All About the Clarity of Diamonds

Clarity is an important aspect of a diamond,

and it is important to know how to grade the

clarity of a diamond before you buy one. It is

actually quite easy to learn how to grade the

clarity of a diamond. There are basically two

things that you must understand: Diamonds

with visual inclusions and blemishes, and

those that are ‘eye clean’ meaning that there

are no inclusions or blemishes that can be

seen with the naked eye. From there, the

clarity of a diamond is further broken down

into subcategories.



Many people mistakenly think that diamond

clarity refers to how clear it is. This isn’t so.

Clarity actually refers to the internal and

external imperfections of the diamond. The

best diamonds, of course get a grade of FL

or IF – Flawless or Internally Flawless –

meaning that it is perfect. A grade of I-1, I-2

or I-3 means that the diamond is imperfect,

with a grade of I-3 being the worst.



Other grades are VVS1 and VVS2, which

means that the diamond is very, very slightly

imperfect; VS1 and VS2, meaning the

diamond is very slightly imperfect; SI-1 and

SI-2, which means that the diamond is