A bearded girdle has very small feathers that run from the girdle surface into the stone. They can come from the cutting process.
In more detail
Fine, hairlike bearding is a clue to diamond. In GIA's 1997 study, moissanite girdles were frosted, polished or striated, without bearding.
On a grading report
Drawn in red on the clarity plot of a full GIA report and named in the key to symbols. A Dossier has no plot but can name it in its list of up to four.
Related terms
- Girdle: The girdle is the narrow band at the widest part of a cut stone, between the crown and the pavilion. It is the edge that a setting grips.
- Feather: A feather is the general trade term for a break in a gemstone. It often looks white and feathery.
- Rough girdle: A rough girdle has an irregular or granular girdle surface.
- Inclusion: An inclusion is a clarity characteristic inside a diamond, or one that reaches the surface from inside.