{"id":27830,"date":"2024-03-07T09:00:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T14:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/?p=27830"},"modified":"2024-03-07T13:00:35","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T18:00:35","slug":"whats-the-difference-between-inclusions-and-blemishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/whats-the-difference-between-inclusions-and-blemishes\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INCLUSIONS AND BLEMISHES?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Whats<\/div>\n

You always hear the terms ‘inclusions<\/strong>‘ and ‘blemishes<\/strong>‘ when talking about clarity.<\/p>\n

\nWhat are they?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What’s the difference?<\/h2>\n

\nThe difference is where they reside<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nYou see, inclusions are internal<\/strong>; flaws inside of the diamond (like internal organs). And blemishes are a mark upon the surface<\/strong> (like a blemish upon your skin).<\/p>\n

\nThese are all imperfections or flaws that affect the clarity grade of a diamond<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nAnd pretty much any diamond clarity can have both. Even a flawless diamond can still have a natural on the girdle<\/strong> (blemish).<\/p>\n

\nLook at the list below, to see what’s considered an inclusion<\/strong>, and what’s a blemish<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Inclusions:<\/h2>\n

\nCarbon –<\/strong> Usually black spots<\/strong> that look like pepper. Some are small, others are massive in size and quite noticeable (as seen in I clarity diamonds<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\nFeather –<\/strong> A cracking inside of the diamond that resembles a feather, frayed with a jagged edge<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nCrystal –<\/strong> White spots in the diamond, usually caused by diamond crystals forming differently<\/strong> upon creation billions of years ago.<\/p>\n

\nPinpoints –<\/strong> Tiny little spots, like a needle hole, poked around the diamond like dot-to-dot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nClouds –<\/strong> Groupings of pinpoints or crystals that make the area look white, foggy or hazy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Blemishes:<\/h2>\n

\nChips –<\/strong> A small missing piece of the diamond that can be caused by the diamond cutter<\/strong>, a jeweler’s pliers<\/strong>, or striking the edge<\/strong> of your diamond against something hard.<\/p>\n

\nScratch –<\/strong> A thin abrasion that looks like a scratch upon the surface.<\/p>\n

\nFracture –<\/strong> A crack upon the surface that’s normally caused by a hard blow<\/strong> or an internal inclusion that runs out of the stone (quite often found in I2 and I3 clarity diamonds<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\nPolishing Lines –<\/strong> Soft fine lines that are made by the polishing wheels upon cutting the facets<\/strong> (when you go against the grain).<\/p>\n

\nNaturals –<\/strong> Rough areas on the diamond that are unpolished<\/strong>, like a knot in a tree<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nExtra Facets –<\/strong> Additional facets that were added to the diamond to remove an unsightly flaws<\/strong> that lay on or close to the surface of the stone.<\/p>\n

\nBearded Girdle –<\/strong> Small hairline chips<\/strong> that go around the edge of your diamond, caused by years and years of wear and tear (a lot of antique diamonds<\/strong> have bearding).<\/p>\n

Viewing your flaws:<\/h2>\n

\nAll of the inclusions and blemishes listed above are the more common flaws<\/strong> (others are shown below). They can be viewed under a 10x jeweler’s loupe<\/a>, or a microscope<\/a> (10x is the power used to grade diamond clarity<\/strong>). <\/p>\n

\nThese flaws are also listed on a diamond report<\/strong>, like the GIA full diamond report shown below:<\/p>\n

\n\"GIA<\/p>\n

\n(Learn how to read an entire GIA diamond report<\/a>).<\/p>\n

A close-up of the diamond plot:<\/h2>\n

\n\"Flaws<\/p>\n

\nThose two diagrams are the top view<\/strong> and bottom view<\/strong> of the diamond being graded. And as you can see, some inclusions or blemishes only seen in certain viewing positions<\/strong> (like SI2 clarity flaws<\/strong> are usually seen best when viewed from the side<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\nGIA has specific symbols<\/strong> for all of their inclusions and blemishes, as shown below:<\/p>\n

\n\"GIA<\/p>\n

\nThe important thing to note about flaws is this; almost every diamond has them<\/strong>. These flaws they don’t really make a diamond good or bad<\/strong>, they are just another way of identifying the diamond<\/strong> (like a fingerprint). Each diamond is unique and different in nature<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nGenerally, most people prefer not to see these flaws<\/strong> (especially big black flaws) with their own eyes. This is why SI1 clarity diamonds<\/a> are the most popular clarity<\/strong> there is. It’s a good combination of a great looking diamond<\/strong>, where all of the flaws are only seen with a loupe or a microscope, and the price is right<\/strong> (affordable). <\/p>\n

\nYou can put an SI1 clarity diamond up against a flawless clarity<\/strong> (FL<\/strong> – the highest clarity on Earth), and they will look alike<\/strong>. You will see no difference with the eye, unless you use 10x magnification<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So SI1 is a win-win!<\/h2>\n

\nThey look wonderful, and they saves you thousands of dollars<\/strong> versus buying a much higher clarity.<\/p>\n

\nJust like these SI1 clarity diamonds<\/strong> here:<\/p>\n

\n\"Great<\/a><\/p>\n

\nThat way, your inclusions and blemishes are sight unseen<\/strong> (unless magnified).<\/p>\n

\nCheck out more SI1 clarity diamonds here at James Allen<\/a> or Blue Nile here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\nCheers! :)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You always hear the terms ‘inclusions‘ and ‘blemishes‘ when talking about clarity. What are they? What’s the difference? The difference is where they reside. You see, inclusions are internal; flaws inside of the diamond (like [Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,29,3],"tags":[1933,503,1278,489,532],"class_list":["post-27830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clarity","category-diamond-guide","category-diamonds","tag-diamond-blemishes","tag-diamond-clarity","tag-diamond-flaws","tag-diamond-grading","tag-diamond-inclusions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27830"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}