Diamonds are created when carbon is exposed to tremendous heat and pressure deep down in the earth. Unlike lab-created diamonds, at least 99% of naturally occurring diamonds exhibit characteristics or flaws that jewelers refer to as inclusions or blemishes.

Inclusions describe the internal characteristics of the diamond and blemishes refer to external flaws. Both affect the diamond clarity grade.

However, not all flaws are alike. When grading a diamond’s clarity there are five grading factors that jewelers consider, that is the size, number, position, nature and color & relief of the flaws.

For instance, some inclusion and blemishes are so small that you can hardly see them, whereas other, larger ones, are visible to the naked eye. Visible inclusions generally lead to a lower clarity grade of a diamond.

What many people don’t know is that the cut of a diamond, as well as the size of the inclusions and blemishes, play an important role in the resulting overall look of the diamond. Because it can very well happen that a lower graded diamond looks better to the naked eye than a higher graded diamond. 

You can find a diamond clarity scale below:

Clarity Grades And Clarity Characteristics:

FL Clarity Diamonds – No visible inclusions and blemishes even under 10x magnitude. Less than 1% of all diamonds are FL clarity. Superb clarity grade, very expensive.

IF Clarity Diamonds – No visible inclusions even under 10x magnitude. Some small surface blemishes may be visible. Superb clarity grade, very expensive.

VVS1 & VVS2 Clarity Diamonds – VVS1 diamonds have minor inclusions that are difficult to spot even under a 10x magnification. VVS2 clarity diamonds have slightly more inclusions than the VVS1 grade. Excellent clarity grade, yet still pricy.

VS1 & VS2 Clarity Diamonds – VS1 diamonds have minor inclusions that can only be seen under a 10x magnification but are not visible to the naked eye. VS2 diamonds may have minor visible inclusions that are visible to the naked eye, depending on the diamond cut (e.g. emerald cut diamonds. Good value for the price.