VVS diamond is a stone with Very Very Slight inclusions, while the VS diamonds are those with Very Slight inclusions. Having a clear idea about this distinction would really offer you help in purchasing your diamond ring in a much smarter way.

VVS Diamond and VS Diamond Comparison

An important point to remember while purchasing a diamond is to always buy GIA certified diamonds. If you have already started your research on diamonds, you may certainly have come across the 4 C’s of diamonds: color, clarity, cut, and carat. Furthermore, you may also have found the direct relation of these qualities and the size of the diamond to its price range.

It is far more difficult to find a larger diamond with good color and clarity, and thus, they are more expensive. The changes in grades of the stone play an important role in the price ranges of smaller diamonds as well, even a slight difference in the grade could have a large impact on the price of the diamond.

Both VVS diamond and VS diamond have subcategories, which includes the VVS1 and VVS2, and VS1 and VS2. This is actually the difference in clarity that could be visualized if the face of the stone is truly analyzed or if it is examined under a 10x magnification.

The difference in clarity between the VVS and VS cannot really be determined with the unaided eye. Besides, VVS diamonds are comparatively more expensive than VS diamonds; there is a significant difference of about 30% between the prices of these stones. In fact, it is the price difference, that makes it important to learn more about the differences between these two clarity grades.

Blemishes and Inclusions

The clarity of diamond signifies the imperfections in both the internal and external surface of the diamond. The clarity makes each diamond unique. The clarity characteristic of the diamond is at times also referred to as marks or flaws.

You would be able to find two types of clarity characteristic, which are inclusions and blemishes. The blemish makes up all the external imperfections found in the stone, which could include the leftovers from the original crystal surface, extra facets, scratches on facet junctions, and polish lines. On the contrary, an inclusion is the internal imperfection found within the stone; it could be either confined inside the diamond or extended from the surface.

The inclusions commonly found in a diamond are clouds, feathers, pinpoints, crystals, needles, indented naturals, or internal grading. The key thing to note here is that where blemishes would influence only two clarity categories of the diamond, which includes Flawless and Internally Flawless, inclusions could influence all the clarity grades of the diamond.

It is very hard to find a diamond without any clarity characteristics. From this, you could understand that the diamonds with smaller inclusions would be more costly than those having larger inclusions. This is what makes the VVS diamond more expensive than the VS diamonds.

GIA Grading for Clarity

The GIA system for clarity grading usually makes use of the 10x standard magnification for finding the diamond clarity. However, GIA graders would make use of the increased magnification along with their well-trained eyes for examining the diamond. The final clarity grade is made with reference to what the grader could see using a standard 10x jeweler’s eyepiece.

After determining the clarity grade, the focus of the grader would be shifted to five other factors.

• Size:The size of the inclusion or blemish directly influence the clarity grade of the diamond, because the larger the blemish or inclusion there are chances for making it more visible.
• Number:As the number of inclusions or blemishes increases it would become more visible when looking on the face of the diamond using a 10x magnification, and hence, they greatly influence the clarity grade of the diamond.
• Location:Thecloseness of the inclusion to the table of the diamond also makes a great impact on the clarity grade of the diamond.
• Relief:This factor is determined by comparing inclusion or blemish with the diamond. The clarity of the diamond would vary based on the color, darkness, and brightness of the diamond, and thus, affect the clarity grade.
• Nature: While considering this factor, the diamond grader would take a closer look at how much the inclusion or blemish affects the appearance of the diamond. The greater it affects the clarity of the stone, the more it would affect the clarity grade.

In VVS diamonds, there would be microscopic inclusions and it ranges from VVS1 (exceedingly difficult) to VVS2 (very difficult) to see using a 10x magnification. This means that the VVS inclusions are not visible to the naked eye. In the case of VS diamonds, it would have small inclusions ranging from VS1 (difficult) to VS2 (somewhat easy) to when checked using 10x magnification. The inclusions in VS diamonds would be visible to the eye on rare occasions.

You can easily search for GIA certified diamonds online.  You can filter diamonds by price, clarity, size, shape, and many other qualities ensuring you find the exact diamond you are searching for, no matter how picky the one who will be wearing it can be.