SI1

[spartan183]

Does it depend on each ring and the inclusions it has or is a SI1 o.k. to get in regards to clarity. I know they say that the inclusions are easy to see at 10X''s magnified, however any experience with this grade of clarity would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

It pretty much always matters what color, size, and location of the inclusions that are present. Those factors are taken into account in the grading, true, but it is also true that it is not based on naked eye appearance and thus diamonds within the same grade can have massively varying visual appearances to the unaided eye. For a very simple example: a black dot is much more obvious in a white diamond against the sky/clouds than is a white dot. but trust me, I am VERY particular about my clarity and the vendors here will give you the information you need. They do not want to ship out stones that will be shipped back, when they can work with you to have a mutual understanding of what you expect to see--or not to see--and bypass the return phase.


Also, don't be fooled into thinking they are all easy to see. Every now and then I will see a 10+X image of an SI1 and I am..ashamedly, baffled. SI1's can be quite tricky even at magnification to the untrained eye. But others...not so tricky, to say the least.

 

[jstarfireb]

Each diamond is different. There are eye-clean SI1s and not-so-eye-clean SI1s. There are also SI1 diamonds with visible inclusions that can easily be hidden by a prong, making them pretty much eye-clean. You can avoid the whole issue by going higher in clarity (virtually all VS2s are eye-clean), but you can save yourself a lot of cash by finding an eye-clean SI1. Are you looking at any Whiteflash ACA diamonds? I've been told that all ACAs are eye-clean from the top view by WF's definition; otherwise they don't make the ACA grading.

 

[Independent Gal]

I own an SI1 diamond. It has a feather in it. I spent ages with my 10x loupe trying to find this feather. So, even at 10x magnification, it''s not always easy!

I''m a HUGE fan of eye clean SI1.

What you don''t want are any black (carbon) inclusions. And you don''t want a feather near the girdle (increases the risk of chipping). Otherwise, if you can''t see the inclusions with some hard staring... why not?

 

[spartan183]

How do you know what is a black inclusion?

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

images can often tell. Otherwise ask them. Also ask if it is reflecting from the side view, as though it is not necessarily a common thing, it is just one more thing to make sure of that will decrease the chances of any unhappiness you might have when it arrives. It really shouldn't be too hard a process if you have a great sales rep with a great vendor.