Problem:
I recently appraised a ring containing two old European cut round diamonds from the early 1900s, a .87 ct and a .56 ct. Both were so severely chipped they were deemed uninsurable by the insurance provider. The client asked, “What can I do with these?”
Solution:
We recut both diamonds into modern brilliant cut diamonds. The larger diamond, recut to .59 ct, improved by four clarity grades and one color grade. The smaller one, now .46 ct, improved by two clarity grades and two color grades. Despite the decreases in size, the recut diamonds substantially improved in quality and increased in value.
We set the diamonds into white gold stud earrings, just in time for Christmas eve dinner. They were appraised at retail replacement value for more than the value of the original ring.