External Diamond Features
There are many different types of blemishes that you might
find on the surface of a diamond, or read about in a grading certificate.
Some diamond blemishes are a natural part of the stone and others occur when
the gemstone is cut and polished, when being stored with other diamonds (paper
wear) or during day to day use in Jewellery.
Surface blemishes can affect diamond clarity, and value, but many blemishes
have little or no affect on a diamond's appearance.
Scratches are usually fine surface lines
that can be polished away. If you have a scratched diamond, we will be
pleased to estimate for polishing.
Nicks are areas where a portion of the diamond has chipped
away. Small nicks are sometimes repaired by polishing them to create an
extra facet.
Pits are holes in a diamond's surface.
Some pits aren't noticeable, but a pit on the diamond's table facet
is more likely to be visible, and can affect the diamond's clarity grade.
A natural is a portion of the diamond's
original surface that hasn't been polished. Naturals are sometimes left
along a diamond's girdle if doing so allows the cutter to produce a larger
cut stone. Naturals don't normally impact the diamond's clarity grade if
they are confined to the girdle.
A trigon is
a natural that looks like a small triangle,
or triangles within triangles see image to left.
Polishing lines are sometimes left over from
the cutting and polishing process.
Extra facets are created to
remove blemishes and can have a detrimental effect on the diamond's appearance
and value.