How does a nick on a stone affect its value?

Hi - I am trying to buy a sapphire ring from a seller, and the seller
informed me, after we reached a sales price, that there was a small
nick on the center sapphire (the center sapphire is a 3 carat yellow
sapphire). Should this affect the value? She claims that it should
not. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

On Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:22:16 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry
wrote:

Hi - I am trying to buy a sapphire ring from a seller, and the seller
informed me, after we reached a sales price, that there was a small
nick on the center sapphire (the center sapphire is a 3 carat yellow
sapphire). Should this affect the value? She claims that it should
not. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Depends on the nick, it's size, how it affects appearance, now it changes the
overall condition of the stone. If the stone already has many flaws and
inclusions, another tiny nick won't matter. If the stone is otherwise clean,
well polished, and pretty pristene, then a nick can be a fairly significant
factor in it's value, especially if large enough to be seen with any sort of
ease. If the stone has more inclusions, and there is already a bit of normal
wear and tear, such as abrasions on facet junctions, etc, and especially if the
whole ring is being sold at a price below it's normal value, then a tiny nick
would make little difference since it doesn't change the overall condition of
the stone or the sale.

The lesson to take away from that is caution, since it's hard for any
professional to give you any sort of opinion as to the real effect of damage to
a stone, unless he or she sees the stone. If your seller is a professional
well enough trained to actually know what she's talking about, then if there's a
good reputation behind that statement, you might trust it. If this is Ms. Joyce
C. Public, knowing only what some prior seller told her, but without any real
knowledge to back it up, plus the conflict of interest to not tell you more
damaging news than she has to, then the statement might not be so accurate.

Best bet would be to negotiate a deal whereby if you get the ring, and have a
good look yourself or better, take it to get a proper evaluation from a
gemologist or good jewelry appraiser, and you then find it wasn't worth what
you paid or the nick bothers you too much, you should have the right to return
the piece for a refund.

Do keep in mind that nicks and other surface imperfections on cut stones are not
always "damage" Sometimes they're simply the evidence that the cutter did not
wish to remove more material than he/she needed to, and a small bit of the
original surface, or defects in the rough, were not totally removed in cutting.
While these still affect the quality, they may not be as objectionable as actual
damage from prior owners treating the stone roughly...

Peter Rowe