THE QUICK & EASY 4C’S

Diamond Clarity

Diamond clarity is the tiny little imperfections that are present in a diamond. Almost all diamonds have them. They are like birthmarks on people. They’ve been inside the stone since the stone was created billions of years ago.

Inclusions can be black spots, lines, fractures, chips, cloudy spots, pin points… or tons of other flaws that show up inside a stone (as well as on the surface, or outside of the stone).

The better, or cleaner the stone gets, the more rare and expensive it becomes.

There are 11 Clarity Grades in all:

FL, IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, I1, I2, I3.

I clarity grades (I1, I2, I3) are the lowest grades you can buy. They are popular because there’s an abundance of them, and they are CHEAP. But they WILL have eye-visible inclusions in them (seen with the bare eye). This is why I don’t recommend them.

When you get into the SI range (Slightly Included) or higher, you get into better clarity diamonds, where the flaws are microscopic only.

That’s why I advise purchasing a diamond that’s at least SI1 or higher (SI2 diamonds are borderline and questionable…)

After all, you don’t want her to be seeing black spots for the rest of her life. Do you?

And since SI1 diamonds have microscopic flaws ONLY, you could actually place them side by side with a Flawless diamond, and you’d never know the difference (unless you used a Microscope or a 10x Jeweler’s Loupe).

See all the clarity grades below…

Next up… Carat Weight: