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What does Clarity mean?

When you purchase a diamond engagement ring, diamond pendant, diamond earrings, or any piece of diamond jewelry; An important factor is the “Clarity” of the diamonds you choose. Clarity is one of the 4Cs used to price diamonds. The definition of clarity is “the quality or state of being clear.” Having a diamond with nothing inside it is extremely rare, especially in larger diamonds. Due to this rarity factor, as a diamond gets “cleaner”, it also gets more expensive.

Of all the diamonds mined each year, only about 20% are “clean enough” to be used in diamond jewelry and the other 80% of diamonds are used for industrial purposes. So if you have a diamond with the highest possible clarity grade, then it really is one in a million, which makes it even more special!

What constitutes the clarity of a diamond?

The two factors that will determine the clarity of a diamond are the things on the outside, which are called blemishes, and the things on the inside of the diamond, which are called inclusions. A diamond will almost always have some other things that got trapped inside it while it was growing below the surface of the earth. Because diamonds have an average age of 3.3 billion years, they have grown very slowly. As they grew, the diamond found other materials in their neighborhood where they formed. The process of getting something “included” within a diamond crystal took millions, thousands, or millions of years. So when you see inclusions within a diamond, it’s like looking back in time for millions or even billions of years. Diamonds commonly have other diamonds captured within them…that’s great, you get more than one diamond with your purchase!

Common inclusions are as follows–
* Clouds
* Pens
* Crystals or minerals included
* Cavities
* Clue
* bearings
* Internal grain
* needles
* Twin Wisps

Imperfections are the things on the outside of the diamond. Most of these are the result of the diamond cutting process and could be removed with a diamond cutter. These are not that serious elements and usually do not play a significant role in determining the clarity grade of a diamond.

Common imperfections are as follows–
* Polish lines
* External grain
*Natural
*Knots
* scratches
* nicks
* holes
* Potato chips
* Fracture
* Additional Facets
* Cavity

Clarity grades are as follows–

Florida (Flawless) – No inclusions or blemishes of any kind at 10x magnification when viewed by an experienced rater.

YES (Internally Flawless) – Has no inclusions when examined by an experienced rater at 10x magnification, but will still have some minor blemishes.

SVV1 and SVV2 (Very Very Little Included) – Contains tiny inclusions that are difficult to see even for experienced raters at 10x magnification.

VS1 and VS2 (Very Little Included) – Contains tiny inclusions, such as small crystals, clouds, or feathers, when viewed closely at 10x magnification.

SI1 and SI2 (Slightly Included) – Contains inclusions (clouds, included crystals, knots, cavities, and feathers) that are noticeable to an experienced rater at 10x magnification.

I1, I2, I3 (Included)- Contains inclusions (possibly large feathers or included large crystals) that are evident at 10x magnification and may affect transparency and brilliance.

It is the combination of inclusions and blemishes along with their size, number, position, nature and color that will determine the clarity of a diamond. There are many variables involved in making a diamond have a certain clarity…it’s because diamonds are like snowflakes, where each one is different.

A little history about the Clarity system.

We currently have a diamond clarity grading system that everyone understands and has worked well for many years…it wasn’t always that way. Years ago, if someone described the clarity of a diamond and said it was a “clean”, “pitted” or “magnifying clean” diamond, would you know what they meant?

Richard T. Liddicoat of the Gemological Institute of America introduced the current system in 1953 and it was immediately adopted as the universal system for grading diamond clarity. Eleven different clarity grades communicate a diamond’s clarity quality regardless of geographic location or consumer language.

Along with defining these eleven degrees of clarity, GIA also states that clarity grading must be done by a trained person using a controlled “darkfield” lighting environment and 10X magnification corrected for spherical and chromatic aberration. wow! That sounds pretty technical! however, it is relatively easy to understand this system.

How will you know the Clarity of a diamond?

You, a person who is not fully trained in this system, probably cannot accurately determine a diamond’s clarity grade. A gemologist who has been trained in all the variables involved will be able to determine the clarity grade and will also be able to show you why a diamond has a certain clarity.

The best way to be sure of a diamond’s clarity will be to have a diamond grading report issued by a credible gemological laboratory. The best reports will be from GIA, AGSL or GCAL. These nationally known and respected labs use a series of qualifiers that must agree on all qualities of the diamond before issuing a report.

What is the best diamond clarity for me?

The price of diamonds will change, go up or down, as the clarity goes up or down. For diamonds in the most common color, cut and weight range, as a general rule of thumb, look for a 15-20% price change for each change in clarity. An FL (flawless) clarity diamond is no more beautiful than a SI1 clarity diamond (slightly included 1), but an FL clarity can cost more than twice the price of an SI1 diamond.

From clarity grades FL to SI1, any inclusions and/or blemishes are only visible when viewed at 10X magnification. I don’t know of anyone who walks around with a 10X loupe in their pocket to look at people’s diamonds…sorry let me correct that, I don’t know of anyone except jewelers and gemologists (myself included) who walk around with a loupe 10X in the pocket.

You’ll have to see for yourself what these different degrees of clarity actually look like. I know many people who have looked at the clarity grading chart and see that VVS2 or VS1 is “in the middle” of the chart, so they think that is what they would like to consider when buying a diamond.

There are only a few diamonds that can fit into the near-impossible FL and IF grades and only a few more diamonds that can fit into the extremely tight VVS1 and VVS2 grades…a single tiny, microscopic, pinpoint inclusion will easily move a diamond out. of these degrees. As you go up to the VS, SI, and I grades, it gets wider and many move diamonds will fit into these grades. SI1 is more “in the middle” than VVS2 or VS1.

Find a good gemologist to teach you or research diamond clarity grades online, it’s really not too complicated. When buying larger diamonds, make sure they come with a diamond grading report that you trust.