Bearded Girdle

A bearded girdle (sometimes referred to as ‘bearding’ in the comments section of a diamond grading report) is basically when the girdle of the diamond (that’s the outer most edge of the stone) appears white and fuzzy.

These fuzzies are basically teeny tiny ‘feathers’ that extend from the girdle around the edge of the stone inwards towards the middle of the diamond

These "feathers" extend from the girdle around the stone. It’s most often caused during the polishing and cutting process, where too much pressure is applied on the diamond (although it can also appear as the result of general wear and tear over time too).

The Plotting Standard

A bearded girdle is essentially a fringe of microscopic, hair-like fractures that occur during the bruting process (when the diamond's basic round outline is ground out). Because these are tiny internal fractures extending into the stone, they are classified as inclusions rather than external blemishes.

• The Symbol: Because bearding is just a collection of micro-cleavages, the grader plots it by drawing a series of very small, red feather symbols (short, jagged, or scalloped lines).
• Placement: These tiny red marks are drawn directly on the outside edge of the girdle on either the crown or pavilion view, radiating slightly inward toward the center of the stone. They are placed exactly where the bearding appears on the actual diamond's perimeter.

Reporting Nuances to Watch Out For

When inspecting a stone under 10x magnification, there is an important caveat to how GIA handles this in practice:

• Moderate to Heavy Bearding: If the bearding is distinct enough to affect the clarity grade (making the girdle look fuzzy, gray, or frosted) or if it helps significantly in identifying the stone, it will be mapped out with those multiple small red feather marks.
• Light or Minor Bearding: If the bearding is very faint and does not impact the overall clarity grade, graders often skip plotting it to avoid cluttering the diagram. Instead, they will simply note "Bearded girdle not shown" or "Minor details of polish not shown" in the Comments section of the report.