Clarity is an indication of a diamond's purity. In all diamonds,
except the most rare, tiny traces of minerals, gasses, or other
elements were trapped inside during the crystallization process.
These are called inclusions, but are more like birthmarks. They
may look like tiny crystals, clouds, or feathers and they're what
make each diamond different and unique.
Many of these birthmarks are not visible to the naked eye. The
clarity of a diamond is graded by how many, how big and how visible
the inclusions are. The fewer and smaller the inclusions, the
more rare and valuable the diamond. Less than 1% of all diamonds
ever found have had no inclusions and can be called flawless (FL)
or internally flawless (IF).
The following is the GIA Diamond clarity-scale:
FL-Flawless
These stones have no imperfections inside or on the outside
of the stone under the magnification of a loupe of 10 power.
IF-Internally Flawless
These stones have no inclusions under a loupe with a 10 power
magnification.
VVS1,VVS2-Very Very Slightly Imperfect
These stones have very small inclusions which are very difficult
to see under a loupe with a 10 power magnification.
VS1,VS2-Very Slightly Imperfect
These stones have small inclusions which are slightly difficult
to difficult to see under a loupe with a 10 power magnification.
SI1,SI2-Slightly Imperfect
These stones have inclusions which are fairly easy to see under
a loupe with a 10 power magnification, or visible to the naked
eye.
I1,I2,I3-Imperfect
These stones have inclusions which range from eye visible to
very easily seen to the naked eye.
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