s also the chance of total disaster. Its not
unheard of for particular brittle stones to just fly apart when
they’re touched to the wheel. Its customary that recutting is at the
owner’s risk.
How badly is that table chipped?
Sitting here, tryng to recall, but I don’t remember ever seeing a
chipped table. And I’ve seen literally many thousands of diamonds in
all conditions. Chipped girdles yes, chipped culets yes, chipped
crowns sometimes yes, chipped from girdle to culet yes. But chipped
table? The huge rarity of that would make my calamity avoidance radar
perk right up. Would hate to see a 6 ct turn into a 4 ct.
How badly is that table chipped?
Thank you everyone for your responses.
I actually had no idea Stuller was now in the business of re-cutting
stones and will give them a call before I send it to them for an
estimate. They do it all don’t they…
The stone has already been replaced over a year ago. I had this
hanging around and thought if it was worth turning over I might as
well use it in another piece.
Keep up the good work everyone…we need each other in this economy.
Laurie
My snow drops are blooming in Ct., finally!
I thank everyone for their recommendations. I’m not sure I can afford
to get such a large diamond re-cut right now but one never knows what
the future will bring.
Michele
MikiCat Designs
We have used Shumacher Diamond in North Dakota a few times for
diamond recuts in the past and been quite pleased. All references I
have heard have been pretty positive too.
http://www.schumacherdiamond.com
No association with them, just a previous customer.
John Dyer
Okay, I just checked it again. I’m not positive about the carat size
but it has an 8mm diameter and the chip or tiny scratch is on the
girdle, not the table. I can barely feel or see it but I don’t have a
loupe. Well, I have one, I can’t find the darn thing. Anyway, the
jeweler who last appraised it for me said that ‘as is’ it was
devalued by $1500 to $3000. Said it was a beautiful clarity, very
pale yellow in color but the chip/scratch really detracted from the
value. At this time, since I don’t want to sell it, I don’t have the
cash to layout to get it recut. But I sure would like to. Perhaps one
day I’ll be able to and then leave one of my nieces an heirloom,
piece with true value.
Michele
MikiCat Designs
Michele, an 8.3 mm diamond weighs about 2 c. Give Roger Flanders a
call, you may be pleasantly surprised with the cost of repair. I
posted his info earlier…
Wayne
Sue and I have a friend of ours that recuts diamonds. He was born in
Antwerp, Belgium and apprenticed at 11. He went to Sri Lanka to work
and met a girl from University of North Carolina. They fell in love,
got married and he moved to Durham. He designed a princess cut with
round brilliant pavilion. His name is Dirk (pronounced Derick)
Verbiest. (919) 361-5557 5836 Fayetteville Road, STE 202; Durham, NC
27713. He is a super nice guy and I don’t know what he charges these
days, he was very reasonable a few years ago. We helped him getting
started because we knew so many “jewelers”, and I use the term
loosely, that regularly chipped diamonds trying to set them and sent
them to him.
We have used two cutters for fixing a diamond: Mason Wolf company in
Pittsburg PA 800-229-9997 and Schumacher Diamond cutters Bismark ND
800-654-0456. These phone numbers are in the Jeweler’s Circular
Keystone, (JCK) a publication worth the subscription price just to
receive the annual directory. Their # is 800-305-7759. I am not
associated with any of the aforementioned businesses.
Good Luck!
Mary
Thanks Wayne, we’ve already been in touch via email. And I could have
sworn the appraiser said it was a lot larger than 2ct. But like I
said, I don’t know about gems at all.
Michele
MikiCat Designs
Hello All,
I have used this company for many years and they always do great
work.
Good Neighbor Gem & Lapidary
Cut - Repair - Polish - Drill
Sun K. Choi
415-981-6158
760 Market Street, Suite 909
San Francisco, CA 94102
Kristina