GIA Diamond Grades

[drruby]

I understand the upper end of GIA Diamond Grades pretty well, but recently a friend asked me to look at some common carbon (Diamonds) for him and when I started saying stuff I leaned years ago on 47th and Sansom running stones for a few guys between these locations from NYC to Philly so guys needing cash could move stones in one area where the stone wasn't known, you know jewelers rep stuff.

Anyway back then most stones had no certs, today it seems everyone wants a cert. So he was looking at some stuff and when I started saying SI3, I heard GIA doesn't have that grade, and sure enough, there is no SI3 grade and yet when I was into carbon 35 years or more ago everyone was saying SI3.

SI3 was explained to me back then, pretty much eye clean stone but as soon as you loop it your eyes hurt it's so ugly.

Now back then I had 20/15 vision (extra good) so I could always find stuff with my eye others called SI1 and even VS1 level stones.

So can maybe a GIA grad or grader for GIA clarify exactly what makes an eye clean stone I1 or I2?

Or if it is 20/20 eye clean, even if lots of inclusions in a loupe, it is SI2 instead of I.

Usually I2 and I3 have huge inclusions you can see far away from the stone, no loupe needed.

So is GIA saying eye clean stones are not SI if it has certain types of larger easy to find inclusions in loupes that are often not seen with the eye upon first glance.

Jeweler after jeweler I meet immediately go for their loupe, so the guys that showed me how to look at stones taught me, take a few seconds LOOK at the face or table, can you see any inclusions without loupe? Then no matter what you see in a loupe, the fact you couldn't see in 5 seconds easily any inclusions as a guy that looks at stones a lot, it is EYE CLEAN no matter what you see in a loupe.

So 5 second rule was, you look at face and can't see inclusions, it is SI, then you flip stone and usually you can spot the inclusion easily viewing the pavilion so SI2. If you then loupe stone and see a tone of inclusions SI3.

So SI3 was an eye clean stone with lots of inclusions in loupe.

SI2 was easy to spot inclusions looking backwards into stone.

SI1 was eye clean and pavilion clean or almost pavilion clean.

I1 was an experienced jeweler could spot under 3 seconds any inclusions. I2 was junk and I3 was so bad your eyes hurt even looking at it, it was so ugly.

So as a kid I was taught SI3 was a legit grade and now I'm finding out no such thing to GIA.

So does GIA allow not eye clean stones with minor loupe inclusions to be SI?

Does GIA say even if eye clean if a loupe shows a mess, it cannot be SI?

Now I've heard a few 'theories' over the decades on high grades and how GIA says 1 or 2.

VVS1 or VVS2, the best example given to me was the inclusions at VVS level are very minor, but where they are located is the main difference in VVS1 or VVS2, the closer to the center of the stone, it goes to 2 and the further towards the girdle 1.

Anyway, my buddy is trying to churn his cash with some carbon which I advised him against.

But he has had some luck beating up no cert dealers over look at this slop in the loupe it's I2 maybe so bad I3, when he thinks he may slip it through GIA and get a cert with SI and not I on it.

He also beats them up on color, he's never seen a stone he's not calling K now that I saw him in action recently.

As soon as the parcel opens, what is this, you trying to unload your K goods on me?

It's usually J maybe almost I.

Some jewelers laugh and know he's beating them up and others get insulted.

So what he's been doing is getting stuff as K/L I2/I3 level prices and he ships his weekly finds to GIA and bingo some stones cert out pretty high.

The guys he deals with he has an agreement, if it comes back enhanced they take the stone back.

So now he's looking at larger stones and before he put bigger money down he wanted my opinion and if the stuff was nice VVS or VS I could maybe help him, but when I started explaining what I was seeing as SI3, it was a dated term I guess, older jewelers know what I mean but the young GIA guns are what's SI3, GIA has no SI3 and they're right.

So when does loupe inclusions move eye clean stones from SI to it has to be I.

If someone that actually was trained by GIA or grades for GIA can explain in depth at what makes eye clean hard to find inclusions by the eye not SI inclusions in a loupe, then I can look at lower grade carbon and maybe help my friend.

I could easily argue any grade I give a diamond on why it is IF, VVS1/2 VS1/2, I can d that, but SI and I, schlok, but my buddy is actually doing okay getting schlok certs on J SI and K SI stones since he's buying it all as K I2 or I3 values.

Right now when the stone is nice and eye clean he's passing on it if it loupes hard, meaning lots of inclusions and some of the best stones I saw with him were brilliants with life and I J colors but major issues in loupe and yet you can look for a long time with your eye and see nothing without a loupe.

So if anyone really understands the GIA specs on lower grade stuff, I would appreciate learning exactly how GIA looks at SI and I stones.

I read the usual GIA literature, eye clean and slight inclusions, yada yada yada.

Ok so what is eye clean and lots of inclusions? Is it SI2 or I1 or even I2?

Before this weekend I would have said SI3 and explained WHY.

It's eyeclean but loupe filthy.

SI3.

SI1 is eyeclean for most experts not much in loupe but the inclusions are girdle area or close. Pavilion inclusions are faint.

SI2 is eyeclean for the public not much in loupe or a little more than SI1 in loupe but location of inclusions is table area, easy to see. Pavilion inclusions are obvious.

Over the years most that know me consider me a very tough grader, I used to carry a color scale set of rocks so color is easy with a scale set.

But this level of carbon, who would of thought a GIA cert on schlok is instant cash to dealers today?