Clarity Enhanced Diamonds

[kpc]

i've read all the information about not posting about CZ, etc, and i see the notation stating this thread is only about 'natural' diamonds.

So forgive me if this is the wrong place for this....

Is it safe to assume that Clarity Enhanced Diamonds and any associated questions should be moved to the "man mind diamonds" section of the forum?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_enhancement

I'm trying to learn more about them and to get folks' thoughts on them, but my limited understanding is that they are not "man made", per se, but they would also not seem to be 100% natural.

I've also seen that certain labs that "appraise" them don't seem to be listed where i've seen other more recognizable lab names. Is a lab like IGL considered reputable, or are they in existence solely for clarity enhanced diamonds?
http://www.igl-labs.com/en/about.asp

what do folks in the industry think of these diamonds in general? Would an appraisal take into account the fact that they are not 100% natural?

Again, hope this thread is OK and in the right place....trying to understand them more than just reading the wiki page, for example.

 

[that_someone_special]

Personally, I would never buy a CE diamond.

 

[minmin001]

would never buy one myself~

 

[Dreamer_D]

Try a search on the term here in RT and see what comes up. All the threads I have read are from people who's clarity enhanced diamonds are falling apart because of the treatment. I would not buy one ever. I would prefer a smaller non-enhanced stone.

 

[kpc]

thanks for the reply....specifically on WHY you wouldn't ever buy one.

i did some searching and found another old post, and this info is what i came to learn (post by oldminer).

i am specifically looking at earrings, and this bit at the bottom i found interesting:

Maybe earrings, pendants, and pins would be best for these diamonds since many are less durable than unenhanced ones. Many, or even most, jewelers and dealers refuse to sell such diamonds, but there are niche sellers who push these as perfectly safe products with and without proper disclosure. It isn't such a bad thing if you are completely aware of the enhancement and understand the implications

Post by Oldminer » 24 Mar 2010 11:53
There are three major types of diamond clarity enhancements.

The most common, generally undetected and widely accepted enhancement is soaking diamonds in acid to remove or whiten black surface reaching inclusions. Sometimes this leaves an open pit in the stone if the inclusion melts away in the acid. It can greatly improve how a diamond looks and has no effect on value.

The second is laser drilling into the stone to allow acid to be soaked in to whiten otherwise blackish inclusions. Many vendors refuse to stock these stones, but I think there are times where such a treatment improves how the diamond looks without making it less durable. It is a relatively inexpensive and permanent treatment. It used to be easy to detect and now is more difficult to detect as the lasering now is smaller diameter than in early times and is engineered to look nearly natural in appearance. Diamonds which are laser drilled do sell at a discount from similar quality non-laser drilled diamonds. Of course, consumers cannot count on being asked the right price. Dealers know how to haggle about treatments they detect, but consumers know mostly what they are being told unless the lasering is mentioned in a lab report.

The more problematic and more dramatic enhancement is glass in-filling of surface reaching inclusions. This makes inclusions seemingly disappear, but they are still there and if the diamond was fragile due to these inclusions, the diamond remains fragile. Also, this filling will degrade with long term exposure to UV light and while it normally can be removed and replaced it would be very upsetting to see your diamond slowly go from beautiful to visibly imperfect over time. This treatment is normally detectable by most dealers, gemologists and appraisers. However, the clarity of the enhanced diamond is often greatly exaggerated by sellers who claim the clarity is as good as it looks with the enhancement in place and don't mention how much lower the clarity actually is without the enhancement. Ebay is loaded with this kind of misgraded stone. This enhancement does nothing to increase the value of a diamond, but it does allow some quite imperfect diamonds to look very nice. It may help get them sold. This treatment is acceptable, in my opinion, for diamonds which don't get hard use in rings or bracelets. Maybe earrings, pendants, and pins would be best for these diamonds since many are less durable than unenhanced ones. Many, or even most, jewelers and dealers refuse to sell such diamonds, but there are niche sellers who push these as perfectly safe products with and without proper disclosure. It isn't such a bad thing if you are completely aware of the enhancement and understand the implications. Very, very few consumers are made completely aware and it is a very problematic situation for all concerned.

