After countless hours of contemplating the carat size, cut, and color of a diamond, you may think you’ve assessed all of the critical elements of a potential engagement ring. However, to ensure your stone has that quintessential shine, you’ll also want to consider its clarity. Jewels with impurities can often have a cloudier appearance, potentially making them less appealing to you as you shop for this all-important piece. In the industry, the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) grading system is the international standard for evaluating flaws both within a diamond (inclusions) and those on the surface of the jewel (blemishes).
However, when considering the clarity of such a piece, remember that even the sparkliest stones will have some imperfections. “Ninety-five percent of all diamonds sold have impurities,” says Sheryl Jones, the founder of Sheryl Jones Jewels. “They’re the things that occur in the natural making of a diamond—sediment, crystals, tears, cracks.” While it may be difficult to find a jewel in your price point with no imperfections, know that it’s still possible for your ring to have that picture-perfect look even with a few inclusions or blemishes. Many imperfections are infinitesimal, resulting in them having no visual effect on your stone to the naked eye.
Curious about how important clarity is when it comes to your ring? Here, we asked two experts to share everything you need to know about this key element before purchasing a diamond. Read on for what you need to know.
What Is the Diamond Clarity Scale?
On the GIA clarity scale, a diamond will receive one of 11 grades:
- Flawless (FL): No visible inclusions or blemishes
- Internally Flawless (IF): No visible inclusions, but has visible blemishes
- Very, Very Slighted Included (VVS1, VVS2): Slight inclusions
- Very Slightly Included (VS1, VS2): Minor inclusions
- Slightly Included (SI1, SI2): Noticeable inclusions
- Included (I1, I2, I3): Obvious inclusions
The size, location, and nature of any imperfections affect a diamond’s clarity grade. “Some things, like a cavity, are graded a little bit more harshly than, let’s say, an included crystal,” Jones says. “Why? Because a cavity is on the surface of the stone and will affect the durability of the stone.”
While lab-grown and natural diamonds are currently graded under the same system, the GIA recently announced plans to use new descriptions to evaluate the clarity of the former. This change can be attributed to a key difference between the two: Natural diamonds tend to have a much wider range of inclusion types compared to lab-grown stones, says Kegan Fisher, the founder of Frank Darling. “With lab-grown diamonds, you see a very tight range of inclusion types that are all sorts of variations on carbon, and so we don't have to be as concerned about clarity as we do when shopping for natural,” she says. “With natural diamonds, there are certain types of inclusions that do cause structural concerns, and it's really important to kind of pay attention to those.”
Photo by Emily Wren
How Does Clarity Affect the Cost of a Diamond?
Diamonds with a higher clarity, especially those in the FL, IF, and VVS grades, cost significantly more than those on the lower end of the scale. However, know that above a certain clarity grade, a diamond’s imperfections become essentially invisible to the naked eye. For example, you may not notice any differences in a stone with a grade of VS1 compared to one with a grade of IF—except for the price point. In addition to clarity, a jewel’s carat size, cut, and color also play a significant role in determining its cost. These characteristics are referred to as the 4Cs of diamond quality.
What to Keep in Mind About Diamond Clarity
While you may not know whether you’ll plan to upgrade your ring in the future, Fisher recommends opting for a ring with an internally flawless or flawless diamond, as lower grades tend to be harder to sell. “[IF and FL] correlate with what we can think of as investment-grade diamonds,” she says. However, even if such a piece is out of your price range, when it comes to the majority of popular cuts, most experts agree it’s almost impossible to see any imperfections with even a jewel on the lower end of the scale, such as a SI1 diamond. Viewing inclusions at such a grade would typically still require some type of magnification device.
Yet, if you’re searching for an interesting, unconventional sparkler, jewels on the lower end of the clarity scale can actually add a unique touch to your engagement ring when selected with intention. For example, you may opt to seek out “salt-and-pepper” diamonds. Such stones are “extremely low clarity diamonds where the inclusions are so visible and so plentiful that they create a really beautiful pattern within the stone,” Fisher says.
