technical question about clarity

[samkongado]

Hi everyone! My first post here although I've been lurking and reading for a while now...

I've educated myself about diamonds through PS thank you all very much. I went into a couple local stores this last weekend to get a better idea in person what I was dealing with. One of them showed me two different diamonds:

.7 carat, G, SI1 (not sure what cut)
.71 carat, H, VS2 (not sure what cut)

When I looked at the two side by side, the first diamond looked "cloudier" than the second. The lady told me that is because of the clarity- SI1, and the VS2 is less "cloudy" because of better clarity. Now correct me if I'm wrong (which I might be), but inclusions don't have an effect on how cloudy a diamond apprears... do they? Also, the difference between the two diamonds in clarity was only one step- VS2 & SI1. I noticed a distinguishable difference between the two- what other factors could cause that? Thanks in advance!

Samkon (no I don't play football) Gado

 

[AndyRosse]

Besides for cut, large groups of visible inclusions can make a diamond look pretty darn bad. Also, strong fluorescence can cause a diamond to look cloudy or milky in rare cases.

 

[jaz464]

A cloud is a type of inclusion so that could be it, if the I1 had one. But no, more included diamonds do not usually appear more cloudy than those diamonds with fewer inclusions. As mentioned above, if the diamond had strong flourescence it MIGHT appear cloudy (though not often the case).

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 2/14/2006 6:29:41 PM
Author:samkongado

When I looked at the two side by side, the first diamond looked 'cloudier' than the second. The lady told me that is because of the clarity- I1, and the VS2 is less 'cloudy' because of better clarity. Now correct me if I'm wrong (which I might be), but inclusions don't have an effect on how cloudy a diamond apprears... do they? I noticed a distinguishable difference between the two- what other factors could cause that? Thanks in advance!

Samkon (no I don't play football) Gado

A clarity grades of SI1 or above from a strong lab indicates that no inclusions are having a visible influence on the diamond's performance. Large clouds (remember, clouds are groups of tiny inclusions) may influence performance in an SI2 or lower - but the question of exactly how many tiny inclusions is deemed a cloud is subjective. Inclusions other than clouds, large enough to influence performance, call for a clarity grade lower than SI2: You may be seeing a number of things in the I1 that could lead to it having a cloudy appearance.

 

[qtiekiki]

The cloudiness can be due to inclusions, but like John said SI1 shouldn''t have inclusions that affect the visual performances that much. Are those stones certified? GIA or EGL? EGL is not as reliable as GIA.

 

[samkongado]

Thanks for the responses. I wasn''t planning on buying from this place, it had a weird feel to it. I just wanted to know if this saleslady knew what she was talking about or if she just fed me some line because it sounded possible. I was just a little skeptical that she knew what she was saying because of the very small difference in clarity, only one step. It just didn''t make much sense.