Leah Ashley Jewelry Designs Creates Stunning Custom Jewelry

The clarity of a diamond is what I consider to be the second most important  ”C” when buying a diamond.

Clarity refers to how “clean” a diamond is.  Diamonds are naturally occurring and therefore are not perfect.  The can have little pieces of black carbon, other diamonds crystals or what are referred to as feathers which are sort of like cracks that are inside the diamond but do not really affect the integrity of the diamond.  Clarity grading starts at IF which means internally flawless–the diamond has none of the things I just mentioned above, none.  Then we go to VVS which means Very Very Slightly Included.  Diamonds with a VVS grading have one or more of the things I mentioned above but they are so small that you can’t see them unless the diamond is under powerful magnification.  Then there are VS diamonds whish means Very Slightly Included.  VS diamonds again have something inside them and more they have more than a VVS diamond, but again, you can’t see anything unless the diamond is under magnification.  Most diamonds that you see in jewelry stores in malls in the US are usually classified as one of the next two grades.  SI diamonds are Slightly Included.  This means that there is again, some flaws inside the diamond but they are not on the top of the diamond and you can’t really see them with the naked eye unless you really know what you are looking for.  Diamonds graded with an I grade are Included.  That means that the flaws are visible to the naked eye.

Now all of these grades have levels within them but the basic letter grades will get you in the general area.  Clarity is a huge factor in price so don’t get too noble on what you will or will not take.  Really look at any diamond you are considering without any magnification.  This is what all of your friends will see and what you will see most of the time unless you have a loupe at home that you use all the time.  I recently got a diamond for my father’s fiance that would technically have been graded as an SI stone but it was a beautiful stone and unless you knew there was something there, you would never have noticed.

Now I’m not saying that you should buy all I graded diamonds.  I would recommend to all of my clients to look in the SI or maybe VS range but you have to always consider budget vs. how large of a diamond a person wants.  If you sacrifice on clarity a little, you can get a larger diamond for the same price.  But you have to consider what is important to YOU.  I have friends that will only buy very clean stones and are willing to buy smaller stones.  Buying a diamond is a very personal experience and you should get exactly what YOU feel is important in your diamond.