Help: "extra facet", "natural"???

[sparkly]

Can someone please explain what these terms mean on a GIA cert?

The stone that we are interested in has an "extra facet" on the edge of the pavilion. It appears to be approximately 1/4 or 1/5 the size of the other facets (viewing from the pavilion). Is this a big deal? How will it affect the brilliance of the stone?

Also, the symbol of "natural" was listed on the GIA cert but we couldn't see where it's located on the cert's diagrams. Don't know if this matters much.

The stone is E, VS2, VG/G. The cert looks pretty clean.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[yeewl]

Extra facet – the result of smoothing out nicks, chips, naturals, abrasions and other blemishes or in some instances, an error in polishing. Not to be confused with additional facets.
Natural - an unpolished part of the original crystal surface remaining on a finished diamond. Small pieces of naïf are sometimes left polished stones usually on the girdle, to indicate that maximum yield has been obtained. Indented natural is a natural that penetrates the stone.

Hope that helps

 

[golfer]

I don't know about the extra facet, but I believe the "natural" is a significant issue in the stone, and generally accounts for approximately 25% discount in the price of the stone.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 12/2/2002 5:47:40 AM

I don't know about the extra facet, but I believe the "natural" is a significant issue in the stone, and generally accounts for approximately 25% discount in the price of the stone.
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Whow..where did you hear that? A natural occurs when the cutter wants to retain carat weight and/or the symetry of the stone. Many stones have this. As far as I know it does not deeply discount a stone.

I have read that an extra facet can interfere w/ the cut quality of a stone if it is too large. A small extra facet should not have that effect.

 

[golfer]

I was speaking about "indented" naturals. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 12/2/2002 12:46:04 PM

I was speaking about "indented" naturals. Sorry for the confusion.
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I really would like one of the dealers to chime in as I read indented naturals aren't that big of a deal unless they are large. I believe that sometimes the indented natural is polished into an extra facet. Both leaving the indented natural & the extra facet retains carat weight. If the indented natural was to be polished symetry would suffer or carat weight significant to affect the value of the stone.

But, this is no expert opinion.

 

[sparkly]

Thanks for the input from all of you.

The "indented natural" scares me. The cert says "natural" but I couldn't see it on the cert. A light bulb just came on: If the extra facet was indeed used to polish the "natural", maybe that's why I couldn't see where the "natural" was on the GIA cert??

I think our diamond dealer mentioned that the "extra facet" was for symmetry purposes and not a big deal. I don't know if he's just trying to downplay its significance.

Any expert want to jump in here?

 

[jetcaptain]

I'm not an expert, but I am willing to offer this suggestion for what it's worth. You should never buy a diamond that you are not completely comfortable with. Buyer's remorse is particularly brutal on an item this expensive, and the symbolism we attach to a diamond make it especially difficult to correct a purchasing mistake after the fact. There are literally thousands of diamonds available out there. Go find one that you absolutely love today and that you know you'll absolutely love years from now, because you'll most likely have it that long! Use whatever resources you need to insure that you meet the standard required in the previous sentence. Expect to pay a fair price. A extraordinarily low price warrants additional caution; however, perhaps you have found a true bargain. Be careful! If the price seems too high, remember--there are thousands of diamonds available out there!

 

[Richard Sherwood]

A natural can show that a cutter was doing a good job is utilizing every last millimeter of the original octahedron crystal in cutting as large a diamond as possible from the crystal. If you see a natural on one side, often you will see another directly opposite it on the other side. Sometimes you will see four positioned equidistant from each other on the girdle.

As long as a natural is confined to within the girdle's dimensions, it has absolutely no effect on the clarity grade.

An indented natural is another matter. Because it idents the circumferential outline of the diamond, it is considered an "inclusion". Depending on the degree of the indentation it can be graded anywhere from VVS to Imperfect.

A GIA certed E/VS2 is a darn nice stone. You can be certain that the natural was taken into account when the grade was assigned. If you like it, and the price is right, I wouldn't let the natural bother you. In my opinion, it gives the diamond a little character. It's also a good identifying characteristic to always help you recognize "your" stone.

Rich, GG
Sarasota Gemological Laboratory

 

[fire&ice]

Thanks Rich,

I have bookmarked this as very little information seems to exist about naturals.