Have you ever chipped a diamond?

[Rockdiamond]

I wonder if it would be possible to have my existing ring converted to a bezel, without remaking the whole thing...?

In my opinion, no. The entire structure is different for a bezel.

Your ring looks really nice- there's a lot of metal- looks well made.
If I could .....please wear and enjoy it!! That's a diamonds main purpose in life

The likelihood of damage is small.
When we look at hundred year old rings with girdle damage ( which is easily repaired) my first thought is " Wow, this ring has been around the world and back- imagine the things it's been part of....as opposed to thinking it's "damaged"

 

[EClove]

In my opinion, no. The entire structure is different for a bezel.

Your ring looks really nice- there's a lot of metal- looks well made.
If I could .....please wear and enjoy it!! That's a diamonds main purpose in life

The likelihood of damage is small.
When we look at hundred year old rings with girdle damage ( which is easily repaired) my first thought is " Wow, this ring has been around the world and back- imagine the things it's been part of....as opposed to thinking it's "damaged"

I love this perspective! I took out insurance on my ring just in case but honestly plan on wearing it always (obviously taking it off for certain dangerous activities) and remembering that if something happens to it like a chip or scratch, it's all part of the story and the legacy of the stone.

 

[MillieLou]

In my opinion, no. The entire structure is different for a bezel.

Your ring looks really nice- there's a lot of metal- looks well made.
If I could .....please wear and enjoy it!! That's a diamonds main purpose in life

The likelihood of damage is small.
When we look at hundred year old rings with girdle damage ( which is easily repaired) my first thought is " Wow, this ring has been around the world and back- imagine the things it's been part of....as opposed to thinking it's "damaged"

Amazing advice - thank you

 

[jaysonsmom]

Yes, I chipped one of the corners of a 1.21ct princess cut solitaire that I once owned. It was mainly due to wearing it 24/7 and having regular prongs instead of L-shaped prongs which was recommended to me at the time.

 

[Sunstorm]

I prefer diamonds with “personality” which to me means inclusions and sometimes what one might call damage. I mainly wear antiques and they are bound to have some history. Does it bother me if they show a little wear? Not at all and I am very OCD otherwise. I see it as a whole picture and something that is very rare.

As an example not long ago I got a pair of 1850 clusters converted into studs. The center stones turned out to be fancy brownish pinks. They do sport some giant weird naturals and a little cavity/chip on the crown area of one but nowhere it should actually be damage. I assume they were more included rough and cut as such from the look of things but whatever it is I treasure these earrings more than anything else pretty much. I see the rarity and the beauty as a whole and beauty is not 100 % perfection to me it is beauty not in spite of but because of those imperfections too.

 

[caolsen]

The sides of an ec with a reasonable girdle % could be used to turn a princess cut into powder. There are many 100+ year old examples around.
Insure and enjoy.

That’s like diamond rock, paper, scissors!

 

[caolsen]

I wear my rings, I do not baby them. In 20 years the only thing I have done to a diamond is chip a side stone’s girdle, it was a EC .52 carat in a trellis ring. That said, I masacured a sapphire once, dropping in in a hotel bathroom.

The diamond ring needed to be sized down a bit and I had not gotten around to it. I was speaking at a conference in very chilly New York City, wildly gesticulating with my hands as I do, when the ring flew off across the room and hit a marble pillar. An audience member found it, thank god. David Klass buffed her up last year when I used the stones from that ring to make a new trellis with a larger center. You can’t see it - it’s the right side stone.



@Rockdiamond is spot on. Jewelry is made to be worn. There is going to be a certain amount of wear and tear and folks just have to accept that. That’s my motto.

And I don’t ensure all of my piece individual. for the cost of the cumulative premiums overtime, I often decide to just go on my general homeowners for theft and pay for repair. That’s just a long term versus short term calculation people need to do.

 

[Dizzie]

My great-grandmother's ring sure did see some wear and tear! Check out the girdle - ouch!

