Feather in diamond

[bcyc]

My diamond certificate shows that there's feather in the diamond. See attached. Should I be concerned about the value, durability or anything else? Is it common for a diamond to contain feather?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It is common and some feathers are no problem and others are a risk to durability, especially if they reach the girdle of the stone. You need to ask your jeweler about your particular stone. I doubt anyone could say definitively from the grading report.

 

[Just_Starting]

Very common, as above, cannot say for sure - however which lab graded it and what is the clarity grade? May indicate how severe it is.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

Right. What diamondseeker said. Also, per Just_Starting, what is the clarity grade?

Interesting that we’re seeing so many threads worrying about feathers in the past few days. Is there a scare being promoted somewhere?

 

[bcyc]

It is common and some feathers are no problem and others are a risk to durability, especially if they reach the girdle of the stone. You need to ask your jeweler about your particular stone. I doubt anyone could say definitively from the grading report.

Thanks...from the picture above, does it seem that it reaches the girdle of the stone? It is definitely on the edge but I'm not sure if I'm looking at it correctly.

 

[bcyc]

Very common, as above, cannot say for sure - however which lab graded it and what is the clarity grade? May indicate how severe it is.

This is from Tiffany and is a VS2. Any additional thoughts?

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

Tiffany VS2 means nothing to worry about.

 

[Gypsy]

Just fine at VS2.

 

[bcyc]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

Just for my own knowledge, why do you think this is not a problem being a Tiffany/VS2?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Because a VS2 is not going to have a feather significant enough to be a problem. And Tiffany wouldn't be known for selling stones with clarity issues that would be a problem anyway. You can ask them to tell you if the feather reaches the surface if you'd like to know. I'd probably ask...can't hurt.

 

[thecat]

Feather at VS2 is generally not a concern and Tiffany has a reputation to maintain.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Hi bcyc,

Here's a link from 2010 that explains feathers in detail, just to further one's knowledge.

https://www.pricescope.com/journal/diamond_feather_inclusions_durability_risk

 

[pyramid]

Because a VS2 is not going to have a feather significant enough to be a problem. And Tiffany wouldn't be known for selling stones with clarity issues that would be a problem anyway. You can ask them to tell you if the feather reaches the surface if you'd like to know. I'd probably ask...can't hurt.

There was a diamond tradesperson trained by GIA was writing on here last week that all feathers reach the surface and that is the part of the feather which is marked on the grading report. The feather shape is not shown in between only the parts that reach the surface.

 

[MarionC]

Because a VS2 is not going to have a feather significant enough to be a problem. And Tiffany wouldn't be known for selling stones with clarity issues that would be a problem anyway. You can ask them to tell you if the feather reaches the surface if you'd like to know. I'd probably ask...can't hurt.

There was a diamond tradesperson trained by GIA was writing on here last week that all feathers reach the surface and that is the part of the feather which is marked on the grading report. The feather shape is not shown in between only the parts that reach the surface.

If all feathers reach the surface then the integrity of every diamond with a feather is compromised.

 

[30yearsofdiamonds]

That was me that wrote that. Yes, at GIA all plotted feathers touch the surface of the diamond.

I see this on PS all the time and I hesitate to comment on it because there seems to be more posts against feathers then those supporting stones with feathers.

I 99.5% of stones that are VS2 or above, the fact that the stone is graded as a VS2 is an excellent way to know that the feather is not a durability issue, otherwise it would have been a lower grade because that is a consideration when grading a clarity based on a feather.

Even with SI1 stones based on feathers, it would take some heavy abuse for the majority feathers to enlarge or extend further. There are feathers in SI2 and lower stones that the GIA calls a cleavage. This type of feather is actually the most dangerous. They are plotted as a perfectly straight line, years ago it used to be two parallel lines but I believe they may have eliminated that symbol. Anyway, these types of feathers are formed in a cleavage plane and can extend because they are in the weakest direction of the diamonds internal structure.

Most normal feathers are not of the cleavage type and if you notice how they are plotted they are almost always curved.

Hope that is not too technical.

 

[MarionC]

That was me that wrote that. Yes, at GIA all plotted feathers touch the surface of the diamond.

I see this on PS all the time and I hesitate to comment on it because there seems to be more posts against feathers then those supporting stones with feathers.

I 99.5% of stones that are VS2 or above, the fact that the stone is graded as a VS2 is an excellent way to know that the feather is not a durability issue, otherwise it would have been a lower grade because that is a consideration when grading a clarity based on a feather.

Even with SI1 stones based on feathers, it would take some heavy abuse for the majority feathers to enlarge or extend further. There are feathers in SI2 and lower stones that the GIA calls a cleavage. This type of feather is actually the most dangerous. They are plotted as a perfectly straight line, years ago it used to be two parallel lines but I believe they may have eliminated that symbol. Anyway, these types of feathers are formed in a cleavage plane and can extend because they are in the weakest direction of the diamonds internal structure.

Most normal feathers are not of the cleavage type and if you notice how they are plotted they are almost always curved.

Hope that is not too technical.

Wow. I did not know. So the little feathers that look like they are floating inside the diamond actually have a microscopic continuation that reaches the surface. As I've said before, one learns something new on PS all the time!

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

The clarity grading of GIA (and in this case Tiffany) will be just as 30years has said. If the feather were considered a durability issue, the grading would not be VS2.

For that matter, all diamonds go through a brutal process being bruted, cut, and polished. They are subject to harsher conditions being made ready for sale than any consumer is likely to put them through (unless you are wearing it during an epic light-sabre fight against Anakin on a planet of molten lava to try to save the Republic and prevent the rise of the Empire).

I will, as always, tell you that every diamond, at any grade, could chip or fracture if hit just the wrong way - so please carry insurance - but the VS2 grade indicates that durability should not be a concern in this stone.

 

[bcyc]

What about the value of it? If there are two diamonds with the same carat weight, color, clarity, cut., etc. Would the value of the diamond with a feather like the one I have worth less? Or, would you think they would worth substantially the same because the clarity rating of the diamond with feather has already reflected the fact that there's feather in it?

 

[30yearsofdiamonds]

Same.

 

[Gypsy]

That was me that wrote that. Yes, at GIA all plotted feathers touch the surface of the diamond.

I see this on PS all the time and I hesitate to comment on it because there seems to be more posts against feathers then those supporting stones with feathers.

I 99.5% of stones that are VS2 or above, the fact that the stone is graded as a VS2 is an excellent way to know that the feather is not a durability issue, otherwise it would have been a lower grade because that is a consideration when grading a clarity based on a feather.

Even with SI1 stones based on feathers, it would take some heavy abuse for the majority feathers to enlarge or extend further. There are feathers in SI2 and lower stones that the GIA calls a cleavage. This type of feather is actually the most dangerous. They are plotted as a perfectly straight line, years ago it used to be two parallel lines but I believe they may have eliminated that symbol. Anyway, these types of feathers are formed in a cleavage plane and can extend because they are in the weakest direction of the diamonds internal structure.

Most normal feathers are not of the cleavage type and if you notice how they are plotted they are almost always curved.

Hope that is not too technical.

Great post thank you!