Learn How To Use Watch Tools

CRACKED, CHIPPED OR BROKEN DIAMOND?

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR DIAMOND IS CRACKED

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission. Thanks! As an Amazon Associate I also earn from qualifying purchases.

Is My Diamond Cracked?

People are always concerned about their diamonds. They are in fear that they’ve cracked the stone, or that a jeweler sold them a cracked diamond, or even chipped the stone during the mounting process!

Let me settle this whole mess right now. 9 times out of 10, the answer is:

NO!

Your diamond isn’t cracked.

Let me explain…

In over 20 years of looking at thousands of diamonds, I think only 2 of them have actually been what I would call “a real crack“.

When you purchased your diamond, it was new and shiny and beautiful and you were filled with excitement by the sparkle, fire and life it gave you.

Weeks later, after hand lotions, soaps, powders, perfumes, gels & shampoo, your diamond has…

Lost some of that sparkle

When the brilliance doesn’t shine like it used to when it was clean, you’ll be able to see inclusions inside the diamond easier. The inclusions are more noticeable because they don’t have sparkles of light hiding them anymore.

People always mistake an inclusion for a crack (even though technically, a crack is a type of inclusion).

If the jeweler sold you a cracked diamond, chipped diamond or broken diamond, you would have been able to see it immediately.

Chips or cracks don’t suddenly show up weeks later like a magic trick. It doesn’t work that way. Cracks don’t rise up and expand like bread in the oven. Plus it’s very rare to actually crack a diamond, and usually when it really does happen, it’s caused by striking the diamond with just the right amount of force and pressure at just the right angle.

And if you did hit it that hard to actually break it, believe me, you’d know it! You’d look down at your hand and see that your lovely little diamond ain’t so lovely anymore. Once you see a cracked diamond, you’ll always be able to spot one. It’s that apparent!

So what does a cracked diamond look like?

When a diamond is cracked the signs are usually easy to see.

It will usually either look like it’s broken into two sections, one side being a clean beautiful diamond, the other side looking like a piece of salt

(Cloudyyyyy)

Or you’ll see a huge white cloudy piece darting it’s way into your stone like a fault line in an earthquake. But sometimes you’ll just chip the edge and actually take a chunk out of the side, those type of breaks you can actually feel with your fingertip if you run it along the girdle, the diamond’s edge.

So now that we’ve decided what you have is not a crack, What now?

Clean your diamond!

Buy an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner.

Simple as that. If you clean the dirt and debris off the bottom of the diamond, get rid of that grudge and grime and fingerprints, it will shine like the day you bought it.

If it makes you feel better, take it back to the jeweler and scope it. Chances are, a good cleaning will make everything alright.

So what about the people that believe the jeweler really did sell them a cracked diamond? Now that you see this “cracked” inclusion and know it’s there, you will always see it. I would truly believe that when you bought the diamond, you probably weren’t too concerned about scoping the diamond and looking for inclusions inside it.

Also meaning…

You get what you paid for!

The diamond you bought is probably an SI2 clarity or an I clarity diamond. The jeweler wasn’t pulling the wool over your eyes, they were not ripping you off, they were selling you a diamond that at the time, you didn’t pay much attention to.

This is true.

People buy diamonds that are broken, chipped or cracked everyday…

And it’s usually because they were looking for a deal. A cheap stone, regardless of price…

Until the inclusion reared its ugly head…

Sadly, it’s not a wonderful position to be in. You bought too quickly before you knew better.

Here’s how to resolve the issue:

Take it back to the jeweler, explain to them that you are not happy with the clarity of the diamond because you can see the inclusions with the bare eye. Ask them if you can view other diamonds, of similar clarity to find one that does look better. You may have to upgrade, or trade it towards a diamond with a better clarity.

Now that you know about the clarity and visible inclusions, you’ll probably want to spend more time and money looking at stones closer. It’s a tough lesson to learn, but most people are hasty in choosing a diamond, and only open their eyes when they feel jilted.

Upgrading your diamond

I would advise spending a bit more money and upgrade to a higher clarity diamond, like an SI1 clarity diamond (the most popular clarity because of looks and price). The inclusions in an SI1 diamond are small and you won’t be seeing them with the eye no matter if the diamond is sparkling clean or not. You’ll be saying goodbye to cloudy cracked-looking inclusions and hello to a clean diamond.

Microscope the diamonds…

Always microscope a diamond BEFORE you buy it. That way the unexpected flaws won’t be showing up when the brilliance and sparkle settles down. This isn’t something a new bride-to-be wants to worry about. Plus she’ll be sad that the diamond she was proposed with is ugly and full of inclusions and had to be exchanged.

Don’t make that mistake!

Buy a good clarity FIRST, like these SI1 clarity diamonds, and you’ll save yourself lots of grief and woes later on.

