BUYING A DIAMOND:  CLARITY

Clarity is a measure of the relative amount of inclusions, those naturally occurring internal "birthmarks," in a diamond. The number, size, placement and nature of the inclusion or inclusions determine the clarity of the diamond and affect its value.

The clarity scale ranges from Flawless to Imperfect.

	Internally Flawless	No inclusions
	Very very slightly included	Minute inclusions extremely difficult to see under 10x magnification
	Very very slightly included	Minute inclusions very difficult to see under 10x magnification
	Very slightly included	Minor inclusions difficult to see under 10x magnification
	Very slightly included	Minor inclusions somewhat easy to see under 10x magnification
	Slightly included	Noticeable inclusions easy to see under 10x magnification
	Slightly included	Noticeable inclusions easy to see under 10x magnification
	Included	Obvious inclusions easy to see with unaided eye
	Heavily included	Obvious inclusions very easy to see with unaided eye

Please notice the phrase "under 10x magnification." Although the presence of number, size, and placement of inclusions establish a diamond's clarity and value, it takes a microscope to detect these inclusions in a majority of clarity grades.

Diamonds with SI₂ grade or higher have inclusions undetectable without magnification. Inclusions in these grades are not significant enough to affect the diamond's optical properties. Diamonds in grades higher than SI₂ are virtually indistinguishable to the unaided eye.

Diamonds with a clarity grade in the I₁ - I₃ range have inclusions visible to the naked eye. These inclusions may interfere with light reflection and refraction in the diamond.