This is a card trick. A really cool one. It uses a specially printed card. The reactions are fantastic. OK gang, here is the scoop. You have a spectator pick a card. They put it back in the middle of the deck. The magician snaps her finger and says that the top card is their chosen card and when they turn it over, it is NOT! It is close! But it’s not the card. Instead of being the 3 of Diamonds it is the 5 of Diamonds. The audience feels bad for the magician. The performer, as a gag, tears the card so that the bottom two diamonds are gone and hold up a 5 of diamonds with only 3 diamonds left. Problem is that the index number is still a 5. But, with a magic rub, the card transforms and the wrong numbered index pip magically transforms into the spectator’s 3 of Diamonds.
With your $19.99 purchase you get 27 specially printed cards which you don’t have anywhere in your magic closet and something extra that requires minimal arts and crafts (about 30 seconds per card) with a sharp scissor so you can make the transformation happen. You have to make each card in advance and use something that you likely already have or can buy for a few bucks to marry the gaffed cards and the extra thing you get. You need to take care of the card after you do your arts and crafts and cannot make the gimmick days in advance or it won’t work. I have tried to make gimmicks in advance, but have needed to do a quick thing to make the trick work. Once you get this, and you should, you will know what I mean.
You also get a 27 minute instructional video from the young Amanda Nepo (who fooled Penn and Teller on Fool Us!) which teaches the trick very well.
You can do this trick close-up and walk around, but if you can get a foot between you and your spectator that would be better. Also, bar lighting is better than very bright lights which may reveal the trick.
I usually carry one gimmicked and prepared card around in the cello in each card box and check that the card is intact before I add it to the deck. Obviously there is no reset because you tear the card, but you can just get another ready set card.
The trick is done with the same value card every time and I wish the card came with a variety of cards, which could have been done. I also think the trick could have been twice as powerful if it was gimmicked twice instead of once. Maybe Penguin Magic will come out with Diamond Cutter Plus (HINT, HINT!)
I am currently doing this trick frequently so I can recommend it highly.
Penguin now sells refills of the special cards so you can buy a whole deck at a time.
The promotional text for Diamond Cutter says:
“Diamond Cutter by Amanda Nepo
A diabolical trick that fries brains. The twist ending makes audiences go from polite laughter to complete disbelief.
“Amanda Nepo is a really great performer and has created a super commercial card revelation that is basically a workers dream. Lots of audience interaction, a fun premise and really unique visuals are combined into a routine that really packs a punch. Recommended.” – Craig Petty
“Diamond Cutter has everything I look for in a great card trick. I can’t wait to start using this!” – Nick Locapo
“Amanda Nepo creates exciting magic, and Diamond Cutter is no exception. I love the concept here, and look forward to performing this for my audiences!” – Erik Tait
“Diamond Cutter is a beautiful two phase routine, I love it!” – Dr. Cyril Thomas
“Amanda is one of the most creative magicians I’ve ever met. Her innovation and imagination shine through in everything she creates with an unwavering quality control filter for method and her vision. If she releases something, I’m interested, you should be too.” – Shane Cobalt
“Amanda has crafted a piece of magic that will be left in the memories of audiences for years. I’m sure spectators will hold on to the impossible object wondering how it possibly was done.” – Alex Boyce
Perform a visual transformation of a card that leaves your audience with an impossible object. With just a touch of the finger, the index of a card transforms from the wrong card to the selected card and gets a crazy reaction. From the mind of one of the youngest people to ever fool Penn & Teller, this is Diamond Cutter by Amanda Nepo.
Here’s what happens:
The magician has a card selected and then lost in the deck. The magician snaps her fingers and then triumphantly reveals… the wrong card. It’s the five of diamonds, though the audience card chosen was actually the three of diamonds–so close! In an effort to fix the situation, the magician tears off the bottom two diamonds leaving three diamonds on the torn card, but the index, of course, remains a five. Then, in an impossible moment, the magician rubs the index of the card, and the five transforms into a three, leaving the torn card with the correct index and number of pips even though the complete face was shown as the five just a moment ago. Everything is examinable.
Diamond Cutter comes with 27 gimmicks that you can start using to perform right away. This effect is fantastic as a stand-alone piece or as a kicker to your favorite card routine. The method is super easy to do, and the strange configuration of the pips on the card at the end of the routine gives your audience not just a great souvenir but a wonderful conversation piece. You will love the creativity that goes into the pip change, and you’ll learn a new concept that you will want to add to your other card effects. Get killer reactions when you snatch an incredible transformation from the jaws of defeat with Diamond Cutter by Amanda Nepo.”
Well done Amanda! (P.S. Do the DC Plus!!!)