Diamond Clarity: A Quick Review

In my Diamond Clarity article, I discussed why the clarity grade that’s written on the certificate is less important than what’s actually going on in the diamond.  Now, I’d like to simply review what the different clarity grades are and what they mean.  But before we begin discussing individual clarity grades, lets quickly review the scale of diamond clarity from highest to lowest:

1. FL / IF – Flawless / Internally Flawless – No Inclusions
2. VVS1 – Very Very Slightly Included 1st Degree – Tiny microscopic pinpoint of an inclusion
3. VVS2 – Very Very Slightly Included 2nd Degree – Slightly larger than VVS1, still only visible under microscope.  Invisible under 10x powered loupe
4. VS1 – Very Slightly Included 1st Degree – Just barely visible pinpoint with a 10x powered loupe
5. VS2 – Very Slightly Included 2nd Degree – Slightly larger than VS1.  Easily Visible with 10x powered loupe, almost always still invisible to the naked eye
6. SI1 – Slightly Included 1st Degree – Now included area covers a bit of area.  Still almost always invisible to the naked eye.
7. SI2 – Slightly Included 2nd Degree – Slightly larger than SI1.  Depending on its location, transparency, and color, sometimes an SI2 clarity grade inclusion will be visible to the naked eye.
8. I1 – Included 1st Degree – Larger than SI2.  Most I1s will be visible to the naked eye
9. I2 – Included 2nd Degree – Now inclusion covers significant percentage of diamond area.  Always visible to the naked eye.