ARE these SCRATCHES ON SURFACE or just DIRT on VS1?

[cybernick]

Hi all,

I'm looking at this diamond online from James Allen, it is a VS1 with crystal, cloud, pinpoint listed as clarity characteristics.

The surface however looks quite bad:


Are these scratches on the surface or just dirt on the VS1 diamond?
I was told by the online representative that it should be dirt/glue & would be removed before being set & shipped to me.
She mentioned that a VS1 would not have an inclusion like this.

Any inputs from the experts here?

 

[JL321]

Re: Are these scratches on the surface or just dirt on VS1?

That does not look like dirt/glue. Do you have a link to the report?

 

[cybernick]

Re: ARE these SCRATCHES on the surface or just DIRT on VS1?

Here is the GIA report:

http://cdn4.jamesallen.com/Sets/Diamond/457155/cert.jpg

 

[JL321]

Agh GIA does not show mapping under 1.0 ct... It looks like an inclusion to me.

 

[cybernick]

what type of inclusion? crystal, cloud or pinpoint in the report? I thought if these are indeed scratches, it should be like a Si2/Si1 at best? They look very obvious.

 

[yasssss]

you wouldn't be able to see it in person without magnification

 

[JL321]

I was worried like you but it is unlikely you can see it without magnification. You should ask them if it's eye clean and if you can see the inclusions with the naked eye.

You should go into a store and ask for diamonds with similar clarity and check it out.

 

[cybernick]

Flaws on VS1 is supposed to hard to seen even under 10X magnification. I've seen a number of other VS1 diamonds on the site which look very clean even under magnification, so i've an idea of it.

Inputs from any other experts if this is dirt/glue or some inclusion not reported?
The GIA report is wrong?

 

[MissGotRocks]

Ask them to clean the stone and re-photograph it for you. I don't know why there would be glue on a diamond but I would want a cleaned up picture before I bought the stone.

 

[John P]

I was told by the online representative that it should be dirt/glue & would be removed before being set & shipped to me. She mentioned that a VS1 would not have an inclusion like this.

You can relax. I'd wager the rep is correct. The grade setting inclusion is a crystal, which may be visible in the photo just off-center toward 2:30. Outside of that could be detritus, as the rep indicated. It's also possible the camera's focal depth setting caused the cloud to become exaggerated. Just like a microscope, a macro lens can be used to "descend" focally through the diamond, bringing characteristics at different planes in and out of sharp focus. This is convenient for isolating and photographing things that are hard to find, but can also exaggerate things unintentionally.

Either way, VS1 is a reliable clarity level. None of these benign characteristics will be visible to the naked eye.

The surface however looks quite bad

I've seen this comment for magnified photos before. Just remember, zooming into the pores on a supermodel's face gives the same impression

Agh GIA does not show mapping under 1.0 ct... It looks like an inclusion to me.

A full GIA report will but the Dossier Report does not (this is a DR). Many manufacturers get the less-expensive DR for diamonds <1ct to keep costs down. For VS+ clarities it's a logical cost-saver.

 

[cybernick]

Thanks John, that helps to put me at ease.