3.04 carats of D, Internally Flawless LOVE

By Megan Reynolds, AJP (GIA)

There’s a saying in the jewelry industry, “There’s a diamond for everyone”. And it’s true; there is a perfect diamond for every client, whether that diamond is an E color or a K color, VS1 or SI1, everyone has their own unique type of diamond that they love. However, I happen to have one stone sitting on my desk that anyone would adore. It is 3.04 carats, D in color, and Internally Flawless. This diamond is so perfect, that the GIA had it shrink wrapped for freshness. Ok I joke on the freshness part, but the diamond really is sealed in tamper-proof packaging. Isn’t it beautiful? The diamond that is, although the packaging is equally as lovely I’m sure.

You might be asking yourself, why the Fort Knox worthy packaging? Well, a number of reasons, the most important being rarity. Our diamond is 3.04 carats, D in color and Internally Flawless which is a pretty unique combination. Why? Well I’ll break it down into three parts, Color, Clarity, and SIZE.

First, what does D color actually mean? Well, the GIA grades diamonds on a scale ranging from D – colorless, to Z – light yellow based on how noticeable the diamond’s color is. D-E-F colored stones are all considered colorless. More specifically, D and E diamonds have virtually no color, and F diamonds will have a nearly invisible amount of color.  These differences are extremely minute, however there are large price jumps between them, the largest of them is the jump from D to E. Remember, that this is a miniscule difference in color that even the most well trained grader would have difficulty spotting.

Next, what is Internally Flawless? Internally Flawless, or IF, was a clarity grade introduced by the GIA in the 1970’s. Before that time, top clarity diamonds were graded as either Flawless or VVS1. The GIA realized that many superb stones were being unfairly graded VVS1 using this system so a new grade was needed, IF. An IF stone is just what it sounds like, it is internally flawless with no visible inclusions under 10 x magnification. However, what separates IF from a flawless stone is that IF stones can have small blemishes on the surface of the diamond which are considered removable by further polishing. Let’s put all of this clarity business into a new perspective. F and IF stones are truly a miracle of nature when you think of where they come from. Someone once explained diamond clarity to me with this phrase, “Mother Nature works in a dirty kitchen”. And it’s true, diamonds form miles below the surface of the earth, surrounded by other minerals. Imagine this, you’re wearing a pair of white pants, eating a hotdog oozing with mustard and ketchup, while sitting in a large pile of dirt. Do you think that you could eat your hotdog and sit in your pile of dirt without getting a single speck of dirt or condiments on your pristine white pants? It would be next to impossible wouldn’t it?

Finally, let’s talk about size. Only 1 in 15 million diamonds mined is capable of producing a 3 carat stone. The rough for our 3 carat stone would probably have weighed about 10 carats when it was mined. Hard to believe, but a rough diamond loses approximately 50% of its weight to produce a round brilliant diamond. Many well formed pieces of rough can produce two diamonds at once. This rough most likely produced a 2 carat diamond in addition to our 3 carat. Now, we’ve discussed how rare a D, IF stone is, regardless of the size. D, IF diamonds are estimated to represent an extremely tiny .001% of the world’s diamond production. However when you add in the fact that our diamond is 3 carats, it becomes even more uncommon as rarity increases exponentially with size.  Add those factors together and you have a stone that is truly greater than one-in-a-million. And with that rarity comes a price-tag to match.

So why would someone spend nearly 5 times as much for our D, IF diamond than its D, SI1 counterpart of the same size? Well, the reason is different for every person. There are emotional reasons. Perhaps the customer wasn’t able to buy his wife an engagement ring before they got married, and now at their 50^th wedding anniversary, he wants to buy a diamond that is just as perfect as she is. There is also the fact that you will be one of the only people in the world to own a diamond that is this pure and extraordinary. And lastly, but I feel more importantly, a D, IF diamond is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Every time you look at it, you will be reminded of the miracle of its formation, the miracle of its color, the miracle of its size. This diamond is one of nature’s most beautifully perfect works of art, and you can wear it on your finger. How cool is that?

Want to see more? Check out our youtube video!