They say that on a clear day, you can see forever. That’s pretty much the way it is with a diamond. The clearer it is, all the better to see more brilliance and dazzle. The clarity of a diamond is what lets the light in – and the better the clarity, the more light gets in and the more light is reflected and refracted out.

Diamond Rings and 100% Diamond Clarity

Can a diamond ever be totally clear? One imagines not. Even if it does seem that way with some diamonds, there will always be tiny specks of impurities that might not be visible to the naked eye. These are also called inclusions and they could be any specks of dirt of dust that have got trapped within the stone.

Diamond Rings and the Specks in Them

Each diamond is unique and each speck in it is probably unique as well. Where do these specks come from? They could be natural in that there could be a natural opening in the stone – miniscule maybe but still there. Or it could be a fissure or a crack caused due to the intense pressure that firms the diamond. Finally, it could be trapped specks of dust, dirt or minerals. All these contribute to the lowering of clarity in a diamond and the more clear it is, the smaller or fewer the specks in the diamond.

Diamond Rings and Clarity Pricing

Many of the diamonds that are mined from the earth’s interiors have specks that you can see with the naked eye. This is why the ones that rate high on the clarity factor are priced higher. It is rare indeed to find diamonds that appear without any flaws when it comes to clarity. Rare diamonds are classified as SI1, the SI standing for ‘small inclusions’ which are visible only when the diamond is magnified ten times. This makes it appear quite flawless to the naked eye and so it will be priced higher. Thanks to the impurities trapping some of the light and not letting the diamond shine to its full potential, any diamond where the specks are visible to the naked eye will naturally cost less. Right on top of the diamond pyramid when it comes to pricing are the VVS or the ones with very, very small inclusions.

If you are buying a diamond, it might be a good idea to buy a smaller stone with very few inclusions than a larger one which has a lot of specks. From an investment point of view, this makes a lot more sense and you will find that from an appearance point of view too, the ones with hardly any inclusions are the ones that will shine brighter. Size really would be subservient to overall quality in a diamond.