Help/advice when evaluating SI1 diamonds?

[Icywater]

Newbie here. There seems to be decent value for SI1 clarity stones based on what I have seen in stores and online. Then again, I’m not really sure what I should be avoiding at this clarity grade. I was hoping to gather some tips for selecting an eye clean SI1 stone (online or in store).

What rules of thumb or tips would you give when screening for SI1 clarity stones?

What comments or issues on the lab reports are dealbreakers?

All help/advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[PintoBean]

For starters...

Understanding your expectations for eye clean is important.

Having a vendor who can call in stones and examine them in person and verify that they would meet your standards of eye clean is particularly important.

 

[Lorelei]

Hi Icywater and welcome!

Pinto gives great advice and I'd add to that, should you find an SI clarity stone with grade making clouds, always make sure from an expert vendor who can see the diamond in person, that any cloud plotted or you see this ' clarity grade is based on clouds which are not shown' is checked for any brilliance or transparency issues.

Also check any with ' etch channels' and ' cavity'.

 

[rockysalamander]

@Lorelei said what I was going to say.

Also, the placement of the inclusions matter both E/W (table vs. girdle) and depth (against the table or deep within). This affects visibility, dirt/grime entrapment and structural worries. Even on a VS2, you sometimes get a single inclusion that mirrors off all the surfaces making it look like 8 of them.

 

[Lorelei]

@Lorelei said what I was going to say.

 

[Icywater]

This is very helpful. Thanks for the responses!

 

[Lorelei]

This is very helpful. Thanks for the responses!

You're most welcome, we're here if you need any further help!

 

[Dancing Fire]

What rules of thumb or tips would you give when screening for SI1 clarity stones?

Only buy from a trusted vendor with stones in-house. Don't go chasing for an SI1 cyber stone.

 

[rockysalamander]

If you post your wants, we can offer specific stones for your perusal...

 

[Icywater]

If you post your wants, we can offer specific stones for your perusal...

That would be great! Thank you

I would like to keep the round stone under $22K, at least a "G" color, and would go down to SI2 in order to get a bigger stone. 2.2+ ct