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Re-cut Diamonds: Perfection or Cover-up?
There are basically three reasons to re-cut a diamond, the first being to improve a diamonds cut rating, the second to remove a chip or other imperfection, and the third to recover the value from a diamond that is cut in a shape that is obsolete and no longer marketable in its current form.
Improving a diamonds cut rating benefits everybody involved because it produces a more brilliant diamond. The process is equivalent to a craftsman putting the finishing touches on his creation... Therefore, it is nothing to be concerned about. In fact, most diamonds that fall within Tolkowsky's recommendations for ideal proportions have been re-cut to meet those standards.
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Damaged diamonds and those with obsolete shapes that are re-cut to make them salable again, however, are an entirely different story. These diamonds are no different than salvage vehicles purchased from an auto wrecker that are fixed up and sold to unsuspecting consumers. In fact, the only difference between these types of re-cut diamonds and salvage vehicles is that the purchaser of a salvage vehicle is more likely to know it's history because of the DMV registration. Diamonds don't have registration numbers that tell their secrets, but experienced graders can recognize their characteristics.
When a diamond is chipped, it's value depreciates
significantly. The best way to recover it's value is to re-cut
it and retain as much of it's original weight as possible. The same
holds true for a diamond that has a shape that is no longer appealing to
the buying public, such as Old European or Mine Cut diamonds.
Unfortunately, re-cutting these types of diamonds usually results in
stones with irregular shapes, very poor proportions, and poor symmetry.
Common indications that a diamond has been re-cut from
salvage or an obsolete shape are:
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Round brilliant cut diamonds that look out of round (similar to a car tire that has gone flat). While there are no perfectly round diamonds, the girdle diameters should be close. For instance, if a diamonds girdle diameter measured 6.15 X 6.10 mm it would appear to be round. However, a diamond with a girdle diameter that measured 5.80 X 6.20 mm would appear to be flat on one side, which is a good indicator that the diamond was possible chipped on the smaller side and was re-cut to eliminate a chip leaving a flat spot on one side of the stone.
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The table facet is off center when viewed from the top of the stone, and/or the table is not parallel to the girdle plane (appears to be crooked like a table with one short leg when viewed from the side).
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The girdle edge is wavy and resembles the edge of a warped record and/or is flat in sections while the remainder of the girdle edge is finished out properly.
-
Other factors are not so easy to detect and might include: misaligned facets; facets failing to point properly; and misshapen facets. A fancy shape diamond might also have: uneven corners and sides that are not parallel on square or emerald cuts; uneven wings on pears, marquise, and heart shapes; uneven lobes on hearts; uneven shoulders on pears and ovals; off-center keel lines (as in the underside of a boat); culet which are too high or too low in pears and hearts.
 |
The marquise shape diamond, pictured here under 10x magnification, has a severe chip on it's right tip that extends almost to the table edge. Notice that the shoulders of the left tip were not symmetrical to begin with. This diamond could be re-cut as a marquise or pear shape. Photo by Nice Ice. |
Regardless of what shape this diamond is re-cut into, it will not be symmetrical, the table will be off center, and the facets will be irregular in shape. If it were cut into a pear shape, the shoulders of the pear would begin about where the tips of the white metal diamond holders end. In which case, the shoulders of the pear would not be in proportion to the rest of the stone, the table would be off center, the shoulders would be irregular in shape and the entire stone would not be symmetrical. Unfortunately, mounted in a setting and represented without properly cut diamonds to compare it to, the average consumer wouldn't be able to recognize that the diamond was a re-cut.
When you purchase a diamond, take the time to inspect the diamond under 10x magnification. Compare opposite sides of the diamond with each other to determine whether they are symmetrical. When viewing a round brilliant cut diamond the table facet should be centered over the culet (bottom point). The table facet on a fancy shape diamond should be centered over the keel line. If the girdle edge has shaved sections or flat spots, it could indicate that the diamond was re-cut to remove a chip. Any one of these characteristics on their own, may not mean that the diamond is a re-cut, but several of them would be a strong indicator.
Realize that re-cut diamonds have their place in our market, just as salvage vehicles have their place in the automotive market. They simply don't have a place in "our market" so we don't sell them. However, if a person is more interested in size than the quality of cut, a re-cut diamond is a viable option and another dealer might be willing to source a re-cut stone for them. The important thing to realize here is that re-cuts exist and cost much less than diamonds with comparable characteristics that have not been re-cut and this might help to explain why some diamonds cost more than others.
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