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What You Should Know About Clarity and Weights of Diamonds
By James Ellison
Clarity is an important feature of a diamond, and it is noteworthy to know how to grade the
clarity of a diamond prior to purchasing one. It is really quite simple to learn how to grade the clarity of a diamond. There are fundamentally two things that you must understand. Diamonds with visual inclusions and flaws, and those that are eye clean implying that there are no inclusions or flaws that can be seen with the naked eye. And then the clarity of a diamond is further analyzed into subclasses.
Some people erroneously believe that diamond clarity pertains to how clear it is. This is not so. Clarity really pertains to the internal and external defects of the diamond. The best diamonds, as might be expected, get a grade of FL or IF, Flawless or Internally Flawless, this means that it is perfect. A grade of I-1, I-2 or I-3 signifies that the diamond is imperfect, with a grade of I-3 being the most defective.
Other grades are VVS1 and VVS2, which means that the diamond is very, very slightly defective. VS1 and VS2, meaning the diamond is very slightly imperfect; SI-1 and SI-2, which means that the diamond is slightly imperfect.
About Diamond Weights
Diamonds are graded in Carat Weight. One carat weighs 200 milligrams. If a diamond is mentioned to as four grains, this in addition means that it is a one carat diamond. The word carob is the basis for the word Carat. A carob that grows on a tree in the Mediterranean is a bean . Years ago, if a diamond weighed as much as a carob bean, it was one carob, or one carat.
Yet, in the far east, where Carob trees don't grow, rice was utilized to measure the weight of a diamond. If a diamond weighed the same as four grains of rice, it was four grains or one carat as we recognize it to be today. The bulk of diamond buys are for diamonds that are one third of a carat.
Be alert when browsing for diamonds that have been set or mounted. If many diamonds are used in the piece, the label on the jewelry will give the CTW or Carat Total Weight. It doesn't tell you the carat weight of each stone in the piece. You need to ask the jeweler for the whole carat weight of the biggest diamond in the piece to really understand what you are purchasing.
About the Author
Jim's articles are from extensive research on each of his topics. You can learn more of diamonds by visiting:
Diamonds
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