When you’re planning a wedding, there are a lot of decisions and details to consider. Perhaps one of the first decisions that you’re going to have to make is the ring. Guys, if you’re buying an engagement ring for your sweetheart, you’ll want to know a little something about diamonds before you jump right in there and buy one. An engagement ring is a huge purchase, and you want to know you’re getting a good deal and not being sold a piece of junk that is way overpriced. So if you’ve decided to go ahead and pop that question with a beautiful diamond engagement ring, thats great. But like I said, you need to know something about how diamonds are classified and about their worth so that you can make an informed decision.

The 4 C’s to Choosing a Diamond

Back in the early 1950’s, the diamond industry set up a set of guidelines for grading and rating a diamond. The grading system ended up as it is today, with a GIA rating system. This system grades a diamond based off of 4 basic qualities. They are: clarity, cut, carat and color. I feel that each area is too important to simply leave to giving you a quick description of them, and thus have decided to make this a little mini-series. As you can tell from the title, I’ve decided to discuss the clarity aspect first.

What is Diamond Clarity?

Diamond clarity is basically the quality of diamonds in relation to the existence and visual appearance of internal characteristics of a diamond.

These characteristics are called inclusions and other surface defects called blemishes. Inclusions may be crystals of a foreign material or structural imperfections such as tiny cracks that can appear cloudy in the diamond. Diamonds are viewed under a 10x magnification to look for any inclusions or blemishes to determine the diamond clarity scale the stone should be placed under.

What is the Diamond Clarity Scale?

The GIA diamond clarity scale has six main categories and eleven different grades within those categories. Don’t worry, the grading system really isn’t that complicated, and it’s easy enough to understand for someone just shopping for a diamond. So, here we go.

(F) Flawless- as mentioned above, flawless diamonds have no inclusions or blemishes visible under 10x magnification. Flawless gemstones are rare, and thus the most expensive.

(IF) Internally Flawless - Internal flawless diamonds have no inclusions visible at 10x magnification, though there may be some very slight external flaws.

(VVSI) Very Very Slightly Included #1 - This grade of diamond implies that there are some very very slight inclusions in the diamond that are extremely hard to locate under 10x magnification.

(VVS2) Very Very Slightly Included #2 - This grade of diamond has some inclusions that are very difficult to find under 10x magnification.

(VS1) Very Slightly Included #1 - Minor inclusions have been found that are difficult to locate at the high magnification level.

(VS2) Very Slightly Included #2 - Minor inclusions that are somewhat difficult to find at 10x.

(SI1) Slightly Included #1 - This grade on the diamond clarity scale indicates that that there are noticeable inclusions in the diamond that can be moderately easily seen with 10x magnification.

(SI2) Slightly Included #2 - Inclusions are easy to find under 10x.

(I1) Included #1 - Obvious inclusions in the diamond are somewhat easy to find without the magnification.

(I2) Included #2 - Obvious inclusions that are easy to locate with the naked eye.

(I3) Included #3 - Obvious inclusions that are very easy to locate with the naked eye.

Who Assigns a Diamond Clarity Scale?

There are professional grading agencies which house many trained professional are the ones who assign the diamond to a particular group on the diamond clarity scale. They look at the size of the inclusions, the position of the inclusion, the nature of the inclusions, and much more. Just rest assured that if your diamond comes with a certified GIA diamond report, you’re in good hands with the diamond you purchase. An added word of advice - if the words clarity enhanced or fracture filled appear on the report, the report is a phony because the GIA won’t register these ‘repaired’ diamonds.

Tags: diamond clarity scale, diamond grades, diamond ring, engagement ring