Diamond Clarity

The second of the 4 Cs of diamonds is Clarity. Clarity is a measure of internal defects of a diamond called inclusions. Inclusions may be crystals of a foreign material or another diamond crystal, or structural imperfections such as tiny cracks that can appear whitish or cloudy. The number, size, color, relative location, orientation, and visibility of inclusions can all affect the relative clarity of a diamond. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and others have developed systems to grade clarity, which are generally based on those inclusions which are visible to a trained professional when a diamond is viewed from above under 10x magnification.

Symbol	Meaning	Definition
F	Flawless	Free from all inclusions or blemishes.
IF	Internally Flawless	No inclusions visible at 10x magnification.
VVS1	Very Very Slightly Included #1	Inclusions that are extremely difficult to locate at 10x.
VVS2	Very Very Slightly Included #2	Inclusions that are very difficult to locate at 10x.
VS1	Very Slightly Included #1	Minor inclusions that are difficult to locate at 10x.
VS2	Very Slightly Included #2	Minor inclusions that are somewhat difficult to locate at 10x.
SI1	Slightly Included #1	Noticeable inclusions that are easy to locate at 10x.
Sl2	Slightly Included #2	Noticeable inclusion that are very easy to locate at 10x.
I1	Included #1	Obvious inclusions. Somewhat easy to locate with the unaided eye.
I2	Included #2	Obvious inclusions. Easy to locate with the unaided eye.
I3	Included #3	Obvious inclusions. Very easy to locate with the unaided eye.

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