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Diamonds clarity

Diamonds Clarity

Diamonds are known to be the greatest gemstone in the whole world. It possesses much strength than weaknesses. Diamond is four times harder than sapphire and ruby; they are the next hardest natural mineral. Yet, as hard as it is known, it is not completely solid since it can split or slice when it receives a sharp blow in any part of its cleavage which is based of four directions. A skilled diamond jeweler will always avoid any of these directions from being struck while it is mounted in a jewelry piece. Diamonds has by far rich in its extraordinary qualities such as:
 
·         High refraction
·         Broad color range
·         High dispersion
·         Very low reactivity to chemicals
·         Extreme hardness
·         Durable
·         Rare   
 
 
Because of this unique properties, diamond is the best and the greatest gemstone on earth. In grading the stone’s perfection, the diamonds clarity of it should be examined. This is based on its flaws, air bubbles, scratches or sediments like minerals inside it which is known as inclusions. This means that the lesser inclusion the diamond has the more precious it is and therefore, the more elegant and striking it is. Inclusions define the inner traits of a diamond through its visual appearance. The surface defects on the other hand are called blemishes. Clarity is one of the four Cs that is used in grading diamonds. The carat, color and cut are the other known 3 Cs. Inclusions can be apparent to an expert eye. They can come from:

  • Crystals of foreign material
  • Another diamond crystal
  • Structural imperfections such as tiny cracks

    Cracks may be as tiny as a hairline but it will make the diamond appear cloudy and whitish and will cause imperfection. Diamonds clarity can greatly affect the value of the stone. The size, color and number will be wasted if there are visible inclusions and blemishes in it. 
               
    The diamonds clarity grading is based on the overall appearance of the diamond fewer than 10% magnifications. It            measures the number of the flaws in the diamond, how it is detectable and its influence on the diamond’s overall quality. The inclusions and blemishes, though tiny and undetectable can greatly affect the sparkle and brilliance of the stone. The inclusions can range and appear from white and black dots on the surface. This will somehow occlude the brilliance of the stone. So, a higher clarity is important to make the stone sparkle and glitter. 
     
    In 1952 a group of five people, Richard T. Liddicoat, Lester Bensen, Joe Phillips, Bert Krashes and Robert Crowningshield put up a new diamonds clarity grading system which appraise and assessed diamonds in three aspects; color, clarity ad make. During the period of 1970s two changes were added to the system of clarity grading. By 1990s the last change for the clarity grading was done. The GIA Laboratories diamonds clarity grading scale is divided into six categories and eleven grades which the clarity categories and grades are as follows:

  • Flawless category (FL) – no visible inclusions or blemishes under 10x magnification
  • Internally Flawless category (IF) – no visible inclusions but with small blemishes on the surface under 10x magnification
  • Very, Very Slightly Included category (VVS) – there is presence of tiny inclusions that are difficult to see by a skilled grader even under 10 x magnifications. This category is divided into 2 grades:

  • VVS1 – a higher clarity grade than
  • VVS2 – pinpoints and needles set the grade

  • Very Slightly Included category (VS) – diamonds contain minor inclusions that are slightly difficult to see by a trained grader at 10x magnifications. This category is divided into two grades which are:

  • VS1 – higher clarity grade than
  • VS2 – all of the inclusions are not visible unless magnified

  • Slightly Included category (SI) – noticeable inclusions that are very easy to see when viewed at 10x magnification but may not be noticeable to the naked eye. 
  • Included category (I) – diamonds have obvious inclusions that are clearly visible even without magnification and this can threaten the durability of the stone.   

    • The higher the clarity grades of a diamond, the higher the value it brings. Flawless graded diamonds can certainly demand the highest price.