Post subject: Chip and possible fracture? Sapphire question...
Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2021 3:49 pm
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2019 9:05 pm Posts: 10
Hello all!
I just had a question about this sapphire pendant I just purchased. Under my loupe I can see a small chip and what looks like an adjoining fracture. Before buying, I asked the seller if there were any chips and he said no, but that he saw natural feathering. The chip is visible to the my naked eye, but I don’t think most people would ever notice it, so I don’t fault the seller. The fracture (crack, feather...fingerprint?) inside the stone is hardly visible without magnification. The chip is sort of on the girdle, and slightly on a facet. The pendant is obviously second-hand, so likely isn’t very new.
Could this be a natural occurrence? Does it appear to be a chip and crack within the stone? Ultimately my question is whether or not I should worry about the structural integrity of the stone? Should I have someone look at it?
Any help appreciated. Thank you!
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Both issues are very hard to photograph, so I apologize if no one can even detect what I’m talking about.
Post subject: Re: Chip and possible fracture? Sapphire question...
Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2021 6:54 pm
Site Admin
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm Posts: 21602 Location: San Francisco
The chip could possibly have been naturally occurring but I think it is more likely to have happened after it was cut. Perhaps the stone did not start out as a pendant. Maybe it was once a ring and it got re-set. Perhaps someone tried to tighten a prong and messed up.
Hard to chip a pendant especially when it is being worn. If it bothers you, you can always get it polished out.
Post subject: Re: Chip and possible fracture? Sapphire question...
Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2021 7:00 pm
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2019 9:05 pm Posts: 10
Barbra Voltaire, FGG wrote:
The chip could possibly have been naturally occurring but I think it is more likely to have happened after it was cut. Perhaps the stone did not start out as a pendant. Maybe it was once a ring and it got re-set. Perhaps someone tried to tighten a prong and messed up.
Hard to chip a pendant especially when it is being worn. If it bothers you, you can always get it polished out.
I don't see the feather you are referring to.
Thanks for your response, Barbara. Yes. The feather is hardly showing up in photographs. I circled it here:
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Post subject: Re: Chip and possible fracture? Sapphire question...
Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2021 7:25 pm
Gold Member
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:58 pm Posts: 1424 Location: San Marcos, CA
I agree with Barbra. To me it looks to be from a setting issue. That prong looks very straight in comparison to the other three. All speculative though. I do not see that as a natural defect of the stone.
Post subject: Re: Chip and possible fracture? Sapphire question...
Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2021 7:38 pm
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2019 9:05 pm Posts: 10
glhays wrote:
I agree with Barbra. To me it looks to be from a setting issue. That prong looks very straight in comparison to the other three. All speculative though. I do not see that as a natural defect of the stone.
Post subject: Re: Chip and possible fracture? Sapphire question...
Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2021 8:02 pm
Gold Member
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:58 pm Posts: 1424 Location: San Marcos, CA
It is possible that the feather your speaking of reaches to the girdle of the stone where the chip is, created a weakened girdle edge on the stone. Hence the chipping may have been unavoidable. Once again all speculative.
Post subject: Re: Chip and possible fracture? Sapphire question...
Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2021 9:30 pm
Gold Member
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 2:18 am Posts: 1542
Looking at the feather and the "chip" I am inclined to agree with Greg. As the feather intersects the surface at a shallow angle like this one appears to it can cause a weak point. I say don't worry about it. Enjoy the stone.
A little late to this but I'll agree with the others here that the feather probably was close to the surface and it caused a weakness that could have then caused the chip when the stone was being (re)set.
If you want to try and take a better look without a microscope and you have a couple of loupes laying around you could try stacking them on each other. Your focal distance will be next to nothing (meaning you'll need to bring the combined lenses almost right on the piece) but you might be able to see what the feather is made of to give you a better idea. You may even be able to take a photo like that if you can set it up correctly.
Personally though, if you aren't bothered by the chip then the inclusion doesn't look like it would be a real problem any more but without seeing the stone in person or getting more pictures zoomed in then we wouldn't be able to even guess at what kind of inclusion it is and/or what it might mean for the structural integrity of the stone. As Barbra mentioned though, you could always have it recut/polished to try and remove it but it would depend on a few different factors to see how much weight off the stone you'd lose.
Post subject: Re: Chip and possible fracture? Sapphire question...
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:01 pm
Site Admin
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm Posts: 21602 Location: San Francisco
LOL, I get that all the time too. My mom thinks the stone was switched and wants me to get it checked. My mom thinks it's a fake and told me to get it checked.
"Would you like me to call your mom directly with the results?" Oh, no. You can tell me.
Post subject: Re: Chip and possible fracture? Sapphire question...
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2021 8:48 pm
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2019 9:05 pm Posts: 10
Barbara, my mom did tell me I should contact the vendor, so it wouldn’t technically be a lie.
Thank you to everyone for your advice. I think I will just enjoy it for what it is. It wasn’t very pricey, and so I certainly wouldn’t send it back. It’s such a beautiful color. My favorite sort of periwinkle.
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