This is how ( well nearly) a girdle of my previous solitaire looks like. I just learned that I am hard on my hands. I no longer go for highest stats in diamonds, simply because 1.8 J-SI2 is much easier to replace than 2.2 D-IF  Admittedly it was an OEC with fairly thin girdle.

But jokes aside, unfortunately diamonds can be chipped.

However it is still a miracle for me, how my grandma managed to get a sizable chip on the girdle of a diamond in her art deco brooch (sic!)

 

[Dizzie]

I wear my rings, I do not baby them. In 20 years the only thing I have done to a diamond is chip a side stone’s girdle, it was a EC .52 carat in a trellis ring. That said, I masacured a sapphire once, dropping in in a hotel bathroom.

The diamond ring needed to be sized down a bit and I had not gotten around to it. I was speaking at a conference in very chilly New York City, wildly gesticulating with my hands as I do, when the ring flew off across the room and hit a marble pillar. An audience member found it, thank god. David Klass buffed her up last year when I used the stones from that ring to make a new trellis with a larger center. You can’t see it - it’s the right side stone.



@Rockdiamond is spot on. Jewelry is made to be worn. There is going to be a certain amount of wear and tear and folks just have to accept that. That’s my motto.

And I don’t ensure all of my piece individual. for the cost of the cumulative premiums overtime, I often decide to just go on my general homeowners for theft and pay for repair. That’s just a long term versus short term calculation people need to do.

Oh, @caolsen your ring brought me to this thread. Just wanted to tell you it looks stunning on you.

Sorry for thread jack @MillieLou

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

This is how ( well nearly) a girdle of my previous solitaire looks like. I just learned that I am hard on my hands. I no longer go for highest stats in diamonds, simply because 1.8 J-SI2 is much easier to replace than 2.2 D-IF  Admittedly it was an OEC with fairly thin girdle.

But jokes aside, unfortunately diamonds can be chipped.

However it is still a miracle for me, how my grandma managed to get a sizable chip on the girdle of a diamond in her art deco brooch (sic!)

I'm really hard on my hands too. I have no idea how my e-ring is still intact. Although I probably jinxed myself just now, lol.

 

[caolsen]

Oh, @caolsen your ring brought me to this thread. Just wanted to tell you it looks stunning on you.

Sorry for thread jack @MillieLou

Thank you @Dizzie

 

[RunningwithScissors]

My opinion is that you shouldn't save your best things (be they dishes, clothes, jewelry, etc) for special occasions, but you should use and enjoy them every day, or as often as you can. Material items are meant to bring pleasure and add to the richness of our lives.

Too many people save their best china plates (or cashmere sweaters or jewelry) for once-a-year special occasions, but the plates (or sweaters or even jewelry) go out of fashion and our descendants don't want them. So these "treasured" items get sent to a charity shop, or melted down for their parts in twenty years after hardly any use or enjoyment. I wear my cashmere sweaters to paint in (with an apron of course!) and use all of my dishes for weeknight dinners and wear my precious jewelry every day.

And I'm a bit of an animist (meaning I kinda think these items have "souls" in a way). I believe they enjoy being used and giving pleasure. They feel lonely and unloved locked away in a china cabinet or a safe deposit box. We honor them by using and enjoying them.

 

[yssie]

@RunningwithScissors I’ve missed you. I don’t know if I’ve missed your posts recently (very possible, I’ve not had much interest in RT lately) or if you’ve been a little more absent too, or possibly both… You have a way with words and a gift of perspective that I’ve missed.
Forgive the threadjack MillieLou.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My opinion is that you shouldn't save your best things (be they dishes, clothes, jewelry, etc) for special occasions, but you should use and enjoy them every day, or as often as you can. Material items are meant to bring pleasure and add to the richness of our lives.

Too many people save their best china plates (or cashmere sweaters or jewelry) for once-a-year special occasions, but the plates (or sweaters or even jewelry) go out of fashion and our descendants don't want them. So these "treasured" items get sent to a charity shop, or melted down for their parts in twenty years after hardly any use or enjoyment. I wear my cashmere sweaters to paint in (with an apron of course!) and use all of my dishes for weeknight dinners and wear my precious jewelry every day.

And I'm a bit of an animist (meaning I kinda think these items have "souls" in a way). I believe they enjoy being used and giving pleasure. They feel lonely and unloved locked away in a china cabinet or a safe deposit box. We honor them by using and enjoying them.

i love this so much !!!

 

[RunningwithScissors]

@RunningwithScissors I’ve missed you. I don’t know if I’ve missed your posts recently (very possible, I’ve not had much interest in RT lately) or if you’ve been a little more absent too, or possibly both… You have a way with words and a gift of perspective that I’ve missed.
Forgive the threadjack MillieLou.

Awww...thank you love! That made my day! Been super busy here in my studio with deadlines for work. But I swear I am preparing images for a jewelry reveal soon (though my collection is humble in comparison with so many gorgeous collections here on PS.)

 

[RunningwithScissors]

i love this so much !!!

Thank you pretty lady!

 

[Lakefront]

I haven’t chipped a stone - that I know of, but my family has a history of being tough on diamonds.
My grandma dropped her diamond ring down the disposal and now I wear it as a pendant. The crack running through it just makes it more endearing to me.
My mom, a huge football fan, turned her rings inward and put on gloves to watch her favorite football team on a cold day. She yelled for her team and clapped her way right through the gloves and smashed the stones together. At least she learned her lesson early on in her jewelry journey. That being said, she has a beautiful new ring that she wears all day long almost every single day. It used to be VVS and I’m positive that tiny chips have lowered it to VS. That’s ok. It’s loved and worn and still brings her so much happiness.
Don’t worry too much. Enjoy the beauty!

 

[greekmike]

Thankfully never! And I wear a full diamond eternity band and a solitaire (different hands) for the past several years. I only take my rings off to work (healthcare)
I’d second getting insurance. In the uk try Chelsea Insurance or Asset sure who are both underwritten by Lloyds of London.

I’d be careful with wearing an eternity band on the opposite hand to a diamond ring. I abraded my old mine cut diamond when washing my hands. The eternity band on the other hand abraded the old mine but when I rubbed my hands together . Thankfully I noticed very early as I use microscopes at work and I saw it. I had to have it repolished

 

[RMOO]

Not chipped but bruised. When we went to reset my original stone into a pendant (yay upgrade!) the jeweler notice two bruises, under opposing prongs. I can remember only one time that my ring was impacted enough that I worried that I may have damaged my stone. I was reaching into my refrigerator my ring somehow got caught on the underside frame of the glass shelf when I was pulling my arm out. I don't know if I could have done it (maybe just the right twist with pressure) but luckily(?) the stone is only .63ct and the bruises are undetectable in the pendant. I now wear my rings only when we go out.

 

[SapphireBlue]

And if so, how?

I'm just trying to get a sense of how common it is and the main culprits for causing damage. Is the the "obvious" like doing DIY and gardening, or is accidentally knocking it on the underside of a table / a door / a drawer in an office environment dangerous too...

I'm fretting a bit about how exposed the edges of my EC are (corners are covered though). It's the lowest it could be set while allowing the ring to be flush with my WB. Maybe should've gone for a bezel...

I have not chipped a diamond myself (knock on wood), but I used to work in a jewelry store, and the ways I recall people chipping diamonds included . . .
- Dropping the ring on a stone or tile floor
- Whacking the ring against a wall (or maybe a countertop?) while wearing it
- Total mysteries—some people seemed to have no recollection of whacking their hands

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

The only time I’ve chipped a diamond is when I dropped an earring (thankfully containing small diamonds) on the floor when putting them on! I never bothered to get them replaced though.