Scratch (6.42)
Scratches are usually very shallow white straight or arced lines. Deep scratches are rare because of the great amount of applied pressure needed to achieve that severity. Shallow scratches are easily polished out with almost undetectable weight loss. Sometimes the cutter may scratch the surface in the final stages of the cutting by being careless. The diamond polishing compound may get trapped between the stone’s table and the dop (holding device) while the pavilion is being blocked or brillianteered, causing minor scratching. Dealers who carelessly mix stones in the same parcel paper are risking possible scratching. Pawnbrokers and secondhand buyers who don’t know any better, test authenticity using a diamond scribe, which instantly damages the stone in question regardless of its composition.
At first glance, surface graining and open feathers to the surface can be mistaken as scratches. Both of these type of defects can easily be identified for what they are, upon closer observation.
