When comparing Vs1 versus Vs2 diamonds you'll be hard pressed to see any difference at all with your naked eye. You have to look closer...much closer.
Vs1 versus Vs2 diamonds - Quick Study
Before we get started you need to understand one very important thing. Clarity Grading is all about inclusions and how easily you can see them!
Generally, a VS diamond rating and higher comes with a nice guarantee that you won't be able to see any inclusions with the naked eye. It's when you look under 10x magnification using a microscope or jeweler's loupe you'll be able to see them. Now, if you're the typical layman you won't find much. Especially when most people simply look for black spots or scratches, but a trained professional knows exactly what to look for and WILL see inclusions at the VS1-VS2 level under 10x, and sometimes rather easily.
Vs1 versus Vs2 Diamonds - The Answer
What separates the two gradings, is how easily the inclusions are noticed. That's it! VS2 inclusions under 10x magnification are simply easier to see than Vs1 inclusions.
What does that mean? It could have 3 meanings.
- It means that Vs2 inclusions are a touch bigger, so it's easier to notice, but it won't be that much bigger. The VS2 grade is an exceptionally nice clarity ranking!
- It could mean there are more inclusions making them easier to spot.
- Lastly it could also means that when comparing the two, the VS1 inclusion is simply hidden better than the VS2 inclusion. Hidden meaning on the the very edge of the diamond, or way down at the bottom. A place that's harder to notice.
That's it though. When it all comes down to it, VS2 diamonds just have inclusions that are easier to see than VS1 diamonds under 10x magnification. Take a look at the picture below.
 |
VS diamond inclusions have minor inclusions. No black carbon spots, maybe a white spot here and there, possibly a very small feather or crack, but so small, in almost all cases, you'll need to give your eyes a little help to see them.
What about Vs1 versus Vs2 diamonds when dealing with different shapes?
Round, Marquise and Princess diamonds reflect light pretty well disguising many flaws to the naked eye. However, if the cut is not good the facets of the diamonds will not reflect the light back up, but instead shoot it elsewhere allowing inclusions to be seen much more easily. No need to worry though, because even if your Round, Marquise or Princess diamond is dull and completely lifeless, if it's rated a VS1-VS2 clarity you will still need bionic eyes to see any flaws.
In fact in all my experience in the diamond industry I have never seen a single flaw with my naked eye when the diamond was graded Vs1-Vs2 in any Round, Princess, Marquise, Pear, Oval, or any other fancy cut EXCEPT the Emerald diamond!
NEVER have I seen any flaw with my naked eye when there was a Vs1 rating, but I have seen 2 emerald diamonds rated Vs2 that I could see the flaw in. Emerald cut diamonds have a very long table (top flat part of diamond), and it's not the best reflector of light even with the most ideal cut, so given these two conditions, sometimes even in VS2 diamonds you just might be able to see a small scratch or white spot, but the inclusions I saw were on the very edge of the diamond. You would really have to stare and search to see it!
All in all, when you buy a true VS1-VS2 diamond you are buying safe! Maybe 1 in a million will see a single inclusion without any aid to the eye. But just so you know that in the comparison of Vs1 versus Vs2 diamonds there have been cases where VS2s have had visible inclusions, but in all my years I have only seen 2, and only in the emerald cut!
Vs1 versus Vs2 Diamonds
Why the Hefty Price Difference?
Diamonds are graded at the 10x level. Even in diamonds graded flawless you WILL still have inclusions. You would simply have to increase the magnification. No diamond is perfect, and that's what gives them their personality and uniqueness.
But since the gradings are at the 10x level that's what the pricing scheme works off of as well. So when we look at a situation like Vs1 versus Vs2 diamonds, and the answer is as simple as "how easily inclusions are seen", realize and make no mistake, that very ease at which you see the inclusions, is exactly what makes VS1 diamonds that much more rare than VS2 diamonds. And more rare means more money!
