About CLARITY…

Finding the suitable diamond clarity for your engagement ring; one of the more complex caveats during your engagement ring hunt.

Flawless

Let’s start from the top, “FL” or flawless, as the name suggests the diamond is completely clean and doesn’t have a spec in it, this is similar to “IF” or internally flawless, except that the “FL” grading is only given to diamonds that are polished to perfection and there are no abrasions or scratches on the surface of the diamond, in essence it is perfect!
Realistically this is a grading you should only concern yourself with if you are planning to buy an investment grade diamond.

Internally Flawless & Very Very Slightly Included 

The next notch down from “IF” is “VVS”, which is grouped into two subcategories, VVS1 and VVS2, where VVS1 is considered “better”. VVS stands for very very small inclusion, yes, we know…very creative!

This is an inclusion that you cannot see with a 10x Lupe and you will have a difficult time finding using a microscope. This clarity immediately increases the price of the diamond, but is it worth it?

Well, this comes down to the individual, but if you are like most of us and all you care about is to have a diamond that appears spotless with the naked eye, then let’s look further down the spectrum.

Included

Now, to probably our favourite clarity, “I” or included. This is considered the most included type of clarity and is on the bottom of the charts. For most people when they are offered and “I” graded diamond they are immediately turned off by the massive crack, bubble or black spot, which is extremely easy to spot with the eye.

However, with our great craftsmanship during the production of the diamond, the inclusions can be hidden or placed in a manner that makes the diamond appear clean to the eye, but the grading lab still marks it off as an “I”. This is the buyers sweet spot, as the “I” grading plummets the price and yet the diamond appears completely clean to anyone without a 10x Lupe in their pocket. This is what we like to call an eye clean diamond, and as you can imagine are massively popular.

In conclusion, if you have the budget that allows for you to purchase the “VVS” or “VS” clarities, then by all means do as they hold their value very well! However, if you aren’t quite there yet, but you still want to have an eye clean diamond as a budget, then we suggest the “SI” to “I” clarity for your engagement ring.