<2022-08-19T04:37:45.000Z> TinyFern: Hey could I hit you up for some free advice about a ring 
<2022-08-19T04:38:43.000Z> TinyFern: My brother doesn't want my grandmother's wedding ring so I was going to wear it but having read some of your comments about gem cutting I think it's cut badly 
<2022-08-19T04:39:25.000Z> TinyFern: It looks blue in sections when you squint in good light but mostly it looks greyI think it's badly cut because light isn't bouncing inside and then coming back out, it just goes through and so it seems dark and drab 
<2022-08-19T04:40:41.000Z> TinyFern: I have no idea about the actual monetary value of the ring but it's likely not much as my grandparents weren't wealthy. I'm not sure if it's worth trying to recut it and reuse the stones in a new setting or if I should just accept that it's ugly 
<2022-08-19T04:41:29.000Z> TinyFern: I'd really appreciate your opinion if you have the time  https://i.poastcdn.org/3840a2447cb7a37739961b77f4d5159d3d9f1682db5c8e4be6f97a59c670cdae.jpg
<2022-08-19T05:26:25.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: What stone is this supposed to be?
<2022-08-19T05:26:40.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: Another picture or two from different angles would help
<2022-08-19T05:26:47.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: Especially a shot of the bottom
<2022-08-19T05:29:15.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: Red circle is either a chip or an inclusion that came to the surface and shouldn’t have. Blue circles are either retardation or, assuming this is anything less had than sapphire, points where the stone chipped or rubbed down destroying the meet point https://wei.mentalswarf.com/media/5d44241e8c112fe027122a9cfd6bf676f95ee012432f8960ba250c32cd0be9c0.jpeg
<2022-08-19T05:29:39.000Z> TinyFern: Apparently it's a Sapphire 
<2022-08-19T05:30:21.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: But those are all crown damage that just affect how the light gets bounced around. Pavilion is the engine of the stone and determines what light is coming back up. If you have the right pavilion and still no light it means you have poor material with too little clarity
<2022-08-19T05:31:25.000Z> TinyFern: My phone is screwing up and I'm having difficulty attaching other images 
<2022-08-19T05:33:07.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: It’s cool. It is 1:30 am and I’m literally in the wilderness on a mining and prospecting trip. I won’t be back to my workshop till Sunday night.
<2022-08-19T05:33:59.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: Green prong is in the wrong position. Someone had his eyes crossed. Opposite is weird too but not as bad. But assuming the stone isn’t moving in the setting it should be safe https://wei.mentalswarf.com/media/7b0cb905a7a839c20e99df99f7391896df4da50e66575f6fe5f1008d2ca0adeb.jpeg
<2022-08-19T05:34:49.000Z> TinyFern: Im in Aus so I'm probably a bit far for a physical repair  https://i.poastcdn.org/8c2682f3fc6955dd69d32d68b19ece92b6a93432a7fe6bdff4bdb5c8a900e60d.jpg
<2022-08-19T05:35:38.000Z> TinyFern: Oh neat that worked 
<2022-08-19T05:36:05.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: Hah. Shit. That pic sure didn’t help much. :/
<2022-08-19T05:37:05.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: When you get some time try getting something outdoors in direct sun. Give me a clue what colors you see and if you see any scratches. That might at least narrow down our options if there is no other info
<2022-08-19T05:37:24.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: i gotta get to sleep. Will check in the morning here
<2022-08-19T05:37:41.000Z> TinyFern: Ok
<2022-08-19T05:37:46.000Z> TinyFern: Thank you 
<2022-08-19T05:44:22.000Z> TinyFern: Test
<2022-08-19T06:12:24.000Z> TinyFern:  https://i.poastcdn.org/fd44fa6f12bb0721214d5d228bfd5a4a6565c79713e600314401791b9b579412.jpg
<2022-08-19T09:00:22.000Z> TinyFern:  https://i.poastcdn.org/97c7084f27be19b9ef38b8767bad9c4ee288b5e3b44382c01e49ec968dfc610c.jpg
