---
title: "Internal laser drilling: meaning in gemology"
description: "Internal laser drilling is laser work inside a diamond that creates or widens a surface-reaching feather around a dark inclusion. The feather lets a bleach…"
url: https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/internal-laser-drilling
image: https://digitalgemology.com/img/og-digital-gemology.png?v=d224fb01
---

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[Glossary](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary) · Clarity characteristics

# Internal laser drilling

Also called ILD

Internal laser drilling is laser work inside a diamond that creates or widens a surface-reaching feather around a dark inclusion. The feather lets a bleach in to make the inclusion less visible.

## In more detail

It leaves a feather, not a straight drill hole, so it can look like a natural break. It is a clarity treatment, so the report must disclose it.

## On a grading report

Disclosed in Comments as a treatment.

## Related terms

- [Laser drilling](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/laser-drilling): Laser drilling is a clarity treatment that bores a tiny channel to an inclusion, usually a dark one. The laser then burns the inclusion away, or a bleaching agent enters through the channel.
- [Laser drill hole](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/laser-drill-hole): A laser drill hole is a tiny, surface-reaching tunnel made by a laser beam, usually toward a dark inclusion.
- [Feather](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/feather): A feather is the general trade term for a break in a gemstone. It often looks white and feathery.
- [Treatment](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary/treatment): A treatment is any process, other than cutting and polishing, that changes a gem's color or apparent clarity. Anyone who sells a treated gem must disclose the treatment.

[All 328 terms](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/glossary)