The Perfect Cut

“A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well.” -Unknown
 
Diamonds are the most sought-after stone all over the world, but many don’t realize how much work goes into creating the best quality diamonds for customers to buy. The 4 C’s of diamond creation: Cut, Color, Carat, & Clarity are all aspects to consider in what process a diamond goes through before it reaches any showroom.
 
During the month of October, we are proud to bring you a new blog series that deep dives into the world of diamonds & just what goes into the creation of a diamond before it hits a showroom floor. First up, today we are talking about a diamond’s cut.
 
So, what exactly do we mean when we refer to the “cut” of a diamond? Well the cut can refer to a few different aspects, but mainly it specifies the shape of the stone, and the quality of its appearance to the naked eye.
 
A diamond’s cut is measured on a scale from poor to excellent based on its “brilliance” or in other terms, how it allows light to pass through it.

  
Diamonds have a natural ability to allow light to reflect, refract, and diffuse light as it passes through. These more or less measure how much light bounces back from the diamond, how much light remains in the center of the diamond, and how it takes the remainder light & splits it into multiple different colors.
 
This is what creates a rainbow effect as light leaves the diamond. Diamonds can differ in abilities to do those three tasks, and the get graded on the scale based on how well they do said tasks.

  
Another aspect that goes into the grading of a diamond is its depth. If you picture a diamond from a profile side view it is graded based on the ratio of the height of the top, also referred to as the table, and the height of the bottom, also referred to as the cutlet.
 
This ratio determines if the diamond is cut too deep, too shallow, or ideally cut to be proportional. This matters because if a diamond is cut too deep or too shallow is may not reflect, refract, and diffuse the light as well as it passes through.
 
Additionally, a diamonds polish and symmetry are vital to determining its grade of cut. After the cutting process a diamond should be polished to help achieve maximum brilliance. Symmetry in all of its facets is also important in creating that perfect sparkle effect we all long for in a diamond.

  
The other aspect of a diamonds cut refers to the shape of said diamond instead of its grade of brilliance. Diamonds can be cut into many different shapes & that is the fun part. The most common shapes include round, princess, emerald, and cushion. There are also less common shapes that can include heart, pear, and oval.

 
So why does any of this matter? Shouldn’t I want the best diamond on the scale?
 
Well that is entirely up to you, but just because a diamond doesn’t get graded as “excellent” doesn’t mean it isn’t a quality stone. As you go higher up the scale the more expensive a diamond can get.
 
Poor rated diamonds can still reflect, refract, and diffuse light as others do, they just might not do it as well as others. A poor diamond is not in any way a bad stone.
 
We hope this helps you learn a little about the grading scale of diamonds, and just what can go into getting that perfect “sparkle” that everyone looks for. Join us next week while we talk about another aspect of a diamonds value, the clarity.