quick question on diamond clarity

[rwd425]

Hi community,

I understand what the different levels of diamond clarity mean, but sometimes I'll see a diamond with two levels of clarity.

I.e., I2;I3 or I2-I3. Are diamonds normally given a range of clarity or which of these two options are the most commonly seen?

Thanks for your help,
-Reed

 

[Lorelei]

Hi community,

I understand what the different levels of diamond clarity mean, but sometimes I'll see a diamond with two levels of clarity.

I.e., I2;I3 or I2-I3. Are diamonds normally given a range of clarity or which of these two options are the most commonly seen?

Thanks for your help,
-Reed

Hi Reed and welcome!

The top 2 labs, GIA and AGS never use split clarity grades, it's one or the other. Some labs such as EGL in some cases use split grades which is not desirable in my opinion, I believe it's best to stick to diamonds graded by AGS or GIA as these labs are considered to be the gold standard of diamond grading and most reliable. Incidentally, the same can happen with colour being given split grades sometimes with the above situations, but the same scenario applies there too.

 

[WinkHPD]

Hi community,

I understand what the different levels of diamond clarity mean, but sometimes I'll see a diamond with two levels of clarity.

I.e., I2;I3 or I2-I3. Are diamonds normally given a range of clarity or which of these two options are the most commonly seen?

Thanks for your help,
-Reed

In the old days, back in the early to mid seventies, split grades from GIA were common if a diamond was on the borderline. But then by the late seventies it came to mean many hundreds or even thousands of dollars difference on one grade or another, especially at critical breaks such as VS2-SI1 or SI2 - I1 so the dealers requested no more split grades. Please understand that in the early 70's a one carat D-IF was only a couple grand. It had climbed to ridiculous heights of 4 grand by 1975 and by Feb of 1980 a one carat D-IF traded BETWEEN DEALERS at the New York Diamond Dealer's Club for $65,000 per carat.

At today's pricing, split grades would be too hard to properly price and so, for a high SI1 you pay too little and for a low VS2 you pay too much. In theory.

In reality you probably pay just right at the dealer level, and since the pricing is now so transparent, probably pretty close to just right at the retail level too, at least if you are an educated internet buyer. If you are uneducated you are always going to pay too much, just a fact of life.

Personally, by the time you get to I2-I3 it makes no difference if the grade is split since both grades are too ugly to worry about, but again, that is a personal opinion, not a fact.

Wink

P.S. Lorelei is correct. If you want any confidence in knowing what you are buying, you definitely want to stick to the top tier labs, which in this country are GIA and AGS.