Repairing Scratched or Chipped Diamonds – Is it Worth It?
Cosmetic wear and tear is common.
Every once in a while, I will receive emails from concerned readers who had just damaged their diamond ring by accident. I often get asked what they should do next and what type of damage could be rectified via repolishing and recutting.
Technically speaking, if the stone is large enough such that the affected area can be removed completely, the damage can be repaired. However, when it comes to whether the decision makes economic sense, it becomes a different matter altogether.
It is a common routine for diamonds to be sent to cutters for repolishing. Usually, the purpose of a repolishing job is to touch up a second-hand diamond or to repair a chipped diamond. The carat weight lost in such repair jobs is typically very small (0.02-0.10 carats) and depends on the nature of the damage.
Major Recuts Should Always Be Approached With Prudence
I had also come across a couple of cases where someone wanted to have an inclusion close to the surface of the diamond removed. Compared to removing surface scratches, the removal of an inclusion might require a total redesign of the stone. I generally won’t recommend such major reworks as you can lose a lot of value from the original stone.
However, if removing the inclusions can elevate the diamond to a better clarity rating and give you a better enjoyment of your jewelry, it might be a plausible solution compared to replacing it with a completely new diamond.
* You should always consult a professional cutter for advice before undertaking such a process. Not all types of inclusions and diamonds can be suitable candidates for a re-cutting process. Also, there is always a risk that the diamond could shatter during a recut.
Sometimes, Personal Preference is Stronger Than Material Principle
In some cases, money is not as important when sentimental values are involved. If the damaged diamond is inherited from your grandmother and you want to protect the family heritage, it is clear that a repair will be needed.
Leaving a damaged diamond in its current state isn’t a good idea unless it’s locked away in the safe. Since there is always an extra risk of aggravating the damage, re-polishing a diamond is a good preventive measure to undertake.
Probably the most famous diamond that had undergone the knife is the Koh-I-Noor. It is currently in the possession of the Royal Family. In its heyday, the stone originally weighed 186 carats and was the biggest flawless diamond on Earth.
The Koh-i-noor – One of the Most Highly Sought-After Gem in History
However, due to common public distaste and Prince Albert’s personal dislike of the diamond, it was recut to 105.6 carats and lost about 43 percent of its weight. That’s equivalent to millions of dollars in today’s value! As you can see from this example, numbers can sometimes be outweighed by subjective beauty.
Re-cutting Your Diamond to Something New
It is common to see overly deep or shallow cut diamonds with dismal proportions in estate jewelry and vintage cuts. Most of the time, these stones are cut for weight retention and the dazzling potential is still hidden within the diamond. Here’s what happened to a dull looking AGS7 diamond which was completely transformed into a breathtaking AGS0 ideal cut.
An Unbelievable Change In Optics After Recut – The Diamond Only Lost 0.19 Carats
As seen in the example above, they have the experience and expertise to carry out such jobs. They had done extensive recuts before and have tons of raving reviews from past customers. Till now, I still find it amazing to see clients bring in badly cut diamonds and get them transformed completely into stones with superb optics.
If you have any further questions, feel free to leave a comment below or email me.
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29 Comments
I have a diamond with great color, I2 clarity, 2.00 carats.
I love my diamond, however, the cut seems to be good,causing light to escape and brilliance is diminished.
Does it make sense to look into the option of having the diamond re-cut to give my diamond ring, better brilliance?
It really depends on a case by case basis. Some diamonds may not be suitable for a recut. Do you have a grading report for the diamond?
I have a stone which looks like a huge milky diamond. The structure inside looks shattered, semi-opaque. There is one tiny edge totally opaque white. I got it from my Grandmother in Europe, who’s had it since WWII, found in a burt house. It is a loose stone, no setting. Is there any way I could send you a photo and you could tell me what it is, and approximate worth?
