The first time I ever heard of a
Sailor Diamond, I was standing in the office and my boss was looking at a customer's Diamond with a
Jeweler's Loupe.
It's a Sailor
The customer was wanting to sell their Diamond and we were giving them a price on it. My boss smirks and shakes his head, "I don't really need this quality," he says "It's a Sailor Diamond."
"A What?" Came my reply.
"A Sailor Diamond," he said "It's an old phrase that's used to describe a Diamond that's I Clarity and I Color."
I just looked at him questioning.
"You know," he continued "What a Sailor says...
Aye-Aye Captain!"
He Smiled. I get it!
I-I, as in I Clarity and I Color!
And obviously, so do a lot of people, because I Clarity and I Color is a very popular Diamond quality when it comes to Jewelry.
I Clarity and I Color probably make up most of the Diamonds you see in Diamond Earrings, Diamond Pendants and Diamond Tennis Bracelets.
Side Stones
They're also used greatly as side stones in mountings and channel set into Anniversary Bands and Wedding Rings. Most Gemstone Rings use them. Men's Rings. Even Cocktail Rings! Just about everything in the Jewelry Stores utilizes I Clarity and I Color.
I Clarity
I Clarity means that there will be eye-visible Inclusions inside the Diamond.
Flaws that you can see with the naked eye.
Things like Pin-Points, Black Spots, Cracks and Clouds.
I Clarity actually makes up half of the Diamonds in the World. It's a huge Clarity range that goes from I1 (The best of the I Clarity group) (If you can call seeing Inclusions a good thing!), to I2 Clarity (Larger and more noticeable Spots, Clouds and Flaws), to I3 Clarity, which is the lowest Clarity range known to Diamonds. I3 Clarity Diamonds will usually look lifeless, dull, be full of Inclusions, Cracks, Black Spots and most will even look like broken pieces of salt. Not good! (Some I3's are not that bad, but it's very rare to get a good one!)
I Color
I Color, is in the Near-Colorless range and will actually be considered an Off-White Color. Not great, but not bad either. It's Okay! When you go lower down the Color Chart from an I, (like a J, K or L) that Off-White Color turns Yellow. And when you go up higher in the Color Chart, (like an E,F,G or H) the Diamond gets Whiter and Brighter!
White Color is always better than Yellow!
Plus it will help the Diamond sparkle more.
I Clarity and I Color make up most of the Earrings, Pendants and Bracelets in stores Today. But why you ask, do they use I-I if it's not a great quality? Because people don't scrutinize Earrings and Pendants like they do an Engagement Ring. How many people grab your earlobes to really look at your earrings?
Plus, most people wouldn't spend the money on Earrings like they would an Engagement Ring. "$6,000 for Earrings? Are you kidding?"
For your ears, which people don't get close enough to see anyway.
I Clarity and I Color is Fine
They'll look good and you don't have to spend an arm and a leg for them.
Same with Pendants and Bracelets. Sure you can find high quality, like SI or VS. Sure you'll also spend a lot more money for them. But is it a big deal? Nope, not really! But it will be in price!
If they look good and are pretty, go for it!
If you're like most people you'll see that there is nothing wrong with Sailor Stones in your ears or around your neck. Some things just aren't worth all that extra chunk of change. But for your finger...
Well, that's a whole different story!
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