Diamond Jewelry Clarity

Diamonds are made up of pure carbon, which crystallizes under the intense heat and pressure within the earth. Tiny traces of minerals, gasses, or other elements can become trapped inside diamonds during the crystallization process.

In the diamond jewelry trade, the flaws caused by the trapped minerals, gasses, or other elements are called inclusions. The number, color, type, size and position of surface and internal inclusions effect diamond jewelry value. Inclusions can interfere with the passage of light traveling through a diamond, reducing its clarity and diminishing its brilliance and sparkle and therefore its value.

Less than 1% of all diamonds ever found can be classified as flawless, so the fewer and smaller the inclusions and thus the higher the diamond grade, the more rare and valuable the diamond will be.

Clarity is an important aspect of a diamond, and it is important to know how to grade the clarity of a diamond before you buy one. It is actually quite easy to learn how to grade the clarity of a diamond. There are basically two things that you must understand: Diamonds with visual inclusions and blemishes, and those that are ‘eye clean’ meaning that there are no inclusions or blemishes that can be seen with the naked eye. From there, the clarity of a diamond is further broken down into subcategories.

Many people mistakenly think that diamond clarity refers to how clear it is. This isn’t so. Clarity actually refers to the internal and external imperfections of the diamond. The best diamonds, of course get a grade of FL or IF – Flawless or Internally Flawless – meaning that it is perfect. A grade of I-1, I-2 or I-3 means that the diamond is imperfect, with a grade of I-3 being the worst.

Other grades are VVS1 and VVS2, which means that the diamond is very, very slightly imperfect; VS1 and VS2, meaning the diamond is very slightly imperfect; SI-1 and SI-2, which means that the diamond is slightly imperfect.