Multi-Diamond Ring set in 22k yellow gold

Diamond Clarity

Each diamond in a jewelry store is a majestic piece of art. Once it was buried deep within the earth, and now this beautiful diamond graces your neck, brings out the color of your eyes, or sparkles from your finger.  Like everything else in nature, diamonds naturally contain small blemishes and inclusions that sometimes can be seen only through a magnifying glass.  Clarity refers to the number and size of the diamond’s “imperfections.”

Inclusions are a diamond’s internal “imperfections” or flaws – tiny cracks or the presence of other natural minerals within the diamond. Blemishes refers to the “imperfections” which are found on the surface of a diamond such as scratches or microscopic chips. Both inclusions and blemishes affect the value of the diamond, meaning that the fewer flaws a diamond has the more valuable it is.

Diamond Clarity Chart Demystified

FL: A flawless diamond without any imperfections

IF: Internally Flawless with few external imperfections

VVS 1 / VVS 2: Very Very Small Inclusions

VS 1 / VS 2: Very Small Inclusions

SI 1/ Si 2: Small Inclusions

I 1/ I 2/ I 3: Inclusions can be visible with the naked eye

Diamond Cut

In 1375 AD jewelers first began the practice of faceting and cutting diamonds from their raw, unpolished natural form.  They had discovered that a diamond’s greatest property is its ability to reflect light, and this new process of cutting a diamond allowed it to shine brighter than any other gemstone.  How well a diamond reflects light depends on its cut; the better the cut, the more the diamond reflects the light.  The round brilliant cut is perhaps the most popular, designed to maximize the brilliance of the diamond to its full potential.

Diamond Carat

Carat refers to the unit of measurement of weight for a diamond. Simply put, there are more smaller diamonds than larger ones, thus the more the diamond weighs the more rare it is.  The largest white diamond in the world is known as the Great Star of Africa and it weighs exactly 530.4 carats!