Diamond Buying Guide: Clarity | Consumer Diamond Reviews

Clarity is a measure of the amount of natural imperfections present inside a diamond. These imperfections are tiny and are only evaluated under magnification. In average quality diamonds and better, the imperfections are invisible to the naked eye. Only in very badly formed diamonds do they become large enough to actually see without a jeweler’s loupe.

The imperfections are called inclusions by diamond retailers. These inclusions block light from bouncing around inside the diamond, meaning the more of them there are, the less brilliantly a diamond will shine. Since the inclusions in good diamonds are not visible, they only block tiny amounts of light. That means clarity is less important than some other factors when choosing a diamond.

The standard established scale for grading clarity is pretty simple. There are five categories. Diamonds with no, or virtually no, flaws are called Internally Flawless, abbreviated as IF. After that there are four more categories, each divided into subcategories but most people can’t tell the difference between two diamonds in the same category.

The entire diamond clarity scale:

The best diamond deals usually come in the VS and VVS categories.

Clarity isn’t as important as cut and color. when choosing a diamond. If you buy a stone with good cut and color, you don’t have to worry about clarity, as your diamond will still possess all the brilliance you want.

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