Clarity: What is Clarity Enhancement?
Clarity enhancement techniques include laser drilling and fracture filling. The AGS and GIA will not accept fracture-filled diamonds for grading. They will grade laser drilled diamonds but the FTC requires that it be noted on the grading report.
Whiteflash will not sell clarity or color enhanced diamonds.
Laser Drilling
Laser drilling was developed in the 1980s. An infrared laser is used to bore fine holes into a diamond in order to selectively target and remove inclusions, or reduce their visibility. This improves the diamond’s apparent clarity grade. After the inclusion is reached by the boring laser the diamond is placed in sulfuric acid to dissolve the target crystal or staining. Sometimes an inclusion within a diamond is a diamond itself and not vulnerable to this process. The diamond material removed during the drilling process is often replaced with glass infilling, using the technique described below.
Fracture Filling
Fracture filling was also developed in the 1980s by a company called Yehuda but did not becomecommon until the 1990s. In this process small cracks, or feathers, in a diamond are filled witha molten, glass-like resin thathas the same optical properties as the diamond. This makes the cracks almost invisible to the eye andimproves the diamond’s apparent clarity grade. The weight and color are not affected, but you can often see this type of treatment in what is called the "flash" effect: When the diamond is tilted back and forth there areunique color changesthat occur in a flashing manner.
Practicality
Clarity enhancement may allow a buyer to get a larger, cleaner diamond than he/she could normally afford. However there are durability issues: Repeated cleaning, re-polishing or repair procedures for jewelry that expose the diamond to heat might damage or remove the filling. There are companies other than Yehuda offering treatment, but Yehuda is best known and historically offers the strongest guarantee: If the treatment is damaged or falls out they will fix the diamond for free.
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