Diamond Clarity

Because they’re made underground, most diamonds have small inclusions and blemishes. When referring to inclusions, diamond experts often use the term “internal characteristics” instead. Internal characteristics of natural diamonds are what gives the diamond its character and uniqueness.

Inclusion Examples

• Clouds
• Feathers
• Crystals or minerals
• Knots
• Cavities
• Cleavage
• Internal graining

Blemish Examples

• Polish lines
• Scratches
• Nicks
• Pits
• Chips
• Breaks
• Dark or light spots

For the best value, select a diamond with inclusions that can’t be seen through the crown without magnification (also known as eye-clean diamonds), such as an SI or VS clarity grade. These diamonds are much less expensive than the extremely rare Flawless (FL) or Internally Flawless (IF) diamonds.

Diamond shape and cut play with and impact diamond clarity in different ways.

Diamond Shape — Some diamond shapes require a higher clarity grade than others. Emerald and Asscher-shaped diamonds (referred to as step cut) are designed with rectangular facets that emphasise transparency and let you see farther down into the diamond, which can make inclusions more visible. For these diamond shapes, choose a clarity grade of VS1 or better to ensure the inclusions will not be visible.

Conversely, round, princess, oval, marquise, pear, and heart-shaped diamonds may not require as high of a clarity grade. Cut with a brilliant facet pattern, which reflects light from many different angles, these shapes naturally hide many inclusions.

Diamond Size — As diamond size increases, the size of the facets (the multiple mirror-like surfaces on the diamond) also increases. This can make inclusions more visible. Be sure to prioritize a higher clarity grade as the size of your diamond increases.

When diamonds are graded, they are magnified 10x. The clarity grade of a diamond is based on the most noticeable inclusions when magnified by 10x. Any inclusions or characteristics that don’t get factored into the grade may still be noted on what’s called a diamond plot chart.

The five diamond clarity factors are:

• Size — First to get looked at is the size of a characteristic or inclusion. The larger or more noticeable a characteristic, the lower the likely clarity grade.
  
• Number — Next is number of easily seen characteristics, not number of total characteristics. Having fewer characteristics means a higher clarity grade.
• Position — The third factor is the position of a given characteristic; is it under the table (most visible) and close to a pavilion? This position turns inclusions into reflectors, which have a bigger impact on the clarity grade.
  
• Nature — Then there is the nature of a diamond characteristic, or whether it’s internal or external. Internal characteristics cannot be graded as flawless or internally flawless diamonds.
• Colour and relief — Colour and relief is essentially a measure of how easily seen a characteristic is, or how much contrast there is between the characteristic and surrounding diamond.