CLARITY

Practically, all diamonds contain inclusions. The size, nature, location and amount of inclusions determine a diamond’s clarity grade and affect its cost.

Clarity refers to the purity of the diamond. Most diamonds have natural internal imperfections, or inclusions. If no imperfections can be seen by a trained gemologist at a magnification of 10x, the diamond is considered flawless. The next grade ranges are VVS1-VVS2 and VS1-VS2 (very very slightly included and very slightly included). These stones have tiny imperfections that can be seen by a gemologist with varying degrees of difficulty at a magnification of 10x.

"At Ben Garelick, you’ll find our inclusions are smaller and whiter than our competitor’s diamond."

We very carefully hand select each and every diamond, which takes time and expertise. Within a diamonds grade range, we hand select the choice diamond that has smaller and whiter inclusions. For example, an SI2 diamond from Ben Garelicks looks like our competitors SI1.

The SI1-SI2 (slightly included) grade range has imperfections obvious at 10x. Diamonds in this range can make beautiful jewelry, and will be less expensive.

Some people do not care about imperfections so long as they are not obvious to the naked eye. Others are troubled by imperfections they cannot see, and choose a finer stone. Different diamond cuts hide imperfections better than others. In a traditional emerald cut, for example, almost all SI1 stones have imperfections visible to the naked eye. In a Radiant Cut, the brilliance hides many imperfections, and even SI2 stones can be used to design brilliant rings and other jewelry.