4C’s of Diamonds:
This short article gives you an in-depth knowledge of Diamond Clarity. When looking for your perfect diamond, it is necessary to know the ins and outs of each characteristic of a diamond - the 4 C’s: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight. Each "C" contributes to the overall quality of each diamond and influences the price you will pay.
Diamond Clarity
A diamond’s clarity refers to how many inclusions are visible to the naked eye or under 10X magnification. The more inclusions a diamond has, the less it will cost due to a lower value. Diamond clarity is often the least important of the 4Cs because most of the inclusions are microscopic and, not visible to the naked eyes until and unless the diamond clarity is worst. So it doesn’t affect the diamond’s beauty in a visible way.
The gemologists use loupes or microscopes to judge the size and position of the inclusions. If an inclusion is not visible on the top of the diamond then it cannot be considered in determining the clarity grade.
|
Diamond Clarity Chart |
|
|
Clarity |
Details |
|
FL-IF |
FLAWLESS Inclusions are not visible under 10X magnification. It is very difficult to find such higher clarity diamonds. |
|
VVS1-VVS2 |
VERY VERY LESS INCLUSIONS It is very difficult to see inclusions under 10X magnification even for a professional gemologist. The best clarity diamonds to buy. |
|
VS1-VS2 |
VERY LESS INCLUSIONS The gemologist can see the inclusions under 10X magnification. Some of the inclusions are hard to see and some of them are pretty easy to find. Good value for good diamonds. |
|
SI1-SI2 |
LESS INCLUSIONS Inclusions are pretty easily noticeable under 10X magnification. |
|
I1-I2-I3 |
INCLUSIONS Diamonds will have lot more inclusions than SI clarity and they may be visible to naked eye. Specially I3 clarity will have such inclusions that would lower the clarity of a diamond. Many jewelers will not even keep such lower graded diamonds. |