Fixing a chipped diamond - Before and After Pictures

[YoungPapa]

Hi Guys,

With all the stories of chipped diamonds (accompanied by an equal amount of confusion and anxiety), I thought it might be helpful to share a recent experience we had with one of our customers.

This particular customer purchased a GIA 1.01ct I-VS1 princess set into a classic platinum solitaire. Here is what the ring looked like right before we put it in the Fedex box.

 

[YoungPapa]

Here is what it looked like when we got it back a couple of months later. I've been doing this for 13 years and this is the worst chip I've seen. Most chips we find are 1/10th this size.

 

[YoungPapa]

And here is the stone after recutting. We lost five points and a bit of diameter, so now the stone weighs 0.96ct. Cost to the customer for the recut was $75.

My point is simple. While chips sound terrible, they can often be repaired inexpensively and with little loss to the weight of the diamond.

Hope this helps.

 

[dontaskme]

That is amazing, I never would have thought you could recut a diamond to fix a flaw with such little loss to weight. I bet the customer was thrilled after that. I would be beside myself if I chipped a diamond that badly :O. Did she say how she did it ?

 

[AprilBaby]

Nice job and minimal loss! I bet she thought it was a goner!

 

[slg47]

Hi Jim-thanks for sharing this. The diamond looks great! I am also really surprised that a chip of that magnitude could have been fixed with such a minimal loss of weight.

 

[tyty333]

OMG...thats night and day! I would have never thought possible. Thanks for sharing!

 

[YoungPapa]

I was pretty impressed myself. The customer didn't have any insurance on the ring, so our goal was to try and retain as much weight (and value) as we could. She (the fiance) has no idea how it happened and doesn't remember hitting the ring on anything.

Here is another close-up of the chip. You can see that the damage extends all way the under the prong and to the girdle...

 

[kenny]

Very educational!
Nice pics too!
Thanks for posting.

We often hear about the risk of a diamond failing or exploding on the polishing wheel.
How rare is that?

 

[luv2sparkle]

Wow, that is pretty amazing! I will worry a little less after seeing that!

 

[D&T]

Jim, what an amazing transformation you did for your client and at such minimal cost compare to replacing a whole new diamond!

 

[kenny]

Look at the surface in the chip.
Is this the diamond's directional "grain" pattern we often hear about, that cutters must contend with?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Very nice!!! Thank goodness it could be repaired since they didn't have insurance! I hope more people realize that accidents DO happen and they definitely need insurance!!!!

 

[YoungPapa]

Look at the surface in the chip.
Is this the diamond's directional "grain" pattern we often hear about, that cutters must contend with?

Hi Kenny,

I don't know if that is the grain pattern in the stone or not. It's a good question and maybe one that someone else could address.

Regarding diamonds "exploding", we recut/repolish dozens of stones each year and its never happened to us, but we're not cutting from the rough. My inclination, however, is that it's rare.

Chips generally occur during setting and almost always at or near the corner of a princess. Most small chips can be repaired with a loss of less than 1-2 points and no change in the diamonds symmetry rating. The most expensive part is resubmitting the diamond back to GIA for a new report.

 

[geckodani]

Wow,those pics are fantastic, and I am amazed by how much weight you were able to keep! Customer must have been thrilled!

 

[eh613c]

Wow! I'm impressed! Job well done!

 

[Haven]

That's amazing. I would have thought the stone was history, for sure!

Thank you for sharing.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Very informative - thanks for sharing with us!

 

[missy]

That is truly an amazing transformation! Great job and thanks for sharing it with us!!

 

[NOYFB]

That's awesome! I'm sure the customer was thrilled that you were able to fix it without losing too much weight.

 

[Amys Bling]

wow. that is amazing.

 

[yssie]

Wow


Thank you for posting this, your customer must be thrilled! Amazing, that so much damage could be so fully repaired with so little weight loss - if you'd posted the chip itself was four of those five points I'd have believed it, it's frightening.


And on a secondary note, hopefully she now has it safely insured!

 

[olympia776]

Wow, that's great! If I ever hurt mine again (crossing my fingers that I won't) I'll be sending it your way! I think I must be way over paying at $250 plus $75 just for resetting! Edited to add that mine is adding new facets and not a major recut!

 

[susimoo]

Amazing pictures!!

I am in utter disbelief that the diamond could be salvaged with so little weight loss!!! Great job!!

 

[Christina...]

Frightening that the customer didn't realize that she had hit or damaged the stone! I would think that a chip that large would have had to have taken a significant and memorable hit! Yikes! Thanks for the pics Jim!

 

[Sky56]

Very nice - thanks for posting

 

[Smith1940]

Amazing job. I have a question though: I did not know it was possible to chip a diamond at all, really, let alone to the extent shown. Aren't they supposed to be the hardest substance known to man? I'm worried now as I haven't been that gentle with mine in the past and it's set very high. (It's not a JA ring.) So, really my question is, if diamonds are so hard how come they get chipped, as they apparently do looking at these forums??

 

[uriel4108]

I have a 0.70 carat round that I need to get fixed. It was chipped by my ex. You did such a good job on that chip, would it be possible for you to look at my diamond? Or could you suggest someone that would be qualified to look at it? I live in RI, but I have no problem shipping it if I know that the person is quality. Thanks for your time!

 

[VRBeauty]

Amazing! I'm sure your customer is thrilled - and her diamond now has more of a story than most!

This will make me look at chipped stones differently...

 

[MissGotRocks]

I have a 0.70 carat round that I need to get fixed. It was chipped by my ex. You did such a good job on that chip, would it be possible for you to look at my diamond? Or could you suggest someone that would be qualified to look at it? I live in RI, but I have no problem shipping it if I know that the person is quality. Thanks for your time!

This is an old thread so James Schultz might not see your inquiry. I would give them a call - I'm sure they would be happy to help!