The clarity of a diamond is the term used to describe the number and size of imperfections inside the stone. The fewer and smaller the inclusions, the more rare and valuable the diamond. Less than 1% of all diamonds ever found have no inclusions and can be called internally flawless (IF).

Unlike color that is often obvious to the eye, clarity grading is more subjective. A diamond may be graded from internally flawless to nearly the end of the GIA scale before an imperfection would be visible to the eye without magnification. Consequently, while clarity has a distinct effect on the value of a diamond, it often has a different impact on the beauty of the stone.

The standard for grading diamond clarity is 10-power (10X) magnification. If a trained expert can see nothing under 10x, then the diamond is given a grade of internally flawless (IF) based on the GIA grading scale. The GIA clarity grades are:

IF Internally Flawless	VVS-1 Very Very Slightly Included -1
VVS-2 Very Very Slightly Included -2	VS-1 Very Slightly Included -1
VS-2 Very Slightly Included -2	SI-1 Slightly Included -1
SI-2 Slightly Included - 2	I-1 Imperfect - 1

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Last modified: November 20, 2009