Thoughts on HPHT diamonds?

[DB9506]

Dear All,

During my diamond investigations I have come across GIA inspected HPHT diamonds.

I understand these have been treated by high pressure to remove traces of colour?

Has anyone experienced this type of stone before and if so what is your opinion of them? Are they visually inferior to non treated stones?

Thank you in anticipation of your comments.

 

[denverappraiser]

They are visually and structurally identical. They are 'real' diamonds in every sense of the word.

The market for them is the problem. You'll notice that people here tend to be really picky about cutting. This is for some fairly good reasons and it's standard practice to pick through the specs on dozens or even thousands of stones that are pretty similar to get the one that's right for you. You will not have this opportunity with treated goods. You may find one, you may even find a couple, but your shopping options are SEVERELY limited. Are they super-duper ideal cut stones? Maybe, that's not a function of the treatement but my observation is usually they're not. People buy treated stones because they are cheaper than the untreated equivalent for weight/clarity/color. They're not big with the cut nuts so the cutters aim for weight first, optics second. If that's your spec and you find one that you both love and that's priced right then I would consider it but it's definitely a different sort of deal than what is usually discussed here. Lastly, be aware that the resale market hates them. I wouldn't call that a total deal killer, most people aren't buying diamonds with an intention of resale and nearly everybody takes a haircut on resale anyway, but be warned that these are worse.