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Clarity is a measure of the number and extent of the flaws in the diamond. Generally speaking, the fewer the flaws, the more valuable the diamond. Completely flawless diamonds are extremely rare -- only a few hundred "FL" diamonds are produced per year worldwide.
There are several grading systems used to describe clarity. By far, the most popular is the Gemological Institute of America's (G.I.A.) scale, which ranks diamonds as Flawless (FL), Internally Flawless (IF), very very slightly included (VVS), very slightly included (VS), slightly imperfect (SI), and imperfect (I).
Unfortunately, clarity is very difficult to judge accurately by an inexperienced consumer, so your best bet is to gain an education first by looking at lots of diamonds before making a purchase.
Many people make clarity the least "important" of the 4 Cs when purchasing their diamonds. The rationale is obvious -- when your partner shows the ring to all her friends, the likelihood that one of them will pull out a 10X microscope to examine the flaws on her diamond are very slim. Given that, why spend a lot of money on a VVS1 diamond when an SI2 will look exactly the same to the naked eye?
If you're purchasing an emerald cut (or any other step cut), consider purchasing a diamond with clarity greater than SI1. Clarity flaws are much more readily visible in step cuts than in brilliant cuts. |