Why do people buy I1 or Non Eye clean SI2 stones?

[songo1234]

Hi,

something perplexes me as a diamond shopper. I see stones on James Allen with I1 or even awful looking stones in SI2 grades getting sold off the shelfs. I know there are eye clean one I1s and Si2s. And I am not referring to those.

I can understand if they buy from bluenile or any other place blindly without seeing the diamond. But at James Allen? Wouldn't you just cringe at the I1 diamond images as soon as anyone sees it?

So, my question is, has anyone purchased such diamonds knowingly or for some specific reasons?

Would be nice if you could share your views on this

Sonny

 

[Laila619]

Maybe that's all they can afford?

Also, surprisingly some people do like inclusions...they make it easier to identify your diamond, and they add to the diamond's unique character.

 

[madelise]

<------ doesn't mind inclusions.


If I ever found a diamond with a really cool inclusion, like a thunderbolt looking one like the one my coworker's wife has, I'd be giddy with joy I have beauty marks and freckles and I definitely won't judge a diamond for having them!

 

[0-0-0]

I like visible inclusions when they come in cool colors or patterns.

 

[that_someone_special]

I don't mind inclusions either.. But just because an si2 inclusion is easy for YOU to see doesn't mean it is for others. Same with color.

Why do you care what other people buy?

 

[TitanCi]

Songo - I argue it's marketing that makes fluorescence (once highly valued) and clarity bad... and people eat it up... "oh you shouldn't have fluor b/c this and this and this" (When it's actually super cool). "You shouldn't buy anything but VVS because it's important to have a clear stone for your wife and such and such and such". It's all marketing, to me. Some people don't care... to many it's what the ring itself symbolizes that matters, not the inclusions, bud. That's my take!

 

[Amys Bling]

Maybe budget- other priorities... Etc. some may think who would ever buy a stone with low color. To each their own. Everyone values something different.

 

[Laila619]

Diamonds aren't perfect--most of them do have some type of inclusions. It's a natural part of the stone and it tells the diamond's story. I personally think they're cool! If I wanted a flawless stone, I could just buy a CZ after all.

 

[kenny]

Size.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

More flash for less cash.

Big huge discount/department stores offer carat "I 1-2" qualities everyday and I'm sure lots of folks are buying them.

In the '80's alot of emphasis was on size and flash more than quality...that has changed.

But there is still a market for imperfect diamonds and always will be.

 

[SB621]

<------ another person who doesn't mind inclusions

I just feel they add to the diamond. I have a .79ct pendant that I used to wear all the time that is an I1. It caught my eye when I was out shopping so I bought it. I wasn't trying for size as personally .79ct isn't all that exciting at least to me. I just thought it was beautiful and distictive To each their own.

 

[rubybeth]

I've seen an emerald cut stone that had eye-visible inclusions, even for me with my bad eyesight, but I was surprisingly unbothered. The light play in the stone was awesome, and it was just lovely. I wouldn't recommend that others buy I1 stones without knowing what they are getting, but a flawless diamond isn't a priority for me.

 

[yssie]

Because people prioritize differently.

 

[webdiva]

<--- Has a gorgeous I1 stone

Mine is eye clean, but I would consider a prongable inclusion in order to prioritize the other Cs. As well, you may want earrings or a pendant, where you can't really see the inclusions as much. Also keep in mind that as long as cut is fantastic you may not notice the inclusions in the dizzying array of facets or because the diamond is so small. I have I1-2 stones in earrings - 4.3mm. I can see a black carbon spot at 6" but you can't see it on my ears. I got a great deal! I have pretty earrings. Inclusions are not bad, they're part of nature. If anyone wants a perfect stone, they are welcome to purchase a man made one.

 

[Christina...]

I think the reasons are different to each person. Some may be trying to increase color, cut , or size, some may think the inclusion is really cool, some may not even be able to locate the inclusions at all. I'm not particularly color sensitive so my stones have always be H-J, some people would never consider below G. I've owned VVS1-SI2's, to each their own. We can't predict what is beautiful to someone else.

 

[Amys Bling]

Because people prioritize differently.

Agreed.

 

[Dancing Fire]

to prove it is real...

 

[songo1234]

I like visible inclusions when they come in cool colors or patterns.

this is a nice looking stone with inclusions.

 

[beaujolais]

Wouldn't you just cringe at the I1 diamond images as soon as anyone sees it?

Um, no - I love them.

A nice I1 is my preferred clarity. Perfect you can get in a synthetic. A nice inclusion (even if a smallish black spot) is my preference. Helps you ID your stone, makes it unique & inclusions are fascinating.

I love low colored stones, too. The antique cushion in my avitar is "P" and it does a gorgeous light buttery yellow color sometimes. I prefer that to icy white stones.

 

[Monnyjay]

<--- Has a gorgeous I1 stone

Mine is eye clean, but I would consider a prongable inclusion in order to prioritize the other Cs. As well, you may want earrings or a pendant, where you can't really see the inclusions as much. Also keep in mind that as long as cut is fantastic you may not notice the inclusions in the dizzying array of facets or because the diamond is so small. I have I1-2 stones in earrings - 4.3mm. I can see a black carbon spot at 6" but you can't see it on my ears. I got a great deal! I have pretty earrings. Inclusions are not bad, they're part of nature. If anyone wants a perfect stone, they are welcome to purchase a man made one.

