What are diamond cuts?
Diamond cut, one of the 4 Cs that determines diamond quality, refers to how effectively a diamond’s facets interact with light. Not to be confused with diamond shape, cut is responsible for a diamond’s ability to transmit light and sparkle.
Precise craftsmanship is required to cut a diamond so that its proportions, symmetry, and polish deliver maximum light return and sparkle. The better the cut, the more a diamond will sparkle.
How are diamonds cut and graded?
Diamonds are cut using specialized instruments to facet and polish the stone, creating brilliance and symmetry. Because cut has such a significant impact on a diamond’s appearance, grading systems were developed to consistently evaluate cut quality. These grading systems assess appearance, design, and craftsmanship. Appearance refers to the brilliance, fire, and scintillation of a stone. Design signifies proportions. Craftsmanship denotes polish and symmetry.
Diamond Cut Quality Factors
A diamond’s cut grade is determined by appearance, design, and craftsmanship. Altogether, these qualities affect how a diamond interacts with light and are assessed by gemological institutes to assign an overall cut grade.
Appearance
Brilliance: Brilliance, is the internal and external white light that reflects from a diamond. Each time light enters a diamond, its internal facets send it off in different directions depending on the angle and tilt of the facets. Expertly cut diamonds demonstrate amazing brilliance because they bounce light off of multiple facet surfaces
Fire: Fire is the scattering