What to watch out for when analyzing an SI2 diamond?

[princesultan]

Hello,

I'm going to check out an SI2 cushion in a few hours and I'm wondering if there's anything particular I should look for? I'm mostly interested in it being "eye clean." Is the answer as obvious as just simply looking at the diamond and seeing if something looks off. I'm a real rookie at this stuff!

Thanks!

 

[Dreamer_D]

What lab graded the diamond?

IF GIA or AGS then really eye clean is all that matters. Chek the report notes section. If it says: "clarity grade based on additional clouds not shown" then it is a red flag and you should have the stone checked by an appraiser. "Additianal clouds not shown" is fine, but when the clarity grade is based on clouds not shown then you need to look into it further.

 

[princesultan]

it's rated by GIA and thanks for the tip.

 

[AtomicLush]

I had a GIA SI2 for my first engagement/wedding. 95% the inclusions and small cavities were on the sides and underside of the diamond. Also there were no black or dark inclusions. Mostly feathers. It was completely eye-clean from the top down even at 5x magification. At 10x I could start seeing it "through" the diamond.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Check the sides as well. Look very closely. Look at the stone with a loupe so you know what the inclusions look like and then look again and see if you can see them. What happens sometimes is that people don't notice them at first, but they can start seeing them later as they look at the stone a lot. Much better to know at the outset!

 

[princesultan]

thanks a lot guys!

 

[Christina...]

What lab graded the diamond?

IF GIA or AGS then really eye clean is all that matters. Chek the report notes section. If it says: "clarity grade based on additional clouds not shown" then it is a red flag and you should have the stone checked by an appraiser. "Additianal clouds not shown" is fine, but when the clarity grade is based on clouds not shown then you need to look into it further.

I've never seen this before, does it happen very often with GIA or AGS stones? And why wouldn't they base the grade on all the inclusions?


EDIT for typos

 

[Dreamer_D]

What lab graded the diamond?

IF GIA or AGS then really eye clean is all that matters. Chek the report notes section. If it says: "clarity grade based on additional clouds not shown" then it is a red flag and you should have the stone checked by an appraiser. "Additianal clouds not shown" is fine, but when the clarity grade is based on clouds not shown then you need to look into it further.

I've never seen this before, does it happen very often with GIA or AGS stones? And why wouldn't they base the grade on all the inclusions?


EDIT for typos

We have seen it once or twice here but not usually with ideal cuts or branded cuts. The vendors who sell those are too selective.

With that notation, they *are* basing the grade on all the inclusions, but they have not plotted them. They opt not to plot clouds when there are so many it would be impossible or make the clarity plot a big old mess. So you often see "additional clouds not shown", which means there are clouds or other inclusions that are present in addition to the ones that are plotted, but those additional clouds/inclusions do not change the clarity grade. In the case of "clarity grade based on additional clouds not shown" it means the inclusions they did not plot *are* serious enough to affect clarity, even determine it, but are too many to plot. In that case, it is possible the clouds will affect optics adversely, which is why it is a red flag notation. The notation also needs to be looked into further with SI1 stones. I think we saw that notation once with an SI1 BGD stone, but Brian is so selective he would of course have made sure that it was not a problem for optics. Clarity plots with that notiation are often strange because they will be blank for an SI1 or SI2 stone, but of course, the notation just means the grade making clouds are not plotted.

 

[0-0-0]

Don't forget to check for inclusions in a wide variety of lighting. Some inclusions can be more visible under certain lighting conditions.

 

[CaratLover2]

I have no technical ability and am a newbie here on the site - however, I have an SI2 - due to a cloud. It is eye clean, so it's not visible at all when the stone is clean and free from dirt/grime - however, when the stone becomes dirty, I believe I can see it. It could just be me - but that's my experience. I've heard others say in the past that clouds can affect the way the light passes through the stone and affect its brilliance. In my experience, when my stone is clean, it's very brilliant, so I'm not sure about that. Needless to say, I try to keep my stone clean as I can!