CLARITY: Clarity is an indication of a diamond's purity. It is the term used to describe quite literally the clearness or lack of flaws in a diamond. All diamonds have some, naturally occurring marks in them, which may or may not be visible to the naked eye. These are known as imperfections or inclusions. In all diamonds, except the most rare, tiny traces of minerals, gasses, or other elements were trapped inside during the crystallization process. These are called inclusions, but are more like birthmarks. They are called this because they are "included" in the diamond! They may look like tiny crystals, clouds, or feathers and they're what make each diamond different and unique. Many of these birthmarks are not visible to the naked eye. In fact, it is very rare to find a diamond that is completely clean to the expert eye using magnification. The clarity of a diamond is graded by how many, how big and how visible the inclusions are. The fewer and smaller the inclusions, the more rare and valuable the diamond. Less than 1% of all diamonds ever found have had no inclusions and can be called internally flawless (IF).

The following are abbreviations for terms that are used world wide to describe the clarity of a diamond:

IF,V VS1,V VS2: Internally flawless or near flawless. Impossible to extremely difficult to find any inclusions, even under 10x magnification. IF is Internally Flawless, and VVS1 and VVS2 are "Very, very slightly included".

VS1,VS2: 100% clean to the naked eye, and moderately difficult to very difficult to find inclusions with 10x magnification. VS1 and VS2 are "Very slightly included".

SI1, SI2, SI3: Should be completely to almost completely clear to the naked eye (eye clean) when viewed from the top. Fairly easy to find imperfections with 10x magnification. SI diamonds are "Slightly included".

I1, I2, I3: Borderline "eye clean" to fairly easy to find imperfections with the naked eye. Very easy to find imperfections with 10x magnification. I1 through I3 diamonds are said to be "included".