I3 Clarity Diamonds, you gotta love them. If it wasn't for I3 Clarity,
we'd have nothing to compare I2 Clarity Diamonds to.
There are good points and bad points to I3 Diamonds. (Mostly bad) We'll start with the Bad and work our way up on the Diamond Clarity Grading Chart.
Grading Chart
If you look at the Grading Chart, you'll see that I3 Clarity is at the very end of the Clarity Scale.
I3's are the last stop on the list. And no, just because it's at the end of the list, that doesn't mean it's the good end! Quite the opposite.
I3 Clarity resides at the very bottom of the Diamond list. They are the lowest grade available. The bottom rung. The worst possible Diamond Clarity Grading you can get. And quite possibly the worst looking Diamond on the face of the Earth! (You never know! It could be!)
Industrial Diamonds
The only Diamonds in the World that are worse than an I3 Clarity Diamond are what they call "Industrial Diamonds". Industrial Diamonds don't even hit the market, they're used in fun things like Dentist's Drills and Saw Blades. Check it out the next time your Dentist says "Open Wide!"
So with I3 Clarity Diamonds being at the bottom of the bucket, are they really all that awful? Am I exaggerating some? What do they really look like? Are they really that bad?
The answer: Nope!
Oh Wait, my Eyes were Closed!
Yes! Yes they really are that bad. (See Picture!) I3 Diamonds are scary. Some even look like chunks of salt. No lie!
I3 Diamonds are normally full of Massive Inclusions, Giant Flaws, Jagged Lines, Dark Feathers, Black Spots, Carbon, Cracks, Pin Points, Chips, Fractures, you name it... it's in there!
If you looked at an I3 Clarity Diamond under a 10x microscope you'd probably gasp. Not that you need to use a scope to see the eye-visible inclusions, but you really should. It's an eye-opener! You want to take a closer look, it'll knock your socks off! There's a lot of gook going on in there!
What Good are I3 Clarity Diamonds?
Are they even worth buying?
Maybe... not all hope is lost. You can get lucky and run across an I3 Diamond that's half way decent. It's rare, but not impossible.
I've seen a couple here and there. I mean, it is on the bottom of the Clarity list for a reason. Every now and then you can find an I3 Diamond that doesn't face up too bad.
But then again, I've seen some that are so included that the entire Diamond looks milky white. (Some people don't mind this!) As long as you know that it's the flaws that's causing it to look white and NOT the actual Color of the Diamond. Don't confuse these 2 things! You may get a white appearing Diamond, but it certainly won't have any life or beauty.
So What do I3 Clarity Diamonds lack? Read on...
