There’s a crack in the bottom half of my diamond!
“I hope that you don’t mind answering a question for me, you seem to be very knowledgeable about diamonds, and I’m hoping that you can tell me what I need to do. I received a beautiful diamond engagement ring the other day, everything about the diamond and the ring looked perfect! I happened to slam my hand in the car door today, because I’m a total klutz! And when I checked to see whether my ring is okay, I noticed what appears to be a crack in the bottom half of my diamond! It runs across the stone from one side to the other, I’m completely heart-broken, and am afraid to tell my fiancé tonight when he gets home; we haven’t insured the ring yet! Is there any way to fix this?”
A close-up of the pavilion of a diamond:
I’m happy to tell you that what you think is a crack in the bottom half of your diamond, is probably an optical illusion created by the junction point between different shape facets located on the pavilion, or lower half of the diamond. If you look at the picture to the left which was captured from a video frame for a 1.318 carat, G-color, VVS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond, you will see what appears to be a crack, located in the lower half of the diamond, between the two lime green arrows; this is in fact an optical illusion created at the point where different facet shapes connect as part of the facet structure of the pavilion, or lower half of a round brilliant cut diamond.
Pavilion facet pattern of round diamond:
The lower half of a diamond is referred to as the pavilion, which consists of eight pavilion main facets that look like an eight pointed star; and sixteen triangular shaped facets, which are separated into pairs, which separate each pavilion main facets, as indicated in the diamond plotting diagram that appears to the right. The junction points where the two different shape facets meet, is most likely creating the line of light which appears to be a crack. The position of the “crack” or line of light can shift to different heights within the pavilion region as the diamond is rotated and viewed from different vantage points, this is because the position of light changes as the diamond is rotated.
Tips for Protecting Your Jewelry Investment:
Obviously you’ve had quite a scare, I can’t imagine how dreadful it must have been to think that you cracked your diamond when you slammed your hand in the car door, I’m sure that you are relieved to discover that what you thought is a crack in the bottom half of your diamond, is simply a difference in how light is being reflected at the junction points where the pavilion facets meet.
Just to be safe, you should take your diamond engagement ring to a jewelry store that provides in-house repairs, and ask them to inspect the ring for you; this way they can make any adjustments to the prongs, or the setting, if any actual damage occurred, and they can verify that the diamond is not damaged. It is a good idea to have your jewelry inspected by a qualified expert at least twice per year, we usually recommend that people do it when they adjust their clocks for daylight savings time; and whenever you think that there is a chance that the jewelry item might have been damaged, such as when you slam your hand in a car door… OUCH.
And of course, you now realize the importance of insuring your fine jewelry, there are many companies that offer excellent insurance for diamond and jewelry items; you should check with your renters or homeowners insurance company for a quote, and a description of coverage. We recommend insuring your diamond and jewelry items for damage, accidental loss, theft, and fire.
Another option is to purchase jewelry insurance from Jewelers Mutual; they are the company that many retail jewelry stores and diamond brokerages insure their merchandise through. Note that this is not an endorsement of any kind, Brian Gavin Diamonds is not in the insurance business, please conduct your own due diligence when deciding what level of coverage to purchase, and which company to do business with.
