What Is The Best Clarity And Color For A Diamond

It s completely understandable because most of us only pay attention to the carat size of the diamond and the cut.

What is the best clarity and color for a diamond.

S1 slightly included is a good clarity rating with vs2 very slightly included being very good and vs1 considered excellent. Clarity matters much more than color when the diamond is going to be set in a yellow gold setting which can absorb the yellowish tints in a low grade stone and make it look whiter in contrast to the gold. In general brilliant cuts are better at hiding color in a diamond than step cuts. For example look at this 1 carat vs2 clarity excellent cut d color round brilliant cut diamond from james allen.

For color d or completely colorless diamond is the highest grade. Fl or flawless is the highest grade for clarity. Evaluating diamond clarity involves determining the number size relief nature and position of these characteristics as well as how these affect the overall appearance of the stone. While a d color diamond is undoubtedly the best in terms of color the difference in price between a d color diamond and a diamond with a lower color grade but near identical appearance can often be huge.

Diamond color is graded according to the gia grading scale. The most common diamond color is yellow. You can find color grade suggestions for each diamond shape and type of metal in our diamond shape guide. While flawless and colorless diamonds are extremely rare cut determines a diamond s true value.

However diamonds with clarity graded below si1 si2 are very likely to have visible flaws. Likewise colored metals such as rose and yellow gold are better at hiding a diamond s color than metals such as white gold and platinum. In sum to save as much money as possible and still end up with a diamond that looks colorless and clean focus on stones with h color and si1 clarity. Most diamonds have a slight hint of yellow and the diamond color scale is based on the amount of yellow present in a diamond.

When it comes to picking out an engagement ring deciding which diamond clarity is best is likely low on your list of priorities. Clarity ranges from f for flawless an exceptionally rare diamond to i1 and i2 for diamonds that have visible flaws. If you are trying to determine what is the best clarity for a diamond remember that no diamond is perfectly pure.