Clarity Enhancements

Clarity enhancements are treatments to a natural diamond that improves clarity. I will be writing about laser drilling to remove inclusions and sealants to fill cracks. Laser Drilling Laser drilling which has occurred since the 1980’s is used to laser into a diamond to create access to a diamond’s inclusion. The laser drills a small hole through the diamond to an inclusion. It is then placed in sulfuric acid to dissolve the inclusion. If the inclusion is a diamond, laser drilling is not effective as diamond inclusions can’t be dissolved in sulfuric acid. Several inclusions can be removed from the same diamond. Using a microscope, the line to the inclusion can be seen. The line is whitish and has a “wrinkled appearance”. Fracture Filling After a diamond has been lasered to remove the inclusion, the line to the inclusion and the spot where the inclusion was, needs to be filled. It is filled with a “glass infilling” that will conceal the flaw. Because the filling is yellowish or brownish, the color can change as much as one color grade, say from a G to H. A jeweler’s torch should not be used on a fracture filled diamond as the filling will seep out. It is not necessarily permanent. This procedure was pioneered by Zvi Yehuda of Israel. When you hear of a Yehuda diamond, it refers to a diamond that has been lasered and filled. Clarity enhancement, such as this, does not increase the value, it only hides the inclusion. A skilled gemologist can see fracture filling with a microscope. It looks like bubbles and has flowing lines which you would not find in a diamond. A clarity enhanced diamond is a good choice for a person looking for a better quality looking diamond with fewer inclusions than it originally had.