It is only human nature to seek out a bargain however it has come to the attention of a Limerick based Jeweller that ‘fractured filled’ and over-valued diamonds are becoming  “increasingly common” according to Matthew Ryan ,Managing Director of Matthew Stephens, the O'Connell Street-based jewellery firm and instore accredited Jeweller Aoife O'Connell.

According to Aoife  “Over the past year I have met a number of customers who have bought their diamonds overseas, either in person or over the internet who think they are getting exceptional quality diamonds at bargain prices. Others have purchased from travelling traders or one man operators who set up in a hotel for a few days then leave town.  They are telling me that they saw the same ring in Limerick for €10,000, while they purchased from these dealers for €3,000. Nine times out of ten when I inspect these diamonds they are always a very poor grade, seriously over-valued, generally accompanied with a fake certificate and/or the diamond is actually ‘fractured filled’. 

Fracture filling is the process of filling in the inclusions in a diamond with a polymer resin which makes the diamond appear more attractive to the naked eye. Over time, the filling seeps out and you are left with a very flawed diamond. According to Aoife “It most certainly is not an illegal procedure and a number of jewellers often carry a selection of these diamonds & disclose it to the customer when a diamond has been fracture filled. However, the consensus is that Irish customers are saying they were not made aware that their diamond was fractured filled or the process was not explained fully to them.