Cheers! :)




Recommended Jewelry Supplies:

Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner Jewelry Steam Cleaner Complete Jewelry Cleaner Kit Diamond Dazzle Stick
Gold Silver Jewelry Polishing Cloths Jewelry Making Supplies Kit Gold Acid Test Kit Watch Tool Repair Kit
Ring Adjusters EMT Emergency Ring Cutter 10x Jewelers Loupe Jewelers Microscope

Recommended Jewelry Supplies:

Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner Jewelry Steam Cleaner
Complete Jewelry Cleaner Kit Diamond Dazzle Stick
Gold Silver Jewelry Polishing Cloths Jewelry Making Supplies Kit
Gold Acid Test Kit Watch Tool Repair Kit
Ring Adjusters EMT Emergency Ring Cutter
10x Jewelers Loupe Jewelers Microscope

8 Comments on CRACKED, CHIPPED OR BROKEN DIAMOND?

  1. Carel LE roux // August 21, 2015 at 8:07 am // Reply

    Please Help! I have done a value on my wife’s ring, it came back and the report says the diamond has a chip in the set side of the diamond, now they also say it was a bump that caused the chip. I’m not very clever on diamonds but I’m also not stupid. I think the ring was bough this way! Can you help explaining maybe? Thanks

    • Hi Carel. Was your Diamond Certified when you bought it? If it was, and was Chipped when you bought it, chances are it would be listed on the Report (unless it was Chipped after the Report was issued). Otherwise, there’s no way of Proving one way or the other who Chipped the Stone, or if it was like that when you Bought it. The only True Way of Preventing such a Circumstance, would be to Microscope the Diamond Before you Buy it, just to make sure it’s Void of any Chips… That’s also saying that it’s not an I Clarity Diamond. I Clarity Diamonds can have Chips and Fractures in the Stone, that’s the Nature of I Clarity and that’s why it’s the Lowest Clarity on the Market. Hope this Helps.

  2. I recently went to a jewlee to have a ring fixed I had to have it cut off as after my surgery I gained a lot of weight . they told me my diamond was broken and that it would all come out in pieces its almost a 1/2 carrot. they said its like it was run over by a truck I never took it off and I was never in an accident. are none of the pieces usefull . I did ask if I could have some larger pices remounted and they told me they had no idea what was going to come out and it was most likely garbge but they did a test and it is a diamond . what do I do

    • Hi John. Not much you can do. Diamonds can break if they are hit too hard with the right pressure at the right angle, it can happen to anyone at anytime. And sometimes it does get so badly damaged that it actually cracks the stone in half, as you’ve found out. You only option is to have the biggest piece recut into a new stone. But, it may not really be worth it. Compare prices between getting one recut, versus just purchasing a new one. Often it costs $2-300 for this process to be done. :( Good luck in whatever you do… The only last bit of advice I can give you, check with your insurance company. If you had your rings or diamonds insured, they would cover the cost of replacing it with a new one. :) -Richard

  3. Hello! I need help. I bought a Diamond ring 2 months ago. When I had it for resizing recently, the goldsmith said there was a crack on the stone. Unfortunately I thought he was referring to the carbon that looks like a chip on the diamond because of the shape of the carbon that it seemed like crack. So since I am aware that the ring really has carbon I told him to proceed in resizing it. After resizing the goldsmith handed to me the ring for me to inspect. At then he emphasized to me the chip that he was referring to… To my surprise it is in deed a chip!!! When I went back to the retail store, they said that it might be the goldsmith who damaged the diamond. They insist that diamond can crack during resizing because of the heat. Is that really possible, when I see it in my own eyes that the goldsmith did not even apply heat directly to the diamond and only to the gold. I’ve been resizing rings of with different gems, including topaz. This is my first time to hear that a diamond can crack during resizing. When diamond is even harder than topaz. Please help.

    • Hi Cynthia. Heat will not crack a diamond, only pressure will. If he put pliers to the prongs to tighten them, he could have cracked the stone, but that should never happen in a sizing (unless the stone came loose and he had to tighten it). And, if he told you it was cracked before he even worked on it, then I would tend to believe him. I’ve seen it happen before, where a customer had a cracked stone (and one even had one missing), and didn’t see it. Especially when the stone is dirty, or has other inclusions that may make a crack harder to spot. There may not be much you can do here, except contact your insurance company and see if they’ll cover to replace it. Cracks happen, and without knowing who did it, or when, it’s pretty useless to pinpoint any blame. Hope this helps. -Richard

  4. I have instresting Brocken diamond

  5. Hi team I have two loose and polished yellow natural diamonds with certificate. Recently I went to local diamond speculators for selling the same. They said my stones are cracked, moreover that was the first time he opened the sealed packet of the stone along with certificate. Kindly help me if the speculator is cheating or playing tricks to rate my Diamond for low price. Total 12.47 carats.

Leave a Reply to Richard Scott Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.


*

Not Responsible for Content on External Internet Sites. Any Links may be Affiliate Links!