Info on Diamond Clarity Enhancement Techniques

Info on Diamond Clarity Enhancement Techniques

When you purchase a diamond you want it to refract light properly, you also want the diamond to be as 'clear' as is possible for the amount of money you have on hand to spend on it. This is what most people want so they all go for the 'eye clean' type of diamonds with clarities between internally flawless (IF) to slight Inclusion1 (SI1). This leaves a vast majority of imperfect diamonds with clarities ranging from SI2 to I3 which are a fraction of the price of the better clarity types.

So it is no wonder that people have tried and succeeded to enhance, artificially, the clarity of certain diamonds. Some diamonds are easier to clarity enhance than others and it is done by using certain techniques, some quite easy to perceive by any expert and others needing very sophisticated equipment in order to detect correctly.

The first technique is that of laser drilling, used in order to enhance a coloured imperfection found within the stone which is actually drilled through in order to provide a funnel through which a chemical solution can be injected in order to render or neutralise the coloured imperfection making it white and less obvious to the naked eye. This technique has been around for many decades and any dealer will tell you if it has been done to a particular diamond you are looking at. In terms of value the drilling process will not really give the diamond a great appreciation in value but it certainly will help to make it more saleable. Laser drilling is permanent and the tunnel formed will not hinder the strength of the diamond crystal so is quite benign.

The next technique is fracture filling only possible with diamonds which have fractures or cracks as imperfections. These cracks are often quite big and very clearly noticeable to the naked eye and therefore these diamonds, unlike the more expensive laser drilled ones, are of more importance to the enhancement process and will provide great profit. It is done by injecting a colourless glass-like substance, like a resin into the small crack thus filling it. This treatment is not permanent and the filling can be dissolved or removed by heating and can be detected either with a 10x loupe or a microscope. Sometimes tell tale air bubbles are left in the crack as well.

There are various different crack filling techniques and some are more difficult to detect than others as the resins used are in continuous development so even if you don't see anything it does not mean that your diamond is 'enhancement' free.

Beware of dealers offering enhanced diamonds as if they were better than the non enhanced variety for they are not as these enhancements are not permanent and the clarity will revert to its original state and you will then feel the 'pain' in your wallet besides the remarks from your intended.

All diamond suppliers should tell you about these enhancements but in all honesty many of them are unaware of it to begin with and simply sell the goods on as one would if one is purchasing from virtual listings as found on many internet web sites.

Buying an enhanced diamond is not a good idea as the vast majority of these are not permanent and imagine your intended receiving her beautiful diamond engagement ring just to find, even years later, that her beautiful diamond is no more.

Finding both a reputable and knowledgeable supplier is not easy but if you go towww.JewelleryWebShop.co.uk you will find an expert at your service who will find it a pleasure to help and answer any questions put to him.

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