In this blog post, we'll be diving deep into what each diamond clarity means. This includes what they will look like and if they will or will not hit on testers (as well as what testers they will or will not hit on). The diamond clarity spectrum ranges from CZ (cubic zirconia) to Flawless diamonds. Let's start with CZ.
CUBIC ZIRCONIA (CZ):
CZ (or cubic zirconia) are often classified as "fake" diamonds. CZ diamonds are synthetic, meaning that they have been lab-created, mostly manufactured in China or cheap wholesale distributions such as "DHGATE" or "ALIBHABA," many times from a mixture of glass or plastic, to give the diamond look. Much of today's jewelry is created with CZ stones as demand is sky-high and natural diamond supply grows smaller, in addition to COVID-19 putting holds on diamond cutting & mining. CZ is also a much cheaper option, so your diamonds will still look good at a much cheaper price. However, at Johnny's Ice and Co. we limit the amount of CZ products that we keep in our store, and prefer to go with a SI diamonds instead, which we will discuss next.
SI DIAMONDS:
SI diamonds, without a Sub-grade, are classified as Simulated diamonds. SI diamonds are created in a lab through a mixture of moissanite and Lab created diamonds. These diamonds will not test positive on a high-grade earth-mined diamond testers, simply because they are a mixture of moissanite and lab, so an earth-mined tester will not test them as positive. However, on the black testers (or any tester that is not an earth-mined tester) these diamonds will test positive, which is the trend of what people want nowadays. Also, these are still a cheaper option than natural diamonds, so they are still very popular in the jewelry community.
I1 / I2 DIAMONDS:
Starting off the natural diamonds with the lowest grade, I clarity diamonds are usually cut in much smaller sizes and don't shine as well as a SI1 or SI2 diamond. I clarity diamonds stand for included, meaning the black inclusions in the diamonds are very prominent. As we go through the diamond clarities these inclusions will become less and less. I clarity diamonds have a slightly cloudy appearance, and are usually used in smaller projects like earrings, small pendants, and rings. With that being said, I clarity diamonds still have value in the sense that they are natural diamonds, and are priced higher than Simulated diamonds.
SI1 / SI2 DIAMONDS:
SI1 and SI2 diamonds are sub-grades of Slightly Included Diamonds. SI1, being the higher-graded option, shine better, have higher value, and have a positive difference as it pertains to inclusions as opposed to SI2 diamonds. These diamonds are Earth-mined, and are commonly used in our GRILLZ and some custom pendant projects. All diamond testers will test these diamonds as positive, since they are pure and earth-mined. These diamonds are used by distributions across the globe and are very popular amongst the jewelry community.
VS1 / VS2 DIAMONDS:
VS clarity diamonds are our most popular choice. Standing for Very Slightly (in terms of inclusions) they shine harder than SI1, and overall just look like a much more clear diamond. VS1 and VS2 diamonds are very popular in terms of OUR custom jewelry production, and is always what we recommend. These diamonds always hit on all testers, earth-mined or regular Walmart testers.
VVS DIAMONDS:
Very Very Slightly (in terms of inclusions), these diamonds are almost as perfect as they come. Everyone wants VVS: it's the trendy thing nowadays. One major thing to keep in mind is that with the quality of these diamonds, price has to be factored in. By no means are these diamonds cheap, but you pay for the pure quality of these diamonds. With almost no inclusions, these diamonds hit and shine different. Just like with SI1/SI2 and VS1/VS2 these diamonds hit on all testers, and are most prominent in urban cities and high-spending areas.
FLAWLESS:
Flawless diamonds have no visible inclusions. Not to the naked eye, and not at 10x magnification. Obviously, just like the sub-graded clarities before this, these diamonds test positive on all testers. This is the RAREST type of diamond you can find. Whilst all diamonds have some form of inclusion due to extreme conditions during formation, with flawless diamond you would need 60X magnification or even 100X magnification to see them. With that in mind, these diamonds are far-and-away the most expensive.