Ask ten people what makes a diamond beautiful and almost all of them will say the same thing: the sparkle. Nobody says “the absence of a microscopic crystal I could only find with a magnifying glass”. And yet that is exactly what you pay extra for when you move from VS1 up to VVS2, VVS1 or even flawless.
We get this question a lot, usually phrased as “Should we go for VVS to be on the safe side?”. It is a fair question, and it deserves an honest answer rather than an upsell. So here it is: for a lab-grown diamond, clarity above VS1 is money spent on something you will never see. Here is why, and where your budget makes a real difference instead.
What clarity actually measures
Almost every diamond, whether it formed underground or in a laboratory, carries small traces of how it grew: a pinpoint crystal, a faint feather, a soft cloud. Gemologists call them inclusions. The clarity grade does not describe how beautiful a diamond is. It describes how easy it is for a trained grader to find those traces when looking at the stone face up under a 10x loupe.
◆ BEUSÉA standard: VS1
The clarity scale used by GIA and IGI. From VS1 upwards, every diamond looks the same to the eye – you only pay for a difference under the loupe.
Look closely at where the line falls. VS stands for “very slightly included”: the grader can find the inclusions under 10x magnification, but only with effort. VVS means “very, very slightly included”: even under the loupe they are hard to locate. With the naked eye, a VS1, a VVS2 and a VVS1 diamond look exactly the same. Not similar. The same.
The loupe test
Any good jeweller can show you this in a minute. Place a VS1 and a VVS1 diamond of the same cut next to each other and look at them from 20 centimetres, which is about the closest anyone ever looks at a ring. You will not be able to tell which is which. Now hand an experienced grader a 10x loupe. They will need good light, a steady hand and a little patience to find the tiny inclusion in the VS1. In the VVS1, they may need even more.
That is the whole difference. It exists, it is printed on the report, and it is invisible in the life your ring will actually live.
Clarity above VS1 is a line on a certificate. Cut is what people see across the table.
Why it matters even less with lab-grown diamonds
With natural diamonds, higher clarity grades are rare, and rarity has always been part of their price and their story. Lab-grown diamonds are grown under carefully controlled conditions, so very high clarity grades are far less exceptional. The price steps between VS1, VVS2 and VVS1 still exist, but they no longer buy you anything rare or anything visible. You simply pay more for the same look.
What you really see: the cut
When a friend says “your ring is sparkling”, they are reacting to the cut. A diamond is a small machine for light. Light enters through the top, bounces between the facets and, if the angles are right, comes back out towards your eye. If the angles are wrong, it leaks out of the bottom and the stone looks glassy or dark in the centre.
- Proportions – the depth of the pavilion, the angle of the crown and the size of the table decide whether light is returned or lost.
- Symmetry – when every facet lines up with its neighbour, the reflections form a crisp, even pattern instead of a messy one.
- Polish – a perfect finish keeps every flash sharp and bright.
Together they create the three things you notice: brilliance (bright white light), fire (flashes of rainbow colour) and scintillation (the sparkle that dances when you move). Clarity plays no visible part in any of them at VS1 and above.
A simple example
Imagine two round lab-grown diamonds of 1.5 carats, both colour D, both beautifully white. You can only afford one:
| Diamond A | Diamond B | |
|---|---|---|
| Clarity | VVS1 | VS1 |
| Cut | Very good | Excellent |
| To the naked eye | Clean | Clean |
| In daylight and candlelight | Pleasant sparkle | Brighter, crisper, livelier |
| Where the money goes | Into an invisible clarity grade | Into the cut you see every day |
Diamond B is the one people will notice, compliment and ask about. Diamond A has the better line on its certificate. We know which one we would rather wear.
In real life
A ring is worn on a hand that moves. It is seen from 30 or 40 centimetres away, at breakfast, in the office, across a dinner table. It is never seen under a loupe. In those moments, nobody asks about clarity grades. They see light, and light comes from the cut.
When clarity does matter
To be fair: clarity is not irrelevant. Below VS, at SI2 or the I grades, inclusions can become visible, especially in large stones and in step cuts such as emerald and asscher, whose wide, open facets work like a window into the diamond. That is exactly why we draw our line at VS1 and do not go lower. It is the point where a diamond is reliably clean to the eye in every shape, including emerald and asscher cuts, without paying for invisible extras.
Our standard
Every BEUSÉA centre diamond is colour D, the whitest grade, with VS1 clarity and an excellent cut, polish and symmetry. Diamonds above 0.5 carats come with an IGI report. The budget you do not spend on invisible clarity grades can go where it counts: a slightly larger diamond, a finer setting, or simply a better ring for the same price.
If you would like to talk it through before you decide, write to Felix on WhatsApp. He is happy to explain the difference, and he will never try to sell you a grade you do not need.
