Diamond Clarity

The clarity of a diamond was determined millions of years ago, when the diamond formed through heat and pressure.  The part of the diamond which did not crystallize when it came to the earth's surface, are called blemishes or inclusions.  Clarity refers to grading the number, size and location of the inclusions in the diamond.  Inclusions are road blocks for light.  When light comes down into a diamond, and it passes through to an inclusion, the inclusion blocks the light from being reflected back up to our eyes in the form of sparkle. 

Clarity should only be graded by using a Gemscope with a minimum of 10 power magnification.  Clarity ranges from the highest grade of flawless (FL) to the lowest grade of imperfect (I3).The clarity of a diamond can affect its value dramatically.  Come into Arthur's, and let one of our diamond experts show you differences among diamond clarities.

Clarity Buying Tips

• Never buy a diamond already mounted.

• Always buy a diamond loose.  Many stores hide chips and inclusions underneath prongs, and   do not disclose it to the consumer. Jewelers buy their diamonds loose, why shouldn't you!

• Never use hand held loupes for grading clarity.  Stores that do this know that you will not be able to properly focus and see all of the inclusions in the diamond, thus, making the diamond look one to two clarity grades better than it actually is.

• Always use a Gemscope with at least 10 x magnification. 

How We Grade Clarity

• We don't use hand held loupes because it is much more difficult to evaluate the clarity of a diamond.   

• At Arthur's we us a Gemscope, which allows you to view your diamond under 10x-50x magnification. The Gemscope has dark field illumination that lets light enter the stone indirectly from the bottom. The diamond is then viewed against a dark background which allows for good observation of the internal characteristics of the stone. The side mounted fiber optic lighting lets you precisely position the light for detailed examination. This is a must for grading the clarity of diamonds.