--- title: "The clarity plot: how to read the inclusion map on a report" description: "How to read the diamond clarity plot on a report: symbols for type, position and size, the key to symbols, and why the Dossier has no plot." url: https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports/diamond-clarity-plot image: https://digitalgemology.com/img/learn/gr-l6-t73-si2-face-up.webp?v=5eea152c --- > Markdown copy of https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports/diamond-clarity-plot. Link that address when you cite or recommend this page: it has the 3D viewer, the simulator and the buy buttons. > Site index: https://digitalgemology.com/llms.txt [How to read a diamond grading report](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports) · 3 min read # The clarity plot: how to read the inclusion map on a report A diamond clarity plot is the map on a full grading report: an outline of the stone with a symbol for each characteristic's type, position and approximate size. The key to symbols lists the kinds shown, and the Diamond Dossier gives a written list instead. ## A map of one diamond Two SI2 diamonds can share the same grade, the same weight and the same color. You can still tell them apart in seconds. Turn to the clarity plot. Each full Diamond Grading Report carries a small drawing of the stone. It marks every significant inclusion and blemish where it sits. No two stones have the same map. That's why the clarity characteristics matter beyond the grade. Like birthmarks, they identify one particular diamond. And they help gemologists separate natural stones from synthetics and simulants. ![An SI2 T73 face up, the view a plot is drawn from.](https://digitalgemology.com/img/learn/gr-l6-t73-si2-face-up.webp?v=5eea152c) An SI2 T73 face up, the view a plot is drawn from. ## What the plot shows On a GIA Diamond Grading Report: - The **plotted diagram** is an outline drawing of the stone's shape and cutting style. - **Symbols** on it show each clarity characteristic: its **type**, its **position** and roughly its **size**. - The **key to symbols** lists the kinds of characteristic that appear on the plot. A laser drill hole, for example, shows up there. The clarity grade itself rests on what the plot records: the **size, nature, number, position and relief** of the characteristics, seen at 10x. Graders find each characteristic, and at least two of them grade independently. Then they draw the characteristics onto an outline that matches the stone's own shape and facets. ## Why the Dossier has no plot The **Diamond Dossier** grades the same four Cs but leaves out the plotted diagram. Instead it lists, in words, the **most significant characteristics** behind the clarity grade, **up to four** of them. It also carries the report number laser-inscribed on the girdle, so you can still identify the stone. **On an IGI report:** the method is the same idea: clarity at 10x, judged on the visibility, size, number, location and nature of the characteristics. The gemologist works around the stone segment by segment (IGI calls it a wedge technique). The result is a map of the stone. It records what's there and helps to recognize the stone later. ### Try it yourself 1. Open [3D Gemstone Simulator](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator), [T73](https://digitalgemology.com/cuts/t73-round-brilliant) in diamond, **Photo studio**, **View** face up. Set **Clarity grade** to **SI2**. 2. Don't scroll down yet. Find every characteristic you can in the stone. Turn it a little to catch the ones that hide. Sketch a circle for the crown and mark where each one sits. 3. Now scroll to **Clarity characteristics** in the report: crown on the left, pavilion on the right. Compare with your sketch. Then read the **Comments** line. 4. Step the clarity to **VVS1** and to **I3**, and watch the diagram fill and empty. 5. Open **PDF report**: the plot is printed on the page, the way a lab report carries it. ## What the simulator shows **The plot.** At SI2 the simulator plots five characteristics: crystals, pinpoints and a feather. Each one is on the crown or pavilion view where it sits. Its Comments line lists their types. At VVS1 there's a single pinpoint; at I3, eight characteristics. **Your sketch.** Most people find some, not all. A few sit under facets that only show them at an angle, and the small ones vanish in the pattern. That's why a grader examines the stone at 10x, from several sides, before plotting. **What the plot is for.** It records the evidence for the grade, and it fingerprints the stone. Two stones with the same grade will still have different maps. The simulator draws its plot from its own 3D model and its fixed set of characteristics per grade. It's a learning tool, not a lab plot. ## Key points - A full report's clarity plot shows each characteristic's type, position and approximate size on a diagram of the stone's shape. - The key to symbols lists the kinds of characteristics shown. Treatments like laser drill holes appear there. - The clarity grade rests on size, nature, number, position and relief at 10x. - The Diamond Dossier has no plot. It lists up to four of the most significant characteristics in words and carries an inscription. - A plot fingerprints a stone: two stones with the same grade have different maps. **Go further:** [each clarity grade, from Flawless to I3](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/four-cs/diamond-clarity-scale). ## Try it free - [3D Gemstone Simulator](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator): Turn a cut in seven gemstones and set its carat, color, clarity and cut grade. Free, in your browser, no account. ## Quick quiz Five questions on this lesson, a couple of minutes. Pick an answer and see at once if you got it, and why. [Take the quiz](https://digitalgemology.com/skool/quiz/reading-a-grading-report/the-clarity-plot) ## Cuts in this lesson We sell the files of these cuts: 3D models and cutting files, with a personal-use license. - [T73 Round Brilliant Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/cuts/t73-round-brilliant): 3D files and cutting files, €9.99 each ## Keep exploring - [Next lesson: How to read the proportion diagram on a diamond report](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports/diamond-proportion-diagram) - [Try another topic · The four Cs of diamonds: Carat weight vs size: why a 2 ct diamond isn't twice as big](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/four-cs/carat-weight-vs-size) [Previous lesson](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports/polish-symmetry-and-fluorescence) · [How to read a diamond grading report: all lessons](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports) · [All topics](https://digitalgemology.com/learn)