Clarity : Clarity is a measure of the cleanliness or purity of a diamond. Diamond clarity is a term used to describe the absence or presence of flaws inside or on the surface of a diamond or other gemstone. A perfect stone with perfect clarity, or clearness, is rare, and most expensive.
IF, Internally Flawless : No internal flaws. Slight external blemishes.
VVS1 & VVS2, Very, very slightly included. : Minute inclusions.
Difficult for even an experienced grader to detect.
VS1 & VS2, Very slightly included : Minute inclusions. Not easily seen by an experienced grader.
SI1 & SI2, Slightly included : Inclusions that are noticeable to an experienced grader
I1 & I2 & I3, Included : Obvious inclusions that may affect transparency and brilliance.
Clouds : A dense grouping of tiny pinpoints that create a cloudy zone which
may not resolve as individual pinpoints at 10X Magnification.
Feathers : Cleavage planes or internal stress fractures that have the appearance of feathers.
Common around included crystals.
Pinpoints : Minute crystals within the diamond that appear white.
Large groupings of small pinpoints can create a cloud effect.
Crystal : A crystal is a mineral crystal contained in some diamonds. When the crystal is totally
enclosed within the stone, it is called an included crystal. Crystals can be almost any size, colored
or colorless, and can occur alone or in groups
Knot : a crystal within a diamond that actually extends to the surface of the stone.
Needle : is a tiny, long crystal within a diamond.
Twinning Wisp : - when viewed under 10x magnification, a twining wisp looks like a flat, reflective,
flowing ribbon, they can be white or colorful and usually are located around the diamonds center.
Carat : Diamonds are measured in terms of weight, not size. The heavier the diamond, the greater the carat weight. Two diamonds of equal weight can have very different values, because the quality is still determined by the color, clarity and cut. As diamonds increase in size, their cost tends to increase exponentially rather than arithmetically. Thus, a one-carat diamond can cost significantly more than a one-half carat diamond of equal quality. The weight of a diamond less than one carat in size may also be described in terms of "points". There are 100 "points" in 1 carat
Color : While many diamonds appear colorless, or white, they may actually have subtle yellow or brown tones that can be detected when comparing diamonds side by side. Colorless diamonds are the rarest and most valuable of all. Color variations are a result of the natural forces (i.e., temperature, pressure, trace elements) at work during the formation of diamonds within the Earth. Because subtle color variations dramatically affect the value of a diamond, a color grading scale is used to categorize the shading differences from one diamond to the next.
Cut : Cut is the factor that adds a diamond´s fire, sparkle and brilliance.
Diamonds mined from the earth look like tumbled gems or beach glass. To turn the diamond into a beautiful gem, the diamond is cut with precise facets, or tiny polished faces. There are 58 total facets on the round brilliant diamond: 33 facets are in the crown and table (largest facet) located above the girdle (the diamond´s widest point), 24 facets in the pavilion and 1 facet at the bottom, or culet.
A well cut diamond will have an amazing brilliance and fire. This is caused by white light reflecting off the diamond´s surfaces and the mirrored depths of the pavilion. The key to desirable fire and brilliance is proportion. Light striking a shallow cut diamond will fall out the other side and not reflect back to the top. Light striking a deep cut diamond will get lost in the pavilion and also be unable to reflect back to the top.
