When you buy a diamond, your first concern is its beauty. If you don’t love the stone, don’t buy it! When you’ve found the stone you really love, however, you need to know something about grading diamonds so that you will knowing if the asking price for the diamond is a fair one. The clarity grade of a diamond will make a big difference in its price. It’s so important that a separate scale is used to grade diamond clarity.
The clarity grade is based on the number, size, and position of flaws – which can be inclusions or blemishes or both – that a trained grader can see inside the diamond when using 10x magnification. Only 10x power magnification is used for grading clarity; if smaller flaws can be found using higher magnification, they do not exist for grading purposes.
We use the word ‘flaws’ because it is convenient and easy to understand, but most so-called flaws are really only part of the complete description of the stone. It’s important to understand that every diamond has distinctive internal characteristics called inclusions. These elements were included when the stone was formed. Each diamond’s internal character is unique. A diamond report maps any inclusions or blemishes that the diamond has, and this can be used to identify the diamond if needed.
It is always necessary to have a specialist grade a diamond’s clarity. An untrained viewer cannot distinguish flaws that are clearly present to a specialist.
In the upper clarity grades, the presence of flaws will not affect the beauty of the stone. Very few people can see any difference between stones until they look at the imperfect grades. In general, it is the cut of a diamond, not its clarity grade, that makes a difference to its brilliance and fire.
However, the clarity grade will make a huge difference to the cost of the stones. Flawless diamonds – those with no inclusions or blemishes that can be seen by a trained grader at 10x magnification – are extremely rare, especially in the one-carat size or larger. In fact, some jewelers insist that such stones are not available today. Obviously, their rarity increases their value. Diamonds graded flawless are very expensive indeed.
As you move down the scale, diamonds with flaws become more readily available. Many lower grade diamonds make beautiful jewelry, since the flaws can’t be seen with the naked eye, and may not be visible to an amateur even under 10x magnification. However, these stones are far less expensive than flawless stones.
When you’re buying a diamond that you will wear, consider all the 4 c’s of diamonds before making your decision. If you’re on a budget, you may decide that the clarity grade is less important to you than the diamond color or size. You want to pay a fair price for the diamond you choose, but it’s most important to choose the diamond you love!