Sure. Feel free to send it to me. Please take images of it from as many angles as possible and use the macro mode if you are using a digital camera.
https://beyond4cs.com/2013/12/how-to-take-photos-of-your-ring/
Hi Paul,
Thank you for the reference. We cut restore (re-cut, repair & re-polish) diamonds for Customers from all over North America (and the world for that matter).
eB
Hi, please help! I noticed recently that my 1ct size diamond has a scratch on the table (it is like 1mm or maybe 2mm long and 1mm deep). I’m from Chicago and I hope you will give an address or whom to call. My husband has spent all his savings to buy me this stone :(
Can you please help me?
Bring your ring back to whomever you bought it from and get them to inspect it. They should be able to tell you whether it’s a scratch (or if it is as what you describe, it’s a cleavage) or whether it’s something else. If it is a serious issue, they should be able to give you advice on what to do with it.
I have a 1 carat diamond that has 2 cracks in it. Can I sell this stone ?
Selling a diamond isn’t that straightforward of a process when compared to buying one. The process entails of finding a person who is willing to pay you a sum of money for what you have. Now, what do you have exactly and how would the person you are dealing with know what you are offering?
The first step is to get your diamond appraised or graded by a gemological lab. That will greatly help in establishing a baseline for value and a representation of the stone’s current condition.
Hi Paul, thanks for the great articles, I truly find them the easiest and most organized to learn from on the internet. I have a 2.02 carat diamond I inherited that had a white frost/haze over the top. Jewelers looked at it and cleaned it and told me it was just a cloudy stone. The bottom (pavilion) is clear and the top has almost no transparency. I could barely even see through the top.
I put it in sulfuric acid (car battery acid) in a mini crock pot and warmed it over night. The next morning, the white frost/haze is completely gone. The diamond looks 10X better than it did before, but appears dull and blurry when in direct sunlight. It now has transparency and the sparkle is like night and day compared to before.
If the stone was burnt, would a re polish be needed to improve this dullness? The jewelers I’ve gone to tell me I’m wrong and the stone was never burnt. But they don’t seem to remember just how frosted the top was before I cleaned it. The stone was in the past graded as an SI and I’m told it used to have amazing sparkle. I’m just not sure what a burnt diamond with ruined polish would look like.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
There are many reasons why a diamond would appear hazy and frosty. The main culprit would be dirt and accumulated grim. It could also be due to clarity treatment processes. Your best move would be to get it to an independent appraiser for a check and get their advice from there.
I have a round brilliant diamond with a somewhat steep/deep cut that I’m interested in getting re-cut to ideal proportions. In the example you gave above, you said the diamond only lost 0.19 carats. Do you happen to know the beginning weight of that particular diamond (and any other info about it that may be relevant)? I’m interested in knowing the relative weight percent lost so that I can get an idea of how much weight I can expect to lose from my 0.57 ct. diamond.
If it’s at all helpful, the proportions of my diamond are as follows:
Dimensions: 5.37 x 5.39 x 3.27 mm
Depth: 60.8 %
Table: 57.0 %
Crown Angle: 32.0 °
Pavilion Angle: 41.6 °
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Its cut is graded as “Excellent” on the IGI certificate. While it is a rather decent cut, I’m very picky and I particularly don’t like the steep/deep combination in general since (IMO) it’s done solely for the sake of weight retention (profit) at the expense of the diamond’s optical beauty.
The loss in weight really depends on a case by case basis when diamonds are reworked. Bring the stone in the cutter and see what they have to say. Everything else we discuss online will only be speculations at best.
Hi Paul,
I am recently heartbroken because my 2.54ct oval shaped padparadscha sapphire engagement stone chipped right at the girdle, part crown and in the pavillion. My fiancé and I took the ring to our jeweler and they recommend repolishing it but it may end up being asymmetrical after polishing. I love this stone because it has amazing shine and I love the coral/pink hues to it. What do you recommend we do? My fiancé spent quite a lot for just the stone and I’m afraid by repolishing it it will drop the stone to lower than 2.50ct and lowering the value. This stone is extremely rare and don’t know if we will be able to find another one just as beautiful. Please help. I can send you a picture of it if you please. Thank you!
