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Diamond Cuts
The Cut Of a Diamond The arrangement of a diamond's facets. This is the only one of the four factors under the direct control of man. Facets are planned and proportioned so that ambient light is reflected from one facet to another until the light exits from the top or crown of the diamond. "Symmetry" refers to how well the facets line up with each other. Grading standards used by Gemological Institutes for "cut" are: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. While nature determines a diamond's colour, clarity, and carat weight, the hand of a master craftsman is needed to release its fire and beauty. The cut gives each diamond its unique sparkle and brilliance by allowing the maximum amount of light to enter and reflect back out of the diamond. If the cut is too deep or too shallow light will spill through the side or bottom and be lost, resulting in a less brilliant display and thus, a less valuable diamond. The cut plays a big part in determining the value of a diamond. A well-cut diamond will be considerably more beautiful and valuable than a poorly cut stone of the same size, clarity, and colour. Remember, each "C" is important in contributing to a diamond's quality, but it is the combination of all of them that determines its value. For example, a colourless diamond is the finest quality, but if it lacks clarity, is small, or is not well-cut, it will be of lower value. The finest diamonds possess the rarest quality in each of the 4Cs, and are the most valuable. The Better Cut a Diamond, the More Brilliant it will be.A well cut or faceted diamond, regardless of its shape, scintillates with fire and light -- offering the greatest brilliance and value. While nature determines a diamond's clarity, carat weight and colour, the hand of a master craftsman is necessary to release its fire, sparkle and beauty. When a diamond is cut to good proportions, light will reflect from one mirror-like facet to another and disperse through the top of the stone, resulting in a display of brilliance and fire. Diamonds that are cut too deep or too shallow lose light that spills through the side or bottom. As a result, poorly cut stones will be less brilliant and beautiful -- and certainly less valuable.
Cut is the human contribution to a diamond's beauty, brilliance
and fire. The way a diamond is cut can affect all of the other C's.
A well-cut diamond will allow light to enter the stone, bounce off
the internal facets and be reflected back through the top, creating
the brilliance and fire only a diamond can.
Today's designs are the result of hundreds of years of experience. Already in the 1920's a Russian mathematician by the name of Marcel Tolkowsky calculated the proportions of the facets in a round diamond that would bring an ideal balance between brilliance and dispersion. Any deviation from these designs will compromise the beauty of the stone. When cutting a diamond cutters have to choose between optimizing weight (weight equals money) or optimizing beauty. Sadly, many cutters sacrifice beauty rather than weight. They can get away with this only because stores have been keeping customers in the dark and pushing weight rather than beautiful proportions. It is easier to convince someone to buy a bigger diamond than a more beautiful one. Most consumers have yet to understand that two diamonds with the exact same weight, color and clarity can be purchased up to 40% cheaper if the cut is poor. This trade secret allows some jewelers to buy very poor makes and sell them in turn at prices reserved only for beautifully cut stones.
A round brilliant diamond has between 57 and 58 facets (depending
on whether the culet was polished) divided into 7 different parts. A carat is a measurement used to signify the weight of the diamond.
It is the most precise of the four C's.
A grain equals one-quarter (0.25) of a carat. For example, a 75-point
diamond would be called in the trade a three grainer and a one-carat
stone may be called a four grainer. Loose stones are weighed directly
on a scale but mounted stones can only be estimated by plugging their
measurements into a mathematical equation. Since the price of diamonds is based upon rarity, the larger the stone the rarer the diamond and the higher the price per carat. A one-carat stone is much rarer than two half-carat stones, and is therefore considerably more expensive. Diamonds are sold by carat weight. In the diamond trade, price
is given in price per carat and not in total dollars. The World's Largest Rough, Uncut, Diamonds
Rough Uncut Diamonds DIAMOND SHAPES ROUND FANCY SHAPES These shapes are usually less expensive because the rough diamonds used to produce them is more common and generally less costly. Over the past 20 years, new shapes and facet arrangements have been introduced to increase the use, appeal and value of rough diamonds that would be traditionally difficult to market. Choosing a properly proportioned fancy shaped diamond is much more complex than a round shape. Most fancy shapes cannot sparkle like a well-cut round. The facets of fancy shaped diamonds are elongated, asymmetrical, and can deviate greatly from the ideal causing light to leak out the diamond's bottom. This also causes small multi-coloured flashes of light to be concentrated in pointed areas and larger flashes to occur in rounded or elongated areas. A "bowtie" shaped area of diminished sparkle can span the center width of most fancy shapes. This consequence has the least negative effect when it is narrow and very light grey (it is rarely colourless or invisible). A dark and pronounced bowtie will decrease the value and beauty by more than 20%. Another important consideration unique to fancy shapes is the length and width ratio (L: W), calculated by dividing the diamond's length by the diamond's width. Many other considerations are structural deficiencies such as thin edges near pointed areas and uneven or bulged shape outlines. Unlike round diamonds, cut grades of fancy shapes do not exist. We employ sophisticated methods that accurately predict and demonstrate how the sparkle of one set of ratios and proportions will compare quantitatively to another. Less desirable fat or thin shapes are produced from irregular
(and less costly) shaped rough diamonds. They are also produced by
cutters who intentionally grind as little of the rough diamond away
as possible to retain excess weight for higher profits. This excess
weight and material does not contribute to beauty and therefore should
not contribute to higher value. You will find our expertise to be
very helpful in choosing any fancy shape as well as a round diamond.
OVAL This 57 facet shape is an elongated round and therefore displays a similar kind of sparkle. Avoid squarish stones. An oval's preferred L: W ratio is 1.33:1 - 1.66:1
PEAR This 58 facet shape has a preferred L: W ratio of 1.50:1 to 1.75: 1. Avoid pear shapes with squarish shoulders or a poorly defined end point. The addition of extra facets to the midsection of the pavilion can minimize the bowtie affect. They cost 10 - 15% less than rounds. HEART PRINCESS This 76 facet shape is available as a square or a rectangular.
It is capable of displaying white flashes of light (brilliance) but
their typically thin crown produces very little multi-colored flashes
of light (fire). More weight is located below the edge than any other
shape, therefore its size in millimeters is the smallest per carat
weight. The usual high weight yield from rough makes it one of the
least expensive shapes to manufacture and is often over-priced. FLANDERS RADIANT This 70 facet shape is available as a rectangular or a square with beveled corners. Generally, its steeper crown angle and smaller table facet allows it to display more fire than a princess cut. EMERALD TRILLION This 50 facet shape are mainly sold as matched pairs LILY CRISSCUT This rectangular with beveled corners shape is cut with 77 brilliant cut facets DAHLIA This 63 facet twelve-sided shape is a mixed of step and brilliant cutting style FIREROSE This 61 facet six-sided shape is a mixed step and brilliant cutting style. MARIGOLD This 73 facet eight-sided step cut. SUNFLOWER This 45 - 61 facet eight-sided shape is a mixed step and brilliant cutting style ZINNIA This 76 facet round shape is mixed cut BAGUETTE This 14 facet shape is available as a rectangle, a tapered rectangle and a square. They are step cut and display the least amount of sparkle. The cost the manufacturing and matching makes them more expensive. They are best used to fill curved, rounded channel or prong setting section. .Cutting a Diamond The 1st. stage, SAWING..............
The 2nd. stage, BRUTING OR SHAPING......................
The diamond is given its shape.
The 3rd. stage, CUTTING......................
A standard, brilliant cut diamond has 57 + 1 facets
Diagram of a Polished Diamond
Side View
Top and bottom view
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