Diamond Education
Color
| Clarity
| Cut | Carat
Weight | Shape
Diamond
Clarity
Diamonds form naturally deep within the Earth under tremendous pressure and
extreme heat, and as a result, most contain internal or external features even
in their polished state called clarity characteristics. Just as no two people
are alike, we all have individual traits, no two diamonds are alike, they have
"fingerprints" or "birthmarks". A diamond's clarity is
effectively determined by viewing the gem using 10 power magnification under
controlled lighting. GIA uses 11 clarity grades ranging from "Flawless, VVS
(Very, Very, Small), VS (Very Small), SI (Slightly Included), to I (Included).
Generally clarity characteristics cannot be seen to the unaided eye until
reaching the lower SI to I grades.
The vast majority of diamonds offered by Mansfield Designs are SI grades or
rarer in quality. Therefore, in the grades sold on this site, clarity is a
rarity factor that affects the price, but seldom affects the visual beauty of
the diamond. One should note that in selecting an Emerald Cut diamond vs. a
Round Brilliant Cut, the facet arrangement of the Emerald Cut makes the clarity
features much more noticeable to the eye; therefore, most consumers select a
higher rarer clarity grade when choosing such a shape.
The diagram showing the left margin is the view of a round diamond visually
depicts the range in clarity. The internal characteristics or inclusions shown
in red are not the actual size, but are used to demonstrate how they would
appear under magnification. Remember, the clarity features are not readily
visible to the unaided eye until the SI2-I3 clarity ranges.
Mansfield Design does not sell diamonds graded less than I1 by AGS or GIA
diamond grading laboratories.
Carbon Spot
This is a false and misleading term. Correctly, a dark-appearing inclusion, is
generally not uncrystallized carbon. Diamond is 99.95% pure carbon. Over 25
mineral inclusions have been found inside diamonds. Interestingly, the most
common mineral inside diamonds is, in fact, minute diamond crystals within the
"host" diamond.
Color
| Clarity
| Cut | Carat
Weight | Shape
|