Extremely rare flawless diamonds do exist but the vast majority of naturally mined diamonds have imperfections or inclusions, including tiny feathers, scratches, trace minerals and other characteristics that may impair the clarity of the stone.
Although not the only aspect affecting the sparkle of a diamond, when the clarity is poor light will not travel well through the stone making it look dull, cloudy or simply have visible eye sores.
Flawless diamonds (FL, IF) may be the rarest and most expensive of all diamonds, however a diamond with imperfections visible only under magnification will be the best value for money and will not detract from its beauty.
Such “eye clear” diamonds range from SI2 upwards and are recommended for the buyer looking for the very best value for money without compromising on the look or size of the stone.
Use your mouse to HOVER OVER each diamond to see how it looks to the naked eye and under a 10x loupe:
Diamond clarity is graded as follows:
| FL, IF | Flawless, Internally flawless |
| VVS1, VVS2 | Very, very slightly included. Completely clear to the naked eye and very difficult to locate inclusions under 10x magnification. |
| VS1, VS2 | Very slightly included. Eye clear diamonds with inclusions visible under 10x magnification. |
| SI1, SI2 | Slightly included. Eye clear diamonds with inclusions easily visible under 10x magnification. |
| I1, I2, I3 | Included. Visible inclusions to the unaided eye |
