O.K. Accidents do happen, but how and when this occurred I don’t
have a clue. Just got finished setting some gorgeous lavender/purple
chalcedony stones which I purchased at the Tucson gem show a number
of years ago. Made a series using them as they are all different
shapes–some asymmetrical.
Got them all finished, when I noticed a tiny, miniscule scratch on
the surface of one of them. It is so tiny that I never noticed it
until after I did some final last minute polishing with zam which
left that notorious black goo on my pieces. Used my usual home brew
of ammonia, simple green and dish washing detergent to remove the
gunk. Six of the stones are perfect, but the one I liked the best,
has a very very small scratch.
Only reason I saw it was that it still had some of the black zam in
it.
Managed to wash it out, but the scratch is there, almost invisible
to the naked eye, but i know it is there and I certainly don’t want
to sell it that way.
Now to my question. Is there any way I can remove the scratch
without having to remove the stone from the bezel setting? Removing
the stone would be easy enough, but unfortunately, the fine silver
bezel is very work hardened as I had put it in my tumbler before
setting the stones. Also the bezel is 24 gauge, and gave me a lot of
resistance when I was setting the stone.
The piece is set with an amethyst, and I don’t want to run the risk
of damaging it.
So, is all hopelessly lost??? Or do some of you wise people have a
suggetion for me.
Alma, A lot depends on the size of the stone, how it is set and where
the scratch is on the surface. For instance, if the scratch is on the
crown, easily accessible and no other part of the setting or other
stones would interfere, such a scratch could be easily removed with a
Crystal Pad and diamond. I would start with 600 grit to see if it did
the job. If not go back to 280 grit, then 600, 1200 14,000 and finish
with a cerium oxide on felt at slow speed. This is pretty standard
for any chalcedony/quartz/agate/jasper material. The Crystal Pads can
be purchased from Graves Company
(Used to work for them part time and a happy customer). Ask Pete for
the small wheels usually used in his carving kits.
You may also give this a try. I use them all the time for a quick
touch up on non-faceted stones. Inactive Group - 11-6221
They are very quick and relatively inexpensive. Just be gentle.
Interesting question. Are we talking a faceted stone or a cabochon?
If a faceted it needs to go to a competent faceting lapidary to be
polished out. If a Cabochon then ZAM on a soft buff will do the job
just fine as long as the scratch is not too deep. If deep enough to
require arecut to eliminate the again send it out to a competent
lapidary.
Thanks to all who responded so kindly to my question about the
scratch on the chalcedony cabochon. A friend,who is a lapidary was
able to polish it without having to remove it from the bezel
setting. To my delight, it was a minor scratch on the surface of the
stone, and he was able to totally smooth it out.
Thanks again for all your wonderful suggestions.
Alma