Clarity is the Purity of a Diamond

Each Diamond is unique, a product of the earth. Yet nature guarantees that even those of incredible beauty have some slight form of impurity or imperfection. Flawless diamonds are extremely rare and valuable, in fact most jewelers have never even seen one. Yet even these diamonds, despite their name, are not absolutely perfect under magnification – although they do come very close. In the Diamond world we call these imperfections diamond inclusions when internal or blemishes when external.

The majority of these flaws are so small and insignificant that they are invisible to the naked, untrained eye – while heavier flaws can be noticed without magnification, such as a jeweler’s loupe.

An Inclusion can be a result of a tiny speck of dirt trapped inside the Diamond, a Blemish can be a slight scratch on the surface.

Inclusions affect light’s passage through the diamond which may diminish the brilliance, sparkle and fire of the diamond.  They can cause dullness, dark patches or even visible spots.

The location of inclusions, their size, color and their grouping is very significant.  For example, a large flaw located near the center of the diamond, which is dark in color will be more detrimental to the diamond’s clarity than a small, light colored flaw closer to the diamonds edge which can even be camouflaged with the right setting and cut.

Clarity is therefore a measure of the presence of imperfections in the diamond and how it affects the Diamond’s ability to absorb and reflect light back to us without being impeded on the way.  Looking at the anatomy of a diamond, most light enters and exits from the table.

Clarity has tremendous impact on the final cost of the diamond; the splendor of a flawless diamond is unparalleled.  Clarity is however an area where you will find that you can sacrifice a certain measure of perfection for the sake of cost and still have a diamond that you will love and cherish.  Remember, many inclusions are completely invisible to the naked eye which means your diamond will be an eye clean diamond and any inclusions will not significantly detract from the beauty and quality of the diamond, although they may reduce the price tag.  You may be in essence paying for perfection you can’t see.

Inclusions are like natural birthmarks and are part of the individuality and character of a diamond.  No two diamonds share the same inclusions in exactly the same location, type and size, nor inclusion patterns.  They serve as a diamond’s fingerprint.  This understanding may dispel our fears of our Diamond being “imperfect” and may rather be seen as another factor in the unique and personal nature of Diamonds!

Diamond clarity is determined and graded by trained gemologists under 10 X magnification (the instrument used is called a loop), according to the visibility, number, size and position of inclusions.

The Clarity scale, created by the GIA in the 1930s, assesses the Diamond by  11 grades ranging  from “Fl – Flawless” to “I3- Included”

The scale runs as follows:

Of all the Four C’s this is the one we believe you have the most leeway.  Mazal Diamond gemologists first focus on Diamond Cut and second (Diamond Color.  Diamond Carat Weight then becomes a function of your budget.  Same with the Diamond Clarity, it in a large way becomes a function of your budget.  If you can afford to get a higher clarity we recommend it of course.  However to maintain a certain level of cut/color and to maintain a certain size we offer many levels of clarity to help with the price.  If you have any questions about a specific diamond or would like expert guidance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We suggest reading an important article about Diamond Size — learn about Diamond Diameter & Dimension.

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