WHAT DO YOUR INCLUSIONS LOOK LIKE?

It’s a test…

A quiz.

But more importantly, it’s how to not get ripped off.

It’s learning your flaws… Your diamond flaws.

And it’s the #1 way to prevent diamond switching.

Know your stone!

Many people think they know their diamond, but once it’s clean, it looks totally different. This is because they’re used to seeing it dirty, and aren’t familiar with their diamond or their flaws (get yourself a jewelry cleaner). Some people hand over their ring for a sizing, and then scrutinize it when they get it back and say it looks totally different… It’s all because they don’t know their own stone.

So I suggest microscoping your diamond, or using a 10x jeweler’s loupe to see what’s inside. View all your unique flaws and imperfections. Each and every diamond has a different layout, a different fingerprint, a different set of identifiers. Whether it be a speck, a cloud, a line, a black spot, there’s always something to identify it.

Flaws are like moles and freckles on people, everyone is different. And if you look hard enough, you’ll see their uniqueness. Plus, some of the flaws are so unique and odd, they’re quite easy to spot.

Take this diamond below for an example:

I’m sure there’s a couple of flaws in there that you could identify.

That diamond is an SI2 and it does have some pretty obvious flaws under magnification. You can see these same flaws as well on the GIA diamond report:

CARAT, CLARITY, COLOR, CUT, POL, SYM, FLUOR	PRICE	VIEW
3.31, SI2, J, EX, EX, EX, NONE	$25,832	VIEW

See how unique they are?

Now take a look at these diamonds below. Do you think you could identify some of the dots, lines, carbon spots or clouds later, if you viewed them again?

They’re all different.

The key to protecting yourself and your diamond purchase is to become familiar with your stone, and memorize the placement of those flaws (also noting the fact that you could be looking at the diamond from a different angle, or upside down).

Memorizing your flaws can be done with practice and experience. You can’t view your diamond once during purchase and never look at it again… It’s something you have to do often, like once or twice a year, just to cement those flaws into your head. You want to be able to view your stone again (if you drop it off for repairs, sizing, retipping…) and see those exact same flaws again. Flaws never change. They will look like that forever. 50 years from now you’ll see the exact same set of marks (they’ve already been in there for a billion years). It’s amazing.

Do it once or twice a year (do it at the same time you have your ring inspected, view your stone under a microscope — just make sure it’s perfectly clean, or you’ll be seeing dirt, dust or debris), and find your unique fingerprints. Match them up with your diamond plot.

Protect yourself.

Buy yourself a microscope or a 10x jeweler’s loupe and inspect your diamond at home.

It’s peace of mind.

Only you can do preventive medicine and know your diamond inside and out. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Because many people do think that a simple cleaning makes their diamond look different (this only means that you don’t clean your diamond enough).

So tell me, what do your inclusions look like?

Do you even know?

Let me know in the comments below.

Cheers! :)