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How free of imperfections do you want your diamond to be? Mother Nature has put a unique fingerprint on each diamond. It's what makes them beautiful. These internal characteristics are called inclusions. The presence or absence of blemishes, inclusions or flaws determines the clarity of a diamond. The fewer inclusions a diamond has, the more valuable it is. The inclusions cannot be viewed with a naked eye, only with a "loupe", which is a ten power (10x) magnification. The beauty of a diamond is not affected by the inclusion, but the inclusion reduces the price. The less noticeable the birthmarks in a diamond, the rarer it is. Because flawless diamonds are so rare, you will pay a premium for them. Diamonds are typically graded from internally flawless to imperfect. |
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| F |
Flawless diamond, free of blemishes and inclusions. |
| IF |
Internally Flawless diamond, free of inclusions but may have minor external blemishes which hardly can be viewed under less than 10X magnification. |
| VVS1, VVS2 |
Very, Very Slightly Included diamond, having minor inclusions or blemishes which can only be viewed under 10X magnification. |
| VS1, VS2 |
Very Slightly Included diamond, having small inclusions or blemishes which can be viewed under 10X magnification. |
| SI1, SI2, SI3 |
Slightly Included diamond, having inclusions or blemishes that can be viewed under 10X magnification. The diamond can be called "eye clean", which means the flaws are invisible to the naked eye. |
| I1, I2, I3 |
Imperfect diamond, having inclusions or blemishes that are visible to the naked eye. |
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