Buchkosky Jewelers

Do you need help? Please call us at 651-631-1066.

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Buchkosky Jewelers

Do you need help? Please call us at 651-631-1066.

651-631-1066 Roseville, Minnesota

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

Diamond clarity scaleThere 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.

Clarity grading scale showing both GIA and AGS clarity scales.Download our Diamond Grading Sheet file (pdf format)

GIA Clarity Grade

The GIA clarity scale is made up of six categories: included (I), slightly included (SI), very slightly included (VS), very, very slightly included (VVS), internally flawless (IF) and flawless (FL).

  • Included: Inclusions are obvious under 10× magnification and may affect transparency and brilliance
  • Slightly Included: Inclusions are noticeable to a skilled grader under 10x magnification
  • Very Slightly Included: Inclusions are minor and range from difficult to somewhat easy for a skilled grader to see under 10x magnification
  • Very, Very Slightly Included: Contains only minute inclusions that are difficult for a skilled grader to see under 10× magnification
  • Internally Flawless: No inclusions and only blemishes are visible to a skilled grader using 10× magnification
  • Flawless: No inclusions or blemishes are visible to a skilled grader using 10× magnification

These categories are further broken down into eleven clarity grades. The included category is divided into three grades: I1, I2, and I3. The SI, VS, and VVS categories are each broken up into two grades: SI1, SI2, VS1, VS2, VVS1 and VVS2.

AGS Clarity Grade

The AGS clarity grade is an intuitive number scale from 0 to 10. 0 is the highest clarity grade and 10 is the lowest. These number grades correlate with the GIA clarity scale with some minor differences in the 7-10 range.

  • 7-10: Included diamonds with a clarity grade of 7, 8, 9, or 10 (I1, I2, or I3), have inclusions that are obvious at 10x magnification.  Sometimes, they can be seen with the naked eye. At the lower clarities, may have an effect on the diamond’s durability.
  • 5-6: Slightly Included diamonds with a clarity grade of 5, 6, or 7 (SI1 or SI2) have noticeable inclusions that are fairly easy to see under 10x magnification. Sometimes, these inclusions can be visible to the unaided eye.
  • 3-4: Very Slightly Included diamonds with a clarity grade of 3 or 4 (VS1 or VS2) have minor inclusions.
  • 1-2: A diamond with a clarity grade of 1 or 2 (VVS1 or VVS2) has minute inclusions that are difficult for a skilled grader to see under 10x magnification.
  • 0: Flawless diamonds have no inclusions or blemishes visible under 10x. Internally Flawless diamonds have no inclusions visible under 10x, but can have very minor blemishes (marks and features confined to the surface only).

Diamond Education

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Our Location
Rosedale Center

(651) 631-1066

695 Rosedale Shopping Center
Roseville, MN 55113 (Map)

Store Hours
Mon 10:00 AM - 8:45 PM
Tue 10:00 AM - 8:45 PM
Wed 10:00 AM - 8:45 PM
Thu 10:00 AM - 8:45 PM
Fri 10:00 AM - 8:45 PM
Sat 10:00 AM - 8:45 PM
Sun 11:00 AM - 5:45 AM

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