{"id":373,"date":"2018-01-02T15:48:56","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T20:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ndrdiamond.com\/blog\/?p=373"},"modified":"2018-01-02T15:48:56","modified_gmt":"2018-01-02T20:48:56","slug":"what-are-diamond-inclusions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ndrdiamond.com\/blog\/what-are-diamond-inclusions\/","title":{"rendered":"What are Diamond Inclusions?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Marks of Distinction: The Facts Behind Inclusions<\/h2>\n

Dec 26, 2017\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

The following post is a repost of an article written by Alethea Inns and has been previously published on Rapnet.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n
RAPAPORT…\u00a0Inclusions are a natural diamond\u2019s signature. Alethea Inns, director of gemology and education at the American Gem Society (AGS), explains the fascinating facts of this phenomenon.\"\"<\/p>\n

What are inclusions?
\n<\/strong>
\nIn the world of gemology, inclusions are defined as internal visible features in either a rough crystal or faceted gemstone. Inclusions are important in gemology because they can tell trained gemologists whether the gemstone is natural, synthetic, or treated, or even where it came from.<\/p>\n

Inclusions are often referred to as \u201cflaws,\u201d or \u201cimperfections,\u201d but in reality, they are part of the natural geological process and an essential and fascinating part of gemology. Inclusions make each diamond unique, as no two diamonds are identical, and are even used by gemological laboratories to verify a diamond\u2019s identity. A diamond with natural inclusions is like a snowflake.<\/p>\n

Inclusions can consist of other mineral crystals that look like what they are called \u2014 for example, a break in the crystal lattice is called a feather because it can resemble the texture of a feather. A pinpoint inclusion is just that \u2014 it looks like a pinpoint \u2014 while thin, elongated inclusions are called needles.<\/p>\n

How do a diamond\u2019s imperfections enhance it as something unique and authentic?
\n<\/strong>
\nInclusions are often used to determine the relative value of a diamond, based on their size, nature, number, position in the diamond, and relief \u2014 or visibility \u2014 but they are also so much more. Inclusions tell us the story of the diamond \u2014 how it formed, what it went through in the earth, and how it got to the surface of the earth. In fact, for geologists and researchers, the most prized diamonds are those specimens with large, visible inclusions. Some geologists spend their entire careers studying one type of diamond inclusion and its implications. This is because diamonds act as vessels that can capture minerals from the mantle of the earth and can give us information about the growth environment, and even the age of our planet. The oldest diamonds have been dated at up to 3.5 billion years old \u2014 which is not something you can say about a laboratory-grown diamond.<\/p>\n

How are they formed? What conditions in the earth need to be present?
\n<\/strong>
\nConditions have to be just right not only to form diamonds, but to form the inclusions that occur within them. Diamonds are generally theorized to have formed at depths greater than 150 kilometers, at pressures of around 5 GPa (gigapascals) and at 1,000 degrees Celsius, and need a specific chemistry in order to grow. This is why they are geologically rare. Diamonds are carried to the earth\u2019s surface by magma \u2014 molten and semi-molten rock found beneath the earth\u2019s surface \u2014 younger than the host rocks in which they were formed. These two rock types in which diamonds grow in the mantle are eclogite and peridotite, and occur at different depths in the earth.<\/p>\n

Diamonds are carried to the earth\u2019s surface in one of only three rare types of magma. The most important type of magma is known as kimberlite, such as the Diavik mine in Canada. The Argyle mine in Australia, famous for its pink diamonds, is derived from a rarer type of magma, called lamproite, with an entirely different geochemistry. Pink diamonds from Argyle often have coesite inclusions, which are high-relief transparent crystals.<\/p>\n

How do inclusions manifest themselves in diamonds?
\n<\/strong>
\nMost diamond inclusions are classified as syngenetic, which means the inclusion forms at the same time as its host. Pyrope garnet is an example of a syngenetic inclusion you may find in a diamond, and is usually a dark-reddish included crystal.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, diamonds are classified into different types based on the amount of nitrogen that aggregates in the crystal lattice. Some diamond types can be categorized by inclusion types, such as Ib diamonds with clusters of dark \u201cIb needles.\u201d Large cape diamonds with N2 and N3 aggregates often have high-relief transparent garnet crystals and fine, transparent linear growth, known as \u201ctransparent graining.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there are still many unanswered questions about how exactly diamonds form, their inclusions are a window into the history of the earth, and their journey to the surface. They are an opportunity to carry a piece of that history with you, so you can admire diamonds from the inside out.<\/p>\n

This article was first published in a\u00a0special supplement<\/a>\u00a0produced in collaboration with the Diamond Producers Association.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marks of Distinction: The Facts Behind Inclusions Dec 26, 2017\u00a0 The following post is a repost of an article written by Alethea Inns and has been previously published on Rapnet. RAPAPORT…\u00a0Inclusions are a natural diamond\u2019s signature. Alethea Inns, director of gemology and education at the American Gem Society (AGS), explains the fascinating facts of this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat are Diamond Inclusions? – N D Reiff Company - Blog<\/title>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ndrdiamond.com\/blog\/what-are-diamond-inclusions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What are Diamond Inclusions? – N D Reiff Company - Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Marks of Distinction: The Facts Behind Inclusions Dec 26, 2017\u00a0 The following post is a repost of an article written by Alethea Inns and has been previously published on Rapnet. 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For those not overly familiar with the terminology of diamond grading, this refers to a GIA color grade of \u201cH\u201d to \u201cI\u201d color and a GIA clarity grade range of \u201cSI1\u201d to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"4Cs\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28,"url":"https:\/\/www.ndrdiamond.com\/blog\/what-diamond-quality-do-i-really-need-to-buy\/","url_meta":{"origin":373,"position":2},"title":"What diamond quality do I really need to buy?","date":"September 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"What quality of diamond do I really need to buy? If you expected an easy answer to this question I am sorry to have to disappoint you. In everything in life, whether it is the purchase of an automobile or a house, we all start out with wanting our \u201cdream\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":292,"url":"https:\/\/www.ndrdiamond.com\/blog\/best-price-diamonds-diamond-customers-are-cheating-themselves\/","url_meta":{"origin":373,"position":3},"title":"Low Price Diamonds. Diamond Customers are Cheating Themselves.","date":"February 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Low Price Diamonds. \u00a0Diamond Customers are Cheating Themselves. As a diamond wholesaler with 40+ years of experience in addition to two generations who preceded myself, there is nothing that upsets me more than seeing the ruination of the engagement ring buying process as a result of the Internet. 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