WHY IS THERE BLACK PEPPER IN YOUR DIAMOND?

Black pepper in your diamond?

Almost sounds like a song to me.

People are funny about diamonds and inclusions. They’ll bring their diamond engagement rings into the store and say they see black spots in their diamonds that look like PEPPER.

They say “They weren’t there the day I bought them!”

Hogwash!

I’ll say this, just because you didn’t see the inclusions before, as black as they are, doesn’t mean it wasn’t there when you bought it. In fact, they were! You just didn’t notice them.

What are black spots?

Black spots that look like pepper are inclusions that are just pieces of natural carbon. These chunks of carbon for some reason or another never crystallized like the rest of the diamond. They’ve been in your diamond since dinosaurs roamed the Earth. They haven’t changed in a billion years and aren’t about to start now.

There’s nothing wrong with black spots or flaws, it’s just a part of nature like our own moles, freckles and birthmarks. If they’re small enough and hard to see, most people don’t notice them.

The sad thing is, when you do see them in your diamond, you’ll always see them. Your eyes will always be drawn to that dark spot. I assure you, only you will be able to see that little piece of carbon. If you show your ring around, no one else will notice it unless you point it out to them.

To me though, I agree, seeing that pepper would probably drive me crazy. I would keep looking at it and thinking it was getting BIGGER. It won’t, but if I could see it, I would stare at it.

Clarity

Black spots that are eye-visible in a diamond mean that the clarity of that diamond is I clarity. I clarity just means there are eye-visible inclusions in the diamond.

So why didn’t you see that black pepper before?

Black pepper or black spots that suddenly appear in your diamond usually show up when your diamond gets dirty.

Why?

Because there is no way for those inclusions to grow or shrink, EVER! They will always look the same and never change!

When your diamond has dirt and debris covering it up, it makes it very difficult for light to enter the stone.

Light is what causes brilliance and sparkle and your diamond to come to life. That brilliance is what masks those dark spots (like a spotlight in your face), carbon spots and black inclusions. That’s why you didn’t notice them before.

With no light there’s nowhere for the flaws to hide.

Diamonds won’t LOSE their sparkle, as long as you use an ultrasonic cleaner to clean them.

What can you do about black spots?

So now you have dark inclusions in your diamond and you don’t like it. What can you do? There’s 2 things to do if those black pieces of carbon bug you…

1. Upgrade:

Purchase an SI clarity diamond. SI clarity diamonds still have inclusions, but normally you’ll never be able to see them unless you use a jeweler’s loupe.

2. Ignore it:

Yes, seems to me like that black spot isn’t hurting anyone. Will it make your diamond engagement ring any less meaningful? No! I say clean it and make that black pepper inclusion disappear!

When you think about it, your diamond may have a couple flaws and imperfections…

But don’t we all?

Cheers! :)