What is the best clarity for diamond earrings?
One of the most common questions that I receive pertaining to diamond earrings is what clarity is best for diamond studs? There is not a clear cut answer to this question, however there are some basic schools of thought which might help you to determine which diamond clarity is best suited to your personal preferences. The picture above features our four prong, split-prong studs in 14k white gold which are a very popular setting choice for diamond stud earrings with our customers.
The I-1 Clarity Grade for Diamonds:
The majority of diamonds selected for diamond earrings promoted by the retail diamond trade at this time of year are I-1 clarity, which means that the inclusions or flaws within the diamond are readily visible without magnification from a distance of 9 – 12 inches. This is because the majority of retail jewelry stores compete on price and not the actual quality of the diamonds, or the visual performance which results from ideal proportions and superior optical symmetry.
While price is certainly a factor in the decision to buy one pair of diamond earrings over another, the quality of the diamonds being purchased is an equally important factor, just as the quality of any consumer product which we buy throughout the course of our daily lives is always a factor. If the most important factor when you buy a pair of diamond stud earrings is the visual size of the diamonds, then by all means select a pair which is comprised of diamonds which contain inclusions which will be readily visible without magnification. However if you don’t want the recipient to be able to locate the inclusions within the diamonds quickly without magnification, then select something a little higher in clarity, such as diamonds which are SI-2 or SI-1 in clarity, which is where I suggest you begin your search for matched pairs of diamonds for earrings.
The SI-2 Clarity Grade for Diamonds:
Diamonds in the SI-2 clarity grade, will generally contain inclusions which are visible without magnification when the diamonds are carefully scrutinized from a distance of 9 – 12 inches, however those inclusions tend to be more difficult to locate, especially within diamonds cut to proportions which are optimized to produce higher levels of light return, and make the diamond appear brighter, than diamonds which are cut to proportions which are not ideal.
The diamonds featured within the Brian Gavin Signature and Brian Gavin Blue collections, are all cut to zero ideal cut proportions with an overall cut grade of AGS Ideal-0, which is based on individual grades of AGS Ideal for polish, symmetry, proportions and light performance. In my experience, it is more difficult to locate the inclusions within these diamonds, than it is to locate inclusions within diamonds which are not cut to ideal standards for diamond cut quality.
An excellent example of a great pair of SI-2 clarity diamonds for earrings, are the two diamonds which comprise this pair of one carat total weight, SI-2 clarity, H-color, diamonds for earrings, which consist of two round brilliant ideal cut Brian Gavin Signature round diamonds weighing 0.515 and 0.518 carats each, which are SI-2 in clarity and H in color. The high resolution clarity photograph and three dimensional video provided on the diamond details page for each diamond will enable you to get an idea as to how minimal the inclusions are within each diamond. I think that you will be able to clearly see why the SI-2 clarity grade is an excellent choice for diamond stud earrings, because it enables you to maximize the visible carat weight of the diamond without sacrificing visual performance.
The SI-1 Clarity Grade for Diamonds:
The majority of diamonds which are graded SI-1 in clarity will appear to be “eye clean” when viewed from a distance of 9 -12 inches, however some will contain inclusions which are visible within that distance to people with exceptional vision. Diamonds with a clarity grade of SI-1 will generally contain inclusions which are readily and immediately visible when the diamond is viewed through 10x and higher magnification, such as when they are viewed through a 10x diamond grading loupe, which is the industry standard for grading diamond clarity. The abbreviation “SI” stands for Slightly Included.
Brian Gavin Signature and Brian Gavin Blue diamonds which are SI-1 and SI-2 in clarity are an extremely popular choice with our customers because they offer exceptional brightness and visual performance, while enabling them to purchase diamonds of larger carat weight. The fact that an inclusion or two might be visible without magnification is not a critical factor since the diamonds are going to be worn up in the ears where the inclusions will be more difficult to see. The same premise holds true for diamond engagement rings which are a moving target on people’s hands… while the person wearing the ring might be aware of an inclusion or two that is visible to them if they scrutinize the diamond closely with an awareness of what to look for, what most people tend to focus upon is the brightness, sparkle factor, and overall size.
In order to provide you with a means of comparing price between the SI-2 and SI-1 clarity grades, I used the matched diamonds search option on the Brian Gavin web site, to locate this matched pair of one carat total weight, SI-1 clarity, H-color diamonds for earrings, which cost about a thousand dollars more than the pair of SI-2 clarity diamonds mentioned previously. This pair of matched diamonds consists of two Brian Gavin Signature round diamonds weighing 0.566 and 0.571 carats each, which are both SI-1 in clarity and H in color.
The VS-2 and VS-1 Clarity Grades for Diamonds:
If you want to ensure that the diamonds which you select for diamond earrings are going to be eye clean from a distance of 9 – 12 inches from a top down perspective, which is the vantage point that diamonds are graded for clarity, then select something in the Very Slightly included grades of VS-2 or VS-1. Diamonds in the VS clarity grades will contain inclusions with appear to be “very slight” when the diamonds are viewed through 10x magnification, as such they tend to be completely eye clean to the majority of people.
There are quite a few options available from Brian Gavin in terms of matched pairs of diamonds which are VS-2 and VS-1 in clarity, obviously the majority of them are going to be more expensive than the SI-2 and SI-1 clarity options mentioned previously. However I want to focus on this matched pair of one carat total weight, VS-2 clarity, H color diamonds for earrings, which cost a little less than the SI-1 clarity pair mentioned above because they are from the Brian Gavin Blue collection of diamonds with blue fluorescence. Although diamonds with blue fluorescence tend to look the same as diamonds with negligible fluorescence when they are viewed under normal lighting conditions, a discount is applied to them due to the residual effect of the decision of an investment group from Asia deciding to omit them from parcels of diamonds which they were selling to investors in the 1970’s, from my perspective the presence of fluorescence enables you to buy a little more diamond for your money.
The VVS-2 and VVS-1 Clarity Grades for Diamonds:
The higher you go in clarity, the more difficult the inclusions within a diamond will be using 10x magnification. Diamonds in the VVS clarity grades contain inclusions which are “Very Very Slight” and thus most people will be hard pressed to locate the inclusions within a VVS clarity diamond using just a standard 10x diamond grading loupe. Unfortunately we did not have a matched pair of VVS clarity diamonds for earrings within this weight category when I searched this morning, but I did not check to see what we might have in production or clearing the American Gem Society Laboratory for grading.
Which Diamond Clarity should you choose for earrings?
The decision to choose one diamond clarity over another is primarily a matter of personal preference. Hopefully the explanations and examples of options available in different combinations of clarity and colors above will help you determined which diamond clarity is best for you. Be sure to contact us if you would like additional assistance selecting a pair of diamond stud earrings.
