Clarity

Diamonds are extracted from the crust of the earth and they naturally occur with flaws. Diamond clarity refers to the quality of diamonds relating to the existence of internal flaws called inclusions, or external flaws called blemishes. Inclusions can be classified as the presence of a foreign material or structural imperfections such as tiny cracks that can appear whitish or cloudy. Blemishes are the surface defects of a diamond such as chips, nicks, polish lines, grain boundaries etc. However, for grading purposes all flaws are called inclusions. The number, size, color, relative location and visibility of inclusions can all affect the relative clarity of a diamond. A clarity grade is assigned based on the overall appearance of the diamond under 10x magnification.

GIA's diamond grading scale is the industry standard for grading diamond clarity