Quick Guide to Diamond Clarity

One of the most important aspects of a diamond is the clarity of the diamond. When a person first looks into the purchase of a diamond, or diamonds, they at first can become overwhelmed with the codes that jewelers use to grade diamond clarity. In reality, after a bit of study and looking at diamonds you will come to realize it is fairly easy to learn the grading of a diamond and it's clarity.

In essence there are two aspects to grading a diamond's clarity: inclusions and blemishes. Additionally, you'll hear about features that were caused during the diamond enhancement procedures: such as laser lines. These, however, are also considered to be inclusions or blemishes.

Diamond Inclusions

There are eight different inclusions taken into consideration when determining the clarity of a diamond. Typically an inclusion is an aspect of the diamond that takes place internally and is often considered a flaw, as it will cause the diamond to be considered not perfect.

An inclusion is most often caused by the irregular growth of the crystals that make up the diamond. Inclusions that affect the diamond clarity grading will sometimes appear somewhat milky and contain slight lines and streaks through the diamond.

Inclusions do have an affect on the brilliance of the diamond as they can refract light and cause interference with it as it passes through the stone. The way the inclusions appear in a diamond are very unique and are sometimes considered to be "nature's fingerprints" as they can be used to identify individual diamonds.

An example of an inclusion is an embedded crystal or mineral. These are actually nothing more than a smaller diamond that had become trapped within the larger diamond as the crystal was forming.

Other types of inclusions include: pinpoints, feathers, clouds, knots, cavities, cleavage, bearding and internal graining.

Diamond Blemishes