 

[kpc]

I am looking for princess cut diamond stud earrings and have a budget around $2K.
obviously i've run into some sellers on ebay, and finally found the fine print that described why they are so cheap.

for 100% natural stones, any suggestions on best deals/sites/places to look?


Thanks!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yes, if you want high quality diamond studs, go take a look at WhiteFlash, Brian Gavin, James Allen, and ID Jewelry. ID Jewelry may have a good price for you but you may need to call to find out what they have in your price range! Ready-set-go pairs at WhiteFlash are a good buy, too.

 

[tyty333]

I would talk to ID Jewelry. Lots of people have been getting very good prices there.

 

[Gypsy]

I would buy a CE diamond. I know, shocking!

Not for a ring... but I would buy from an authorized dealer of Yehuda, for earrings and if the price was really good. I don't see an issue. As long as you know what you are getting. I think it's fine.

I wouldn't buy one as a gift for someone else though.

 

[Gypsy]

I should say that the price would have to be REALLY attractive. And I would try ID jewelry and Facets first. Or even uncertified diamonds from a trusted dealer.

 

[MustangGal]

I would also be OK with a CE diamond for earrings or a pendant. I did have a CE diamond e-ring, it's now in a pendant, much safer there!

 

[LGK]

I would buy a CE diamond. I know, shocking!

Not for a ring... but I would buy from an authorized dealer of Yehuda, for earrings and if the price was really good. I don't see an issue. As long as you know what you are getting. I think it's fine.

I wouldn't buy one as a gift for someone else though.

Ditto. I wouldn't want one in a ring- and definitely not in an e-ring!- but earrings? Heck, why not. As long as the price was right, and the warranty was good (which it sounds like Yehuda does have an excellent warranty), I'd be fine with CE earrings. Earrings definitely don't need super-duper awesome stones IMO. The fact is that nobody is going to examine them like an e-ring, if you have long hair they get dirty *really* fast so a premium stone would be kind of a waste anyway...

 

[denverappraiser]

i've read all the information about not posting about CZ, etc, and i see the notation stating this thread is only about 'natural' diamonds.

Is it safe to assume that Clarity Enhanced Diamonds and any associated questions should be moved to the "man mind diamonds" section of the forum?

Nah, this is fine. The admins will move (or possibly delete) if they want. That's what they're here for.

I'm trying to learn more about them and to get folks' thoughts on them, but my limited understanding is that they are not "man made", per se, but they would also not seem to be 100% natural.

They are natural diamonds that have been filled with a glasslike material to make the inclusions less obvious. I suppose it's theoretically possible to fill a synthetic but I've never heard of it happening.

I've also seen that certain labs that "appraise" them don't seem to be listed where i've seen other more recognizable lab names. Is a lab like IGL considered reputable, or are they in existence solely for clarity enhanced diamonds?
http://www.igl-labs.com/en/about.asp

Most of the major labs won't grade them because the treatment isn't permanent. That is to say, they can't guarantee the stone your buying is the same as it was when they saw it. It's a huge issue because the labs that DO grade them use a completely different grading scale, they don't all use the SAME scales or methodology and they are wickedly difficult to compare against one another. You absolutely cannot use the stated clarity grade like SI1, VS2 or whatever to compare them to untreated natural stones and you have to be extremely careful even when comparing them against other CE stones from different sources. One persons idea of CE-SI1 can be someone elses idea of CE-I2. Since they tend to be unknown labs it's also common to have wide disagreements on color as well. E might mean E, but it might mean H as well. The onus is on the lab to convince you that their opinions have value and the default answer is NO. Just because they call themselves a lab and have a paper laminator means nothing.

what do folks in the industry think of these diamonds in general? Would an appraisal take into account the fact that they are not 100% natural?
.

They're NOT 100% natural and that absolultely should be mentioned on the appraisal. It has a huge effect on the value conclulsion as well as the description.
Some stores sell them and some don't. That's their call. Not all stores want to have the same product mix. Some sell silverware too.

Again, hope this thread is OK and in the right place....trying to understand them more than just reading the wiki page, for example.

Watch out for loaded agenda in Wiki things but, with that qualifier, that article seems fine at the moment.