4Cs Clarity

Diamond clarity describes the natural characteristics visible within or on a diamond. Understanding clarity grades helps you compare stones thoughtfully while balancing appearance, rarity, and value.

Clarity refers to the presence of inclusions or imperfections within a diamond. Inclusions materialize within a diamond when tiny particles of gas, metal and dust are caught inside the structure as it grows. Blemishes affect the surface of the gem.

Diamonds with large inclusions and blemishes have poor clarity. Diamonds with small (or no) inclusions or blemishes have good clarity. The position, size and visibility of inclusions can have a huge impact on its clarity and price.

It’s important to note though: clarity has nothing to do with the brilliance and sparkle of a diamond. What could affect a stone’s sparkle factor is cut, which you can read more about in our guide to diamond cut.

Clarity can impact the price of a diamond, which tends to be a top consideration for most diamond buyers. Only the most rare and expensive diamonds have no inclusions at all. Understanding where the real value sits on the scale is what saves you money.

A more affordable way to get diamonds with little to no visible inclusions is to go lab-grown. Lab-grown diamonds still have inclusions, but high clarity grades are far easier to find at a sensible price, which is why Ronora is able to hold a VVS-VS standard across the whole collection rather than only on its most expensive pieces.

No two diamonds are the same. It is worth examining a stone closely before buying it, and the IGI report is the tool that lets you do that. The plot on the certificate shows exactly where every inclusion sits. If inclusions are located in the table of a diamond, they will generally be easier to see. Even a small one in the wrong place could change your ring’s appearance.

Keep in mind that inclusions and blemishes may not be visible to the naked eye and only under the close inspection of a trained diamond-grader. Even if a trained eye were to find inclusions using a loupe, what matters most is that the stone is eye-clean. Many times, inclusions that are visible under a loupe are not visible to the naked eye.

A diamond that is 'eye-clean' is one that has no imperfections visible to the naked eye. For most buyers that is the honest minimum to aim for, and much of the market will tell you to buy the cheapest eye-clean stone you can find, often an SI1.

Ronora starts much higher than that. We work down a short ladder and stop at the first grade we can source: VVS1, then VVS2, and VS1 only when neither VVS grade is available. We never stock VS2, SI or I. That is well above eye-clean, and it means you never have to gamble on where an inclusion happens to sit.

The distinction matters most on low-sparkle shapes. Step cuts like the Asscher and emerald have wide open facets that hide nothing, so clarity has to be high. Brilliant cuts such as the round or princess break light up quickly and are far more forgiving.

If your cut is poor, it doesn’t matter how clean the diamond is. It’ll look lifeless and crummy. Cut is the one of the 4Cs that decides whether a stone is beautiful, which is why every Ronora diamond is Excellent cut before clarity is even discussed.

If you are choosing a Ronora diamond, get in touch with us for advice on a specific stone. For a diamond of one carat or more, we will send you its IGI report before you commit, and we can talk through how a prong or bezel setting sits in relation to the plot.