Portal logo
FIRE IN THE EARTH
natural surface of the rough diamond not polished off perfectly during the creation of the finished gem. It seems it is sometimes necessary to leave tiny naturals on the girdle since to completely remove them would mean a smaller stone or not a well-shaped stone. The fact is, however, the more important cutters refuse to permit even this kind of a flaw to interfere with the beauty of a finished stone, being willing to sacrifice more of the diamond if necessary to cre­ate a more beautiful, though smaller, gem. You may find nicks and they should be studied.
The "Very Very Slight" referred to in the list means that imperfections can be detected only by an expert and then with the use of a good lens. Indeed, such stones often are sold to the public as "perfect" and, for general purposes, virtually are. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Piques are admittedly defective, meaning that they have tiny carbons or feathers which do not diminish the general beauty of the diamond. The "slightly imperfect" diamonds are the ones owned by most of the public. Only people in the trade can see actual defects.
The "imperfect" show large carbons or numerous carbons or large flaws or numerous flaws which even the layman can see, at least with a glass.
When buying an engagement ring remember, in spite of the many varieties of qualities and colors that are good, not to select one in which brown or yellow off-color is per­ceptible to the average eye. And, even if you must insist upon being shown how, it is well to use diamond forceps and lens to study a stone. A ten-power loupe is not necessary to the layman. But he might well insist upon examining the diamond unset. The reason is that if he studies it in its mounting he may be deceived.
A diamond reflects the color of its surroundings and also
(230)