GUIDANCE DIAMOND GUIDE CLARITY

A diamond's clarity refers to the presence of impurities on and within the stone. When diamonds are formed naturally under extreme heat and pressure, imperfections in the crystal structure can form and tiny traces of natural elements are almost always trapped inside called inclusions. The diamond with highest quality on clarity grading is the one with absence of any imperfections which could possibly occur in the stone.

Diamond clarity is one of the four primary characteristics for evaluation of the stone, generally known as the 4 C’s. The diamond with highest quality on clarity grading is the one with absence of any imperfections which could possibly occur in the stone. A diamond which isn’t flawless by al standards is said to have inclusions which could be internal or external. Internally any natural impurity within the stone is considered as an inclusion or imperfection while a surface blotch is taken as an external flaw. Diamond’s clarity represents the number or size of inclusions in it, whether internal or external. These inclusions are very minute, quite microscopic in nature but are considered as a flaw even though their existence has no impact on the stone’s apparent beauty and enchantment. A diamond’s shape which is its form when viewed in top down index can influence its clarity. Some shapes tend to hide some inclusions while shapes with broader table diameter are more prone to flaw detection and clarity grade deterioration. The classic round cut diamonds and the trendy princess cut diamonds are the most suitable form for better clarity these shapes can hide imperfections to a certain extent. The step-cut shapes such as the emerald cut or the asscher cut forms of diamonds have broader tables and so they are much less likely to hide the flaws.

The imperfections or inclusions can occur in various forms in a diamond. The most common inclusion is an external hole in the surface of the stone. It can be anywhere on the stone and can affect its durability depending on the position itself. These wholes are generally referred to as cavities which can exist in any size. Diamond cutting is quite sensitive and leave a surface imperfection in the form of indented chip or feather on the edge. Lines or drag marks might be left during the polishing process usually breaking the surface so minutely that only magnification can identify this kind of imperfection, termed as knot. Indented natural imperfections may exist for alight portion of the stone is left without polish, a Needle shaped imperfection or Pin Point flaw is shaped similar to their name and is visible at very high magnification only. Internally some impurities might cluster together and appear as a cloud within the diamond. However, these clouds are generally translucent and so do not impact the clarity grade of a diamond. Twinning wisp is one structural imperfection in which inclusions tend to twist together, a kind of flaw found in fancy diamond shapes only.

It is quite general for all natural diamonds to possess an inclusion which is most probably a chemical identifier within the stone. However, experts have developed a clarity standard, a scale with different grades for various levels of clarity in diamonds. This first standardised scale was introduced midway through the twentieth century while a more refined and diversely categorised clarity grading scale was standardised in the seventies. Following is a list of clarity grades for diamonds with standard description.