nce of flaws in a diamond allows for no interference with light, creating a fiery gemstone. Less than one percent of all diamonds ever found have had no inclusions and can be called flawless or internally flawless. (GIA)To determine a diamonds clarity a professional with a trained eye uses a 10x-power binocular microscope. There are two systems for clarity grading developed by the AGS and the GIA; the GIA system is illustrated in figure five. Fig. 5. The GIA clarity grading scale with samples and explanation; rpt. in GIA. Carat WeightA carat is a unit of measurement used to describe the weight of diamonds. One carat is divided into 100 points, so that a diamond of 75 points weighs .75 carats. There are five carats to one gram. Size is the most obvious factor in determining the value of a diamond, but two diamonds of equal size can have unequal values depending on their other qualities. Diamonds of high quality can be found in all sizes, although there may be temporary shortages in certain sizes and qualities due to supply, demand, and availability of rough. (Schumann) Treatments and SyntheticsDiamonds are exposed to several treatments to enhance their quality. One treatment is laser drilling, commonly used in the clarity enhancement of diamonds. A focused laser beam is used to drill a narrow channel from the surface to dark inclusions, which may then be acid bleached. Another treatment is artificial irradiation, which has attained some importance due to the coloring effect produced when the stone is bombarded with particles of atomic size. Irradiation produces a green color, which can be further altered to fancy yellow, brown, orange, and rare pink by subsequent heating under controlled conditions. (EGL) One of the most controversial gemstone treatments to appear in the last decade is the filling of surface reaching breaks in faceted diamonds. The filling of diamonds has proven to enhance diamond clarity by two ...
