The WoW Style

Insofar, all of us have heard of the 4Cs of diamond and how important they are in making the right choice. The 4Cs served well in guiding buyers to their right choices. But along came fracture filled or better known as Clarity Enhanced Diamonds and that ruffled all the set standards. So, let’s learn more about that.

You all must have heard of clarity enhanced diamonds. Also known as fracture filled diamonds, these are natural diamonds that are treated and enhanced by filling of cracks or veins that are often part of the natural geometry of diamonds.

The process of clarity enhanced diamonds was first invented by Zvi Yehuda, a diamond cutter from Israel in 1982. He developed a process that involves filling of all cracks and veins that reach the surface of the diamond. For filling, the process relies on molten glass like substance which has the same light refractive index as diamonds. Although foolproof and quite effective, the process didn’t make it to the market until another decade.

It was in 1990s that fracture filled diamonds first started to appear in the stores, and once it arrived, it became available in great abundance.

The substance that is pumped into the crevices to fill them up is a special kind. It has the same refractive index as diamonds, therefore appropriate to make the cracks invisible altogether.

The Clarity Enhanced diamonds treatment involves a couple phases. It is performed in a specific environment under very high degrees of heat and pressure. In this environment, the liquid substance smoothly forces its way into the cracks filling them up instantly turning the diamond into a Clarity Enhanced diamond.

This process is proven to improve clarity of any diamond by an average of two grades. But all the same, it does not impact the weight or color of the diamond.

One of the first online stores to sell clarity enhanced diamonds was Diamonds-USA.com.

Only diamonds that naturally have cracks and fractures inside them qualify for this kind of enhancement. Those that carry internal cracks as mild as feathers, which is what specialists call them, require no treatment because such fractures do not threaten the integrity of the stones, nor do they diminish their lifespan.

This process has garnered a lot of attention and opinions over the years. These opinions are deeply divided in some cases. While some side with its advantages, others decry it for its disadvantages. The developer of this technique, Yehuda said at the time of launching the process that the key advantage of this process is that it will enable jewelers to offer buyers seemingly perfect bigger diamonds at paltry prices. That has made possible many buyers with limited means to afford bigger diamonds for a smaller price.

However, this does not mean that all treated, fracture-filled clarity enhanced diamonds are priced low. The diamond is priced according to their present grades after the enhancement. So, when you buy a clarity enhanced diamond, you pay 30-40% less than un enhanced same 4 C’s diamond. The upside however is that what looked imperfect before now looks flawless after the clarity enhancement, So, that’s a bonus for the buyers.

Significant inside feathers can be reached by a laser drilled whole tunnel, which after being filled with the filling substance.

Image: Diamonds-USA