I’m sorry. I’m not an expert in sapphires and can’t offer much advice.
Paul, I am curious if there is any thing that can be done concerning Florescence I have purchased a second hand diamond that has strong which gives the stone a Hazy appearance when in sunlight/ uv light. Is there a treatment to block uv? Where should I get a diamond recut in Canada?
Unfortunately, there’s no such treatment that I know of. For Canadians looking for local recutting services, you might want to get in contact with Embeediatech.ca. Their rates are reasonable and I think they also possess a capable expertise to handle various types of re-cut jobs.
I have a noori black diamond weeding set and noticed the other day there appears to be a stain in top surface of the diamond. It’s a princess cut. I tried to clean it but it will not go away. I am wondering what it could be. It resembles a haze but is surface level and not there when I got new in December 2015. It’s a beautiful ring and want to keep it that way.
I have a ⅓ caret 10 pwr flawless engagement ring taken to a local jeweler to repair the worn prongs that hold it in place. I also had it appraised by a certified appraiser at the same time. The jeweler called and said he scratched the diamond with a laser( after the appraisal was done). He offered to hide the scratch under the prong or replace the diamond. My husband spent hours picking through stones to get this special one and I’ve had it for 43 years. It has a lot of sentimental value. I’m at a loss of what to do. any thoughts?
Sorry to hear about the problem you are facing. As it seems, the best way to go about doing this is to hide the scratch under a prong and live with it since you probably have no intentions of replacing it.
Question,
My fiancé has been wearing her grandmothers 70 year old diamond ring for the last 8 months. It had a few two small chips around the outer most ring and needed 4 out of 6 retaining prongs replaced. We just got the bill and it was $950.00. This seems at least 2x to 3x higher than what I am finding across the internet. That being said, I know the internet isn’t always the best reference guide. Based off of research it seems like it should of cost $200-$400. Does this seem accurate?
That’s really expensive. Even at $200, it’s way overpriced. For $950, you can get a brand new setting (with the jeweler removing the diamond from the old setting into new setting; all included)
Hey I bought a princess cut cubic zirconia diamond engagement ring today and I accidently chipped it when I hit my hand on the wall by accident. The chip is in the very center of the diamond .. My question is; is there Anything that I can do to fix the chip? Or is there Anything that I can use to fill in the chip?
I know the diamond isn’t real, but Please tell me that there’s something I can do to fix, or hide the chip!?!
The solution is simple. Buy a new one. CZs are so cheap that the labor to replace the stone is far more expensive than buying a new piece.
I have an old, euro cut diamond ring with 4 prong setting with extremely thin girdle, which has 2 chips on the girdle. Is there anything I can do to prevent more chips or to prevent potentially worse damage to the stone while wearing the ring daily? Thanks!
There’s really nothing you can do with the diamond already mounted except being careful about your surroundings while wearing it. Preventing knocks and bangs will be a sure way to avoid further damage. The alternative is to place the diamond in a new mounting like a bezel set engagement ring which protects the center stone.
Hi Paul, amazing article I do have a question now I have a 1 carat trillian cut it came out of the set and I stupidly tried to put it back and chipped part of the corner I was wondering if I could send a picture to you and see if it’s able to be repaired…. It also has baguettes that go behind it that seem to have moved or came out of their place. It was an extremely expensive ring and now I don’t know what to do any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
Showing me a picture would not help in anyway to resolve the problem you have on hand. My best advice is to take the ring back to the jeweler you bought it from and see if there are any repair options available or simply pay a fee to get the damaged stone replaced.
How can a diamond be scratched, in order for it to need to be repolished? I think it’s impossible unless you leave your jewelry to a small kid letting him play scratching one diamond over the other. You need another diamond to scratch a diamond so it’s pretty hard scratching it on the normal wear and tear basis.