New inclusion?

[stuckinthistown]

Hi-
I got my engagement ring about a month ago. I''ve been wearing it every day, of course, and I''ve looked at it from every angle. A few days ago as I was looking at it, I noticed an inclusion of some sort that I had never seen before. It''s like it just appeared one day- it''s to the right of the table, in the crown. It looks like a little line. I can see it with my own eyes, untrained and unaided. The diamond is supposed to be an SI1, but now that I can see that inclusion, I''m feeling really unsure about that- and quite disappointed. I have a GIA Diamond Dossier, and the diamond is laser-incsribed. I''m taking it to a reputable appraiser in a couple of days, but now I''m almost afraid to find out what he has to say. I''d hate to think that we''ve been ripped off- we asked about laser-drilling and treatments, and we were told by the jeweler that it wasn''t. I''ve been doing some research online and it sounds like maybe it WAS laser-drilled or something. Does anyone have any thoughts? If I find out that it was treated in some way, what legal recourse do I have?
Thanks!
Sad bride-to-be

 

[mike04456]

A laser drill hole would not be eye-visible unless it's a real butcher job. It might be a fracture filling that is failing, except for the GIA report. If the report is authentic and matches the stone, what you're seeing is probably nothing but dirt or a piece of lint caught under the stone (it might appear to be elsewhere because of internal reflection). There's a slight possibility it could be a scratch, but after just a month, it seems unlikely unless you remember banging it against something.

I doubt you really have anything to worry about, but the appraiser should be able to answer all these questions. If in fact the diamond was sold with a bogus report, or was fracture-filled after GIA graded it (they won't grade fracture-filled stones), and the jeweler did not tell you this, then they've violated FTC rules and should take the diamond back. But, as I said, I doubt this is really the case.

 

[niceice]

SI-1 clarity diamonds are not necessarily "eye clean"... You could be looking at a piece of dirt or lint or an inclusion which simply was not noticeable to you before... Some inclusions are more visible when a diamond is clean and others after the diamond has a little dirt and grime on it... We reject about 40% of the SI-1 claity diamonds that we evaluate because we can see the inclusions with just our eyes after careful examination of the diamond... It could be that you couldn't see the inclusion before and just happened to catch the light just right one day and now you can see the inclusion because you know where to look for it...

For the record, the GIA does not issue diamond grading reports of any kind for diamonds which they have determined to be clarity enhanced / fracture filled because the treatment is not considered to be permanent because it can deteriorate with exposure to solvents and extreme heat (like the torch used to work on jewelry)... And if the item were laser drilled at the time of grading, it would be noted under the key to symbols on the lab report or the diamond dossier...

 

[stuckinthistown]

Thanks very much for the advice- I hope you're right, and that it's no big deal. I'll write again after I get the verdict from the appraiser on Friday.