GIA Twinning Wisp Symbol
So far, we’ve travelled all the way from bearded girdles to pinpoints. Today we shall tackle the last of our ‘internal inclusions’ (meaning those imperfections that are found inside the diamond); Twinning Wisps.
What is a Twinning Wisp?
In short, twinning wisps are veils of tiny needles, clouds, pinpoints and crystals running along the diamond's twinning plane, or caused by growth distortion. You can see their distinct wispy appearance in the diamond below.
In our opinion, if the diamond has a fairly high clarity grade (let’s say VS1 or above, but this is not a hard and fast rule of course) then in all likelihood that twinning wisp won't cause issues. The diamond below also has a large twinning wisp, but this diamond would probably be eye-clean.
Sometimes, though, twinning wisps are so dense they scatter light, making the stone look milky. Milky diamonds lose their sparkle and fire, so we steer away from dense twinning wisps, large clouds, and strong fluorescence in the colorless range. This diamond is milky from twinning wisps.
If you see twinning wisp as a feature in a diamond that's VS2 or lower, make sure to get an expert opinion (ask our team of gemologists!) on whether the twinning wisps in your particular stone-of-interest will negatively affect light performance.
