What is diamond clarity?

Diamond clarity refers to the absence of inclusions and blemishes. When natural diamonds are formed deep in the earth under extreme pressure and heat, they develop unique characteristics both internally and externally. Internal characteristics are referred to as inclusions whilst external characteristics are called blemishes.

Depending on the quantity, size, positioning and colour of the clarity characteristics, they may or may not be visible to the naked eye. The GIA clarity grading system ensures that diamonds are given an accurate assessment by a trained professional using 10x magnification. No diamond is perfectly pure, but the closer it comes, the higher the value. Whilst truly flawless diamonds do exist, they are extremely rare and less than 1% of all diamonds are graded as flawless.

The GIA grading scale begins with Flawless, Internally Flawless (FL/IF), Very Very Slightly Included (VVS1/VVS2), Very Slightly Included (VS1/VS2), Slightly Included (SI1/SI2) and finishing with Included (I1, I2 & I3).

Why is diamond clarity important?

A number of factors including the size, type of inclusion 

We recommend SI1 clarity and higher to guarantee a brilliant sparkle.

See the below clarity comparison tool provided by GIA