<2022-08-19T09:01:01.000Z> TinyFern:  https://i.poastcdn.org/97c7084f27be19b9ef38b8767bad9c4ee288b5e3b44382c01e49ec968dfc610c.jpg
<2022-08-19T09:01:54.000Z> TinyFern:  https://i.poastcdn.org/3329cb9d1cf6c770879202063062c05873a1e167264a2718025c42948c1a2adf.jpg
<2022-08-19T09:02:13.000Z> TinyFern:  https://i.poastcdn.org/3ba08327c4546a48750068032507edb9a9465ead6e00cb985be91b5466908daa.jpg
<2022-08-19T09:02:30.000Z> TinyFern:  https://i.poastcdn.org/fd44fa6f12bb0721214d5d228bfd5a4a6565c79713e600314401791b9b579412.jpg
<2022-08-19T09:02:57.000Z> TinyFern:  https://i.poastcdn.org/8078faa3bb0340e93b9cd1d58497c3b1302887f7dfa80fe3601e59fdf11c2a30.jpg
<2022-08-19T09:03:24.000Z> TinyFern:  https://i.poastcdn.org/28eb8c848b8f239e81f9281159604e8dcd342d4c092b9a52576df6917f969124.jpg
<2022-08-19T09:03:43.000Z> TinyFern:  https://i.poastcdn.org/313052ef80024720d6a520745c78a1d2c59a5dcdc1f6330f53121205efe492ba.jpg
<2022-08-19T09:04:16.000Z> TinyFern:  https://i.poastcdn.org/2112de220958b70f533fd4f328ac47010a6c420d1b6f983429d89500a7eb3f85.jpg
<2022-08-19T14:48:44.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: It looks like it might be a sapphire. Edge damage seems not that bad aside from the pitting, which may have been there to begin with. I would expect more damage on anything hardness of 7 or lower. Inside looks kind of gunked up and dirty. It might brighten up significantly just from a trip through a hot and soapy ultrasonic, scrub with acetone, and another trip through the ultrasonic.
<2022-08-19T14:50:30.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: I’d say clean it out good and see if it brightens up a bit. Crud stuck to the bottom impacts light performance. Beyond that you would need to check the pavilion cut. Pavilion on sapphire has to be 40 degrees or the light falls through.
<2022-08-19T15:46:22.000Z> TinyFern: Ok I'll look at some cleaning and see how we go
<2022-08-20T03:31:42.000Z> TinyFern: Took it to get it cleaned and the jeweler said that basically with the depth of the stone it will just look dark. It would be $2k to basically remake the ring in the right size with a nice setting
<2022-08-20T03:31:48.000Z> TinyFern: Cry reacts only 
<2022-08-20T03:32:22.000Z> TinyFern: She said I could send it to get recut but I might lose the colour and implied it wasn't a great idea 
<2022-08-20T13:44:48.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: That’s high for a remake. We would be charging around $600-$800. If the material is dark and doesn’t pass much light then a recut won’t really help
<2022-08-20T13:44:57.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: You could also end up losing a lot of volume
<2022-08-20T14:01:51.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: I’m going to go ahead and say most likely she is right, and it probably isn’t worth the expense of recutting. I had a piece come in for scrap a while ago that was from Australia, probably the same era, and it had these small, VERY dark sapphires that were so dark you couldn’t even tell they were sapphires if you didn’t put a light right up against them. If it’s the same material then I don’t think there will be a lot to be gained from recutting and losing a lot of millimeters to fix the pavilion angle.
<2022-08-20T14:07:26.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: If you were in the states I’d be willing to help you out anyway since this is a sentimental thing. We could probably figure out some way to get a recut of the stone and full rebuild of the ring down to something a bit more affordable. But with taxes to get it back into Australia I don’t know that you would come out ahead and it might be a lot spent for a little improvement since it’s impossible to guarantee what will come out the other end of a recut. That’s why we usually only recommend it for stones of sentimental value with heavy surface damage or exceptional material that was miscut and will greatly increase in value and appearance from better handling.
<2022-08-21T03:13:07.000Z> TinyFern: Thank you very much for your advice, I really appreciate it. 
<2022-08-21T18:16:01.000Z> D@wei.mentalswarf.com: No problem. Always very happy to help.