Clarity & grading, explained

Clarity grades describe the size, number, position, and visibility of inclusions and surface blemishes when the stone is viewed under 10x magnification. They do not describe colour, cut, or how a stone wears on the skin. A flawless ruby and an SI1 ruby of identical colour and proportion will look almost indistinguishable to the eye — but the certificate prices will differ by orders of magnitude.

The scale was standardised by the GIA for diamonds and is adapted by other labs for coloured stones. For coloured gemstones, clarity is read against the species — emeralds, for example, are graded against the expectation that almost every emerald contains a jardin (the French for "garden" — the lattice of inclusions specific to beryl). An emerald graded VS would be flawless by ruby standards.

FL (Flawless): no inclusions or blemishes at 10x. Extremely rare for coloured stones. Common in lab-grown.

IF (Internally Flawless): no internal inclusions at 10x; surface blemishes only. Effectively invisible.

VVS1 / VVS2 (Very Very Slightly Included): minute inclusions, difficult to see at 10x. Eye-clean.

VS1 / VS2 (Very Slightly Included): minor inclusions, somewhat easy to see at 10x. Almost always eye-clean.

SI1 / SI2 (Slightly Included): noticeable inclusions at 10x, sometimes visible to the eye. SI1 is typically eye-clean.

I1 / I2 / I3 (Included): inclusions obvious to the eye and may affect durability or transparency.

For most ring buyers, SI1 is the rational ceiling — anything cleaner is invisible difference for visible cost. For high-finish settings (halo, pavé, channel) inclusions are further hidden. We will recommend a lower clarity grade when the design hides it, and ask you to invest the savings in colour or cut instead. That is almost always the better trade.