I totally agree with web diva, well said.

I have a mixture of VS's, 2 Si2's diamonds, one is H and the other a G - I would challenge anyone to pick up on the inclusions in the Si2's.

It is all a matter of personal choice. Having said that I would not go under an I in colour being colour sensitive. It makes them all unique with their own little flaws...........

 

[madelise]

thmbok, my lord, that is one BEAUTIFUL stone!


I think a lot of people have negative feelings towards inclusions because of some marketing scheme (scam!). Some big shot jewelry company out there decided to say that, for a PURE and FLAWLESS love, you need to buy a flawless diamond. Bah! I actually think a flawed diamond would be most realistic and most representative of my and most others' relationships! I'd prefer the true symbolism of a beautiful beauty mark in my engagement stone than the pretend fairytale lala land promises of that horrible marketing tactic!


and I definitely agree with others' posts about being able to identify the diamond with inclusions! My coworker recently got engaged and has yet to resize her ring. Her e-ring is 2 sizes too big! Oh the horror! She's been wearing the thing loose for months! She's just too scared of getting the diamond swapped out at the jeweler's. I brought my loupe (20x and 30x) for her to play with, and I attempted to help her find some little inclusions that will be a tell tale sign that it is hers. Nope. Her fiancé fell for the ploy that only a flawless diamond is worthy for a lover. It's tiny, it's flawless (but horribly cut), and she can't recognize it if it got swapped with a synthetic. You seem to be on board with that same perspective. Inclusions are actually at the very BOTTOM of my priority list CUT, CARAT, COLOR, CLARITY. Cut makes it perform. Carat is the first observable detail. Observers can also spot tints from a distance. Clarity? Oh, honey, no one is going to get THAT close to my bling without me snapping at them!

Songo, can you please explain why you find inclusions appalling? I'm curious if you have also fallen victim to a jeweler's ploy to get you to spend more $ by neglecting (or downgrading) the other C's? I remember visiting jewelers that had been in business for decades in Chinatown, before discovering PS. They had these 100x microscopes connected to a television screen to show how "flawless" their diamonds were to their potential buyer's. Most weren't certified so who knows what color or cut they were! I'm just curious if you've also encountered something similar that would make you start a thread like this?

 

[that_someone_special]

More flash for less cash.

Big huge discount/department stores offer carat "I 1-2" qualities everyday and I'm sure lots of folks are buying them.

In the '80's alot of emphasis was on size and flash more than quality...that has changed.

But there is still a market for imperfect diamonds and always will be.

Seems like apples and oranges to me... Folks are buying them sure, but not PS folks.
I think people just don't know any better. Before getting into diamonds and finding PS we stopped at all of the maul stores.. we didn't know any different. Luckily for my husband, I found PS

I guess I don't understand the obsession with flawless, colorless diamonds. Sure, maybe if I was only going to own ONE DIAMOND EVER I might want a whiter, vvs... but the fact is, I own MANY diamonds in many colors and many clarities. How boring is it to only have DEF VVS RB diamonds in everything? Or after you have your DEF VVS RB suite of diamonds, try something new and get a fancy asscher or colored diamonds. I don't know. I just don't get why ALL DIAMONDS have to be white and have no inclusions. I mean, who says they have to be? Why can't all diamonds (well cut, for sure) get love

 

[TC1987]

It's tiny, it's flawless (but horribly cut), and she can't recognize it if it got swapped with a synthetic.

Well, then I'd say she has nothing to worry about because most sims nowadays are well-cut, by machine, and there'd probably be no real profit motive to steal a small poor-cut diamond and replace it with a sim. As well as no comparison in light performance between the diamond and the sim, lol.

Why do people buy non-eyeclean diamonds?
-- Some of us don't need to have a *totally* eyeclean stone. One of mine is AGS-graded SI2 and I think they were too generous. I'd even call it an I1. But the inclusion is just one speck, under the table area, and it's mostly invisible except at a certain tilt, when it stands right out as a dark speck against a white arrow in an F color diamond. Personally, I'd rather have that one dark speck than many scattered inclusions throughout the diamond. Until I really studied my diamond, I didn't even see the inclusion. Cutters and sellers want max profits out of stones and I think most of the "eyeclean" SI2s and I-1s that people got were graded back in the early to mid 2000s and there has been grade creep ever since.

-- Not all diamonds go into e-rings. Some are for earrings, some for pendants, and some for cocktail rings. If you a) are not going to be looking at it all the time while you're wearing it, and/or b) are only going to be wearing it occasionally for parties and special occasions and/or c) you're primarily wearing it in dimly-lit rooms, why worry at all about inclusions! LOL

-- In the past, apparently a lot of people were not as picky about totally eye-clean. I have seen some gorgeous antique and vintage cocktail and engagement and dinner rings in pawn shops and estate sales and jewelers' shops, and upon close inspection, found them to be far from eyeclean. Cut and color are much more readily apparent when you're looking at jewelry that somebody else is wearing. Mostly you have to be close-up to spot inclusions.

(edited to fix typos)