Another guide to Engagement Rings.

Welcome to volume 3 of the Men's Engagement Ring Handbook. Now we're going to talk about Diamond Clarity, this is one of tricky parts and one of the most important. Besides carat weight, clarity of a stone is the biggest factor in determining price.

Basically, clarity is the amount of "junk" in the stone. ALL stones have some type of inclusion, scratches from settings, "white marks" or bubbles etcetera. What jewelers are concerned with is under 10x Magnification, but a stone that is rated IF (Internally Flawless) will have SOMETHING that can be seen under 30x or higher magnification.

Most importantly, clarity of a stone impacts the light refraction. The reason a diamond sparkles as it does is that light goes in, and gets shot back out due to the cut, so a diamond with few inclusions can absorb and return more light. Black inclusions trap light on the way in, and on the way back out which hurts the brilliance, the other types can dull the light on the way in and out. Obviously the black carbon spots are the worst types, but having a lot of white "feathers" or "bubbles" can be an issue as well. ALWAYS check a diamond out with the jeweller's Loupe or better yet a GEMSCOPE.

Clarity is also a consideration in the durability of the stone. Generally though, a stone with an I-1 rating or better will be pretty tough. A stone with a lot of carbon-made black marks, bubbles or a fissure is more likely to break and is probably going to be lower rated.

Another factor in clarity grading is where the inclusions ARE in the stone. As you can see in the image above, stones are also rated due to the position of the inclusions. This is due to the fact that an inclusion away from the center will hurt light refraction significantly less than an inclusion in the middle of the stone.

The scale itself:

I-3 to I-1 - Included. Inclusions can be seen without the help of magnification. I-3 and I-2 have inclusions which can compromise durability.

SI2-SI1- Slightly Included. Inclusions not obvious to the naked eye, but can be seen. Does not affect durability.

VS2 - VS1 - Very Slightly Included. Rather easy to see under 10x Magnification.

VVS2- VVS1- Very Very Slightly Included. A jeweler or diamontologist can see very small inclusions, but most laypeople would not.

IF - Internally flawless. No flaws can be seen under 10x Magnification

FL- Flawless. Impossible to grade a set stone as Flawless because the setting will scratch the stone invariably in some way.

I will cover Carat Weight in the next installment of the Engagement Ring Handbook for Men. Stay tuned! If you have any questions, please post them.

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