It is best to see a diamond in person as you will be able to identify yourself if the clarity is good enough for you. An SI2 diamond can look clean and flawless with the naked eye. This can save you a lot of money if you choose this over a VS1 diamond.
Photos are misleading as a diamond can be photographed to see as little of its inclusions as possible. Ask to see a video of the diamond being moved around in all angles, under a bright light. Different gemological laboratories grade and categorize their diamonds with their own standards.
If you are comparing clarities of two diamonds, use. Learning and understanding the different information about diamond clarity is absolutely crucial when it comes to actually shop for an engagement ring or a piece of diamond jewelry. The clarity can affect everything from its cost, the way the piece of jewelry looks in person, and even the way it sells or buys in the market. This is a great and comprehensive overlook of what you need to know to understand the importance of diamond clarity.
We will discuss the following questions: What is Diamond Clarity? What is the Difference between diamond clarity gradings? Should I aim for the flawless diamond?
What does Eye Clean mean? What are different types of inclusions? What are hidden inclusions? What diamond clarity gives you the best value for money? What is Diamond Clarity? VVS1 to VS2: the most expensive and readily available diamonds because they are close to being perfectly clean. Should I aim for the Flawless Diamond? What does Eye-Clean mean? You will not see any inclusions with the naked eye.
Pinpoints — These imperfections are white or black, and significantly small crystals that can only be seen under magnification. These are inconvenient as they trap oil and dirt and require more frequent cleaning of the diamond. It is possible to file this down with a polish, but this will result in your diamond losing weight. Chip — This is similar to a cavity inclusion where there is an opening found on the surface of the diamond.
When determining the clarity of diamonds, experts will note the appearance of the diamond when it is face up, with a microscope at 10x magnification and eye visibility. However, to identify any diamond inclusions there may be, a higher power than 10x will be used. Otherwise, it may be too difficult to determine. Five factors play a significant role in how the clarity grades are determined. These five roles in diamond grading include size, nature, number, location, and the relief of the inclusions.
The nature of the inclusion is simply regarding the type of inclusion that is present. It also discusses the depth and any other characteristics that can be found within the diamond. If there is anything that is situated only on the surface of the diamond and has not penetrated the diamond, then it is referred to as a blemish, rather than an inclusion. The clarity grade of a diamond will be much lower when there is the presence of several different clarity characteristics. The location of an inclusion refers to where on the diamond the inclusion is located.
If the inclusion is situated in closer proximity to the center of the table, then the clarity grade will be impacted much more. If the inclusion is close to the girdle, which is much further from the center table, then the inclusion may be more difficult to see. Inclusions found near pavilions of the diamond can reflect, and the facets will then act as mirrors which means the inclusion will then be reflected.
Take a look at these two diamonds. Both of them are SI1 clarity 1. But this diamond from Blue Nile has a dead center inclusion which makes it an undesirable choice.
Now here is a diamond from Blue Nile with an identical grade but the inclusion is off to the side. It is hardly noticeable and you may even be able to hide it with the prong of the setting. However, certain clarity features may also be slightly obscured or even emphasized due to the shape, proportions, and facet arrangement of the diamond. The relief is referring to how noticeable the inclusion is in contrast to the host diamond. The higher the relief, the darker the color may seem which can affect diamond grading.
These diamonds look identical in a ring. The chart above contains real magnified sample images of GIA certified diamonds. It should become clear from the chart above why it is so crucial to only buy from an online vendor Like James Allen and Brian Gavin Diamonds that provides you with high-quality images of their diamonds.
If you see anything at all on diamonds with a Flawless clarity grade, you can be assured that it is merely dust. That tiny speck, if it were an inclusion inside the diamond, would probably render the stone a VVS2. The tiny pinpoints can only be seen under a powerful microscope. A regular photograph, even a highly magnified one, can only focus on one level of depth.
If a VVS-size inclusion is in a diamond, and the image is focused on a different layer of depth, there is no chance the pinpoint inclusion will be visible. If you click on the diamond picture here, you can barely make out the VVS2 inclusions. Generally, however, you need a gemological microscope to identify a VVS2 inclusion since, often, the inclusion pattern is not one larger speck, but a few separate VVS1 sized spots that collectively equal a VVS2 clarity grade.
As you can see if you click on the sample diamond here, a VS1 clarity inclusion is still quite small and will never be visible to the naked eye. VS2 Clarity inclusions are almost always clean to the naked eye. This sample stone is somewhat of an extreme example click on it to see more details. I specifically looked for a VS2 that was black and in the center of the stone to more easily illustrate the size of a VS2 inclusion. The inclusion in the sample photo might very well be visible to the naked eye as a result of it being black, in the center, and in an emerald cut which do not mask inclusions at all.
Keep in mind that the inclusion size is in relation to the size of the diamond. When buying a 4 carat diamond , a VS2 is more likely to be visible than in a 1 carat diamond. As with the poor VS2 sample before, the diamond chosen for the sample picture of an SI1 clarity inclusion is an extreme example chosen to show the maximum size and worst possible color of an SI1.
One must remember that a clarity grade can be based on many different inclusion points within a diamond. It is less common especially for SI1 and lower that the clarity grade is based on one concentrated inclusion. Usually, there are a number of smaller spots and clouds of tiny spots that make up the clarity grade.
In these cases, since each individual inclusion is very small, the diamond looks clean to the naked eye. Once you are in this range, you are best off contacting us for help picking something out to ensure its eye-clean. SI2 diamonds are likely to have some visible inclusions, but you may still find an eye-clean stone in this grade.
Once you get into the I1 grade, diamonds with non-visible inclusions are the exception, and I2 and I3 stones will certainly not be eye clean. An important thing to remember when examining diamonds is that not all stones within a certain clarity grade are created equal. In general, whether an inclusion will be visible without magnification depends on the color, transparency, size and location of the flaw.
Since no two diamonds are alike, you should examine each stone you are considering regardless of its formal clarity grade and see if the diamond has any visible inclusions. Even if you have a diamond with a visible inclusion, if you can mount the stone in a setting that will hide the flaw, your diamond will still look eye clean. By factoring it into your decision, you may be able to save some money on clarity and end up with a stone that still looks clean.
All Jewelry. Diamond earrings Diamond necklaces Build your own earrings Build your own pendant. How diamond clarity affects what your stone looks like? The GIA scale classifies diamond clarity into 11 different grades, but in general they fall under these main categories: Flawless diamonds FL with no blemishes or inclusions flaws. Internally Flawless IF diamonds with no inclusions and blemishes only recognizable to trained experts under magnification.
Very Slightly Included VS1 and VS2 diamonds have small inclusions that range from difficult to see to easy to see under magnification. Slightly Included SI1 and SI2 diamonds with inclusions that are noticeable to experts under magnification. Some inclusions are eye visible in the SI2 diamonds. Included I1, I2 and I3 diamonds with obvious inclusions under magnification that are also eye visible. These inclusions can potentially affect transparency and brilliance.
What does all of this mean when evaluating which diamond clarity is best? How does diamond clarity affect price? Share article Diamonds , Shopping Advice. Follow Us mywithclarity.
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