Holding the Diamond in Tweezers (6.14)
Picking up a diamond with tweezers may seem like a trivial matter to some, but surprisingly, there are many people in the business who do it incorrectly. There are many types of tweezers to choose from, but we’ll discuss just the basics. Locking tweezers are really not necessary, but a nice addition in case you want to pass a stone to a customer and not have to worry about having it dropped. They can also be helpful for the uninitiated, who may be uneasy holding tweezers with a valuable diamond. Fine points are for melee (small diamonds under 0.18 ct.), and medium points are for anything above that. The medium points are generally more versatile for medium to large stones since their points are broader. If the stone is very large, the diamond is simply held a bit further away from the tips where the tweezers flare out to a broader area that will accommodate the size of the stone.
Place the diamond’s table down on a flat smooth surface and bring the tweezers in low where both tips are contacting the table top surface around the diamond. Make sure the diamond is far enough inside the set of tweezers for good contact on a broader portion of the tweezers. If the tweezers are not level where one point is higher than the other the stone can pop out or even worse, damage can occur to an Extremely Thin to Very Thin girdle. Same thing if the stone is not far enough up the taper to get a good contact.
Never pick up a diamond between the culet and table with steel tweezers, for this can likely cause damage to a pointed or very small culet. The same goes with a Very Thin or Extremely Thin (razor sharp) girdle. Regardless, be very careful. Diamonds break frequently and it is so frustrating to have to take a loss due to mishandling. This is especially tragic when you don’t own the stone, but you are forced to buy it or compensate the owner for your carelessness.