The term “crack in my diamond” is often used to describe a horizontal line that appears across the surface of the stone at certain angles. Many people believe this line indicates a large crack, but fortunately, this is usually not the case. The “crack” is a reflection from the diamond’s girdle (the narrow band around its edge) and is called a girdle reflection. This phenomenon occurs when light reflects off the pavilion facets (the sloping surfaces on the lower half of the stone) and creates an illusion of a line or crack running through the center of the diamond.

When viewed face up, the reflection is only visible from the side and not when looking at the diamond's face. All round diamonds will have a girdle reflection of some sort, but the clarity can differ. You may be wondering “what even is the purpose of a girdle?” A girdle's purpose is to protect the diamond-- similar to how a frame protects a picture. A thicker girdle does a better job at protection than one that is very thin because it becomes more visible in thick-girted diamonds.

There are many blunders in the girdle reflection that have to be removed. The clarity of a diamond, however, is judged from its view face up rather than from the side. When looking at the diamond from above, you may not notice the horizontal line; it's only visible when viewing it in profile. It's also too straight and perfect to be inclusion, much as a line would be.

You're likely wondering if your diamond ring suffered any damage after you dropped it and it hit a hard surface. It's unlikely the diamond cracked, but what may have happened is that it became loose in its setting. This means the claws are no longer holding the diamond in place. To be sure, take your ring to a jeweler for an inspection.

Many people believe that a hard knock on the diamond causes it to crack. There is no need to be concerned; whatever you're seeing isn't a fracture or an unusually big inclusion that you missed when you first got the diamond. What will happen after you lose the ring is that you will begin to inspect and study it more thoroughly than ever before. The horizontal line has always been there, but until now, you have never noticed it.

To calm you down and ensure that the diamond is not harmed, we'll offer you some suggestions for determining whether your diamond has a girdle reflection. You may bring in the ring for a gemological evaluation of where you purchased it. Hopefully, after that, you will feel less alarmed that everything is normal. You may also examine the diamond from various angles to see if the girdle reflection moves. The amount of reflection is determined by the thickness of the girdle. Because wider gaps have more reflections and vice versa.