Cracked Stone???

[kdarling25]

I was looking at my diamond wedding band this afternoon and notice what i thought to be a bit of wax on one of the .2ct round cut diamonds. I went to scrape it off and realized it is, in fact, a crack in the diamond and the only thing holding it in the setting is the prong keeping the cracked portion in place. I cleaned it in my ionic cleaner this morning and didn''t notice a crack, but I was in a rush and it''s possible i missed it.

I believe the diamonds in this ring are VS1 to VS2 as they were a bit smaller, but I do recall they were all on the upper end for small diamonds. (it''s been 6 years since we purchased the band) Is there anything that would cause a diamond to crack? Will the jeweler that sold us the ring replace the diamond based on a flaw? I clearly did not smash the ring as the other diamonds adjacent (as well as the platinum band/setting) show no signs of distress. Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[Independent Gal]

Hi there KD, and welcome to PS!

I''m not a super-expert, but I did learn (the hard way) that gemstones, even diamonds, are delicate and can crack. It''s entirely possible that you could have knocked the ring the wrong way and caused the stone to crack. If the pressure hit a particular spot on that particular stone, it''s quite possible that just that one stone would crack. This is particularly likely if there was a feather close to the girdle of the diamond or if the girdle is thin, as this makes the stone far more vulnerable.

The good news is that this is cheap and easy to fix! The jeweler who made your ring might well do it for free as this kind of work is often guaranteed. If not, I saw on a recent thread that replacing pave stones generally costs about $25. No big whoop!

So, not a crisis.

Let us know what happens!

 

[kdarling25]

I can''t tell for sure because the ring is still in its setting... but it appears to be cracked all the way through. Is this even fixable? The one thought I had is that I was camping this weekend and only wearing this band. Where I know for sure I didn''t knock or bang it, I was tending food on the fire. Is the heat a possible cause?

 

[Independent Gal]

As far as I know it's quite possible for it to be split the whole way through. I don't think the heat from a fire would be enough to affect it, though. You probably knocked it at juuuust the wrong angle.

Definitely ask your jeweler if the stones and work are guaranteed! And I wouldn't worry too much about it. From what I've read on here, you have to expect the occasional problem with pave, but it's not expensive or difficult to fix.

ETA: fixing it means replacing the stone, not fixing the stone! Just to be clear. I'm pretty sure that if the diamond is cracked, it's toast! But a 2 pointer is not expensive.

 

[kdarling25]

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[KimberlyH]

I paid $50 to have a .1 stone replaced and rhodium plating redone, it shouldn''t be a big deal to get it fixed.

 

[Independent Gal]

Oops! I just realized... Did you say it was a 20 pointer? As in 1/5 of a carat? Or a 2 pointer? If it was a 20 pointer, then that could get a bit more expensive. YIKES!

Is the ring insured?