Diamond Clarity

Diamonds formed deep within the earth. As they formed under extreme heat and pressure, they often resulted in unique visible characteristics. Sometimes other minerals or even other diamond crystals became entrapped within the formed diamond. Very often the crystal structure developed a break or a distortion. Only in very rare cases did a diamond form without any of these visible characteristics. So rare, that today most jewelers have never seen what is called a flawless diamond.  

How Diamond Clarity is Graded

Diamond clarity is the assessment of a diamond's internal and external characteristics. Internal characteristics are called inclusions and are inside the diamond crystal. External characteristics are called blemishes are confined to the surface of the diamond. This assessment is made by a trained grader using 10x magnification evaluating all inclusions and blemishes for the following factors: size, location, nature, number and color (or relief). Certain inclusions have the most impact on the clarity grade and are called "grade setting inclusions". Other more minor inclusions may bear no significance to the final grade.

• Size: The larger the characteristic the greater the impact on clarity grade. Larger inclusions may also impact the durability of the diamond. 
• Location: The position of the inclusion or blemish in the diamond will impact how it is assessed. Centrally located inclusions have more impact than those same type of inclusion that is toward the edges. Inclusions located close to the pavilion facets will more likely be reflected throughout the whole diamond and will thus impact the clarity assessment. 
• Nature: The nature of a clarity characteristic refers to the type of inclusion and whether it is superficial to the surface only or if it penetrates into the diamond significantly. Characteristics confined to the surface are simply blemishes and have less impact than a characteristic that enters the crystal structure. Also inclusions that by nature weaken the durability of a diamond significantly are assessed with greater impact on clarity grade.
• Number: Generally the greater the number of readily visible inclusions, the more impact they will have on clarity grade. 
• Color or Relief: The degree to which an inclusion stands out in contrast from the diamond crystal is known as relief. Typically high relief inclusions are dark colored and are readily seen. 

Clarity Grading Systems

There are two clarity grading systems that we use when grading diamonds. The GIA Clarity Grade and the AGS Clarity Grade. The two grading scales relate directly to one another and so can be interpreted back and forth easily. The GIA clarity grade is the system in most common usage, while the AGS clarity grade is very easily understood.

Download our Diamond Grading Sheet file (pdf format)