When you walk into a jewelry store and see all the diamonds in all of the various settings that are for sale, it is difficult to realize that
diamonds are indeed rare. Most people don’t even stop to consider how that diamond came to be sitting in that jeweler’s case! There is quite a bit of work that is done before a diamond is ready to sell to the general public!
For every one million diamonds that are mined, only one will be found that is a quality one caret diamond. In order to find a two
caret diamond, about five million diamonds must be mined. More than two hundred tons of ore must be mined to find one small
diamond, and even then, more than 80% of the diamonds that are mined are only good for industrial use, such as diamond
drill bits.
So, the next time you visit your local jewelry store, ask to see the one carat diamonds. You should look at this diamond with new
appreciation – knowing that it truly is one in a million!
Clarity is an important aspect of a diamond, and it is important to know how to grade the clarity of a diamond before you buy one. It is
actually quite easy to learn how to grade the clarity of a diamond. There are basically two things that you must understand: Diamonds
with visual inclusions and blemishes, and those that are ‘eye clean’ meaning that there are no inclusions or blemishes that can be
seen with the naked eye. From there, the clarity of a diamond is further broken down into subcategories.
Many people mistakenly think that diamond clarity refers to how clear it is. This isn’t so. Clarity actually refers to the internal and
external imperfections of the diamond. The best diamonds, of course get a grade of FL or IF – Flawless or Internally Flawless –
meaning that it is perfect. A grade of I-1, I-2 or I-3 means that the diamond is imperfect, with a grade of I-3 being the worst.
Other grades are VVS1 and VVS2, which means that the diamond is very, very slightly imperfect; VS1 and VS2, meaning the
diamond is very slightly imperfect; SI-1 and SI-2, which means that the diamond is slightly imperfect.