Tiny cut or chip on endge of diamond, still ok to use?

[springolators]

I had some diamonds taken out of a ring.

During the process, one of the diamonds got a small cut or chip on the side of it. You can hardly see this when you look at it without magnification, but you can feel it.

Would it still be ok to set this diamond and just hide the chip?

How likely is it that the diamond would break?

I know there are many other threads about chipped diamonds. It is just this chip is tiny, and I am not buying the diamond new.

 

[Frenchcut]

Can you post a picture of the chipped stone? Whithout seeing the stone it's gonna be harder to help...

 

[springolators]

It is not really possible to see the chip without using a loupe, so it is not really the sort of thing you could photograph with a regular camera.

I suppose it is like one of the small chips on the diamond below, but only if the diamond was enlarged a lot.

 

[Snicklefritz]

The answers to your questions vary based on several factors. What is the shape of the diamond? Where is the chip located? How thick is the girdle? How do you plan to set the diamond? And even if we had all of this information, we couldn't tell you for sure how likely it would be that the diamond would crack, but we could provide some suggestions for protecting it better.

There are safer ways to set diamond and less safe ways. For example, a bezel setting would protect a girdle chip better than a prong setting.

 

[motownmama]

Was it insured?

 

[springolators]

The answers to your questions vary based on several factors. What is the shape of the diamond? Where is the chip located? How thick is the girdle? How do you plan to set the diamond? And even if we had all of this information, we couldn't tell you for sure how likely it would be that the diamond would crack, but we could provide some suggestions for protecting it better.

There are safer ways to set diamond and less safe ways. For example, a bezel setting would protect a girdle chip better than a prong setting.

The diamond is a round brilliant cut.

The chip is on the girdle, on the edge of the diamond.

Medium girdle thickness.

At the moment I am still thinking about setting the diamond. I am wondering if it is worth bothering with. Do you think it would be a good idea to have it re-cut?

You cannot see the chip unless you look with magnification, does this make it less likely to crack? Do people sometimes have a chipped diamond and wear it bezel set for years? Is it going to crack eventually for sure, or could it just be a chipped diamond for another 100 years?

 

[springolators]

Was it insured?

It was not insured. This is not a really special diamond, or my engagement ring. This is just a regular diamond with ok clarity, it was/is not worth insuring. I am just wondering if it is worth the cost and bother of putting it in a setting.

 

[Snicklefritz]

The answers to your questions vary based on several factors. What is the shape of the diamond? Where is the chip located? How thick is the girdle? How do you plan to set the diamond? And even if we had all of this information, we couldn't tell you for sure how likely it would be that the diamond would crack, but we could provide some suggestions for protecting it better.

There are safer ways to set diamond and less safe ways. For example, a bezel setting would protect a girdle chip better than a prong setting.

The diamond is a round brilliant cut.

The chip is on the girdle, on the edge of the diamond.

Medium girdle thickness.

At the moment I am still thinking about setting the diamond. I am wondering if it is worth bothering with. Do you think it would be a good idea to have it re-cut?

You cannot see the chip unless you look with magnification, does this make it less likely to crack? Do people sometimes have a chipped diamond and wear it bezel set for years? Is it going to crack eventually for sure, or could it just be a chipped diamond for another 100 years?

Well if you don't consider the diamond to be worth insuring, do you consider it worth recutting? Though there are some very good cutters out there, recutting can be a hassle. It's not recommended unless the stone is a worthy candidate for recutting (determined by cutter) and is absolutely necessary in your eyes.

A small chip or a large chip could cause a diamond to crack. I'm not expert, but I think it's more how the diamond is chipped - how acute the chip's angles are, etc.

I'm sure there are chipped diamonds that have been sitting around in bezel settings (and prong settings for that matter) for decades and the chip has not worsened. Maybe have an independent appraiser or a jeweler you trust take a look at it in person to give their assessment and advice for resetting to protect the chip.

Did the jeweler who took the diamond out of the setting offer any sort of recompence for chipping the stone?

 

[springolators]

I'm sure there are chipped diamonds that have been sitting around in bezel settings (and prong settings for that matter) for decades and the chip has not worsened. Maybe have an independent appraiser or a jeweler you trust take a look at it in person to give their assessment and advice for resetting to protect the chip.

Did the jeweler who took the diamond out of the setting offer any sort of recompence for chipping the stone?

The jeweler that chipped the stone did not seem to think it was a major issue. He said that it was only a minor chip, and that you could not see it without magnification, so it did not effect the stone. The chip looks like something has cut into the diamond, it is almost arrow like.

I did know at the time that it was not the case, but I doubt there is much I can do. There are so many dishonest jewellers out there.

I think I will take it to a different jeweller and see if they think it is worth resetting. I do not want to pay out to have it reset if it is going to fall apart soon.

 

[denverappraiser]

A chip does not, in and of itself, make a stone not ‘worth’ setting. It makes them difficult to sell, it sometimes affects the beauty, and it sometimes affects the durability. It’s not for sale and you’ve already stated that it doesn’t affect the beauty, so that leaves the durability question. There’s no way to give a definitive answer to that without seeing the stone but based on your photo, it doesn’t seem likely to be a problem.

That said, the jewelers claim that it has no affect is preposterous. It’s like saying a dent in the door of your car has no affect because the car still runs fine. For some people (and some cars) it’s not a big deal but if someone smashed my new mustang you can bet I would count it as important problem.

 

[springolators]

so that leaves the durability question. There’s no way to give a definitive answer to that without seeing the stone but based on your photo, it doesn’t seem likely to be a problem.

Thank you for the reply.

Is that because it is a very small chip?

Would bezel setting be the only safe way to go?