Diamonds — The Four C's
Clarity
Diamonds used in jewelry benefit from a very precise standard of grading. As you have seen in the page on Color, this standard makes extensive use of comparison. In the case of Clarity, comparison becomes a bit more difficult since no two diamonds are alike. Imagine comparing snowflakes.
Again, the GIA uses a grading standard that has become the predominant standard worldwide. Some retail stores or chains may use their own standard for Color and Clarity, however, their purchase price of diamonds in the wholesale market was determined by the GIA standard. This standard is based upon an individual gem being free from any internal inclusion or anomaly that might hinder the passage of light through the stone. The term "inclusion" is the diamond industry's way of saying flaw. These are "flaws" created by nature and were present in the original crystal. Your diamond will not gain any new internal inclusions with time.
The following chart presents the Clarity grades along with a brief definition of each:
Again, the GIA uses a grading standard that has become the predominant standard worldwide. Some retail stores or chains may use their own standard for Color and Clarity, however, their purchase price of diamonds in the wholesale market was determined by the GIA standard. This standard is based upon an individual gem being free from any internal inclusion or anomaly that might hinder the passage of light through the stone. The term "inclusion" is the diamond industry's way of saying flaw. These are "flaws" created by nature and were present in the original crystal. Your diamond will not gain any new internal inclusions with time.
The following chart presents the Clarity grades along with a brief definition of each:
These definitions by no means clarify how to accurately grade diamonds for clarity. A trained diamond grader learns through practice and example how to tell the difference between a VVS2 and a VS1, and by studying hundreds of micro-photographs of sample grades. With time and experience, one can learn to easily discern the various grades. However, when a diamond is "certified" by GIA, three different graders must independently arrive at the same conclusions on a given stone.
An analogy of how clarity effects your diamond, imagine your car windshield. A brand new car may be said to have a flawless windshield, but with time, small dings, scratches or cracks may appear. With only a few tiny dings, you may never notice them or any change in transparency in your windshield. As the size and number of these dings increases, you will definitely begin to notice an increased difficulty in seeing through it.
The more toward Internally Flawless and diamond is, the more rare, and therefore costly it will be. However, the minor inclusions in an SI1 or SI2 are seldom visible to the naked eye and the finished gem can still be exceptionally brilliant. In truth, Cut has more to do with brilliancy in a diamond than the difference in clarity once you are above SI2. We will talk more about that on the next page.
An analogy of how clarity effects your diamond, imagine your car windshield. A brand new car may be said to have a flawless windshield, but with time, small dings, scratches or cracks may appear. With only a few tiny dings, you may never notice them or any change in transparency in your windshield. As the size and number of these dings increases, you will definitely begin to notice an increased difficulty in seeing through it.
The more toward Internally Flawless and diamond is, the more rare, and therefore costly it will be. However, the minor inclusions in an SI1 or SI2 are seldom visible to the naked eye and the finished gem can still be exceptionally brilliant. In truth, Cut has more to do with brilliancy in a diamond than the difference in clarity once you are above SI2. We will talk more about that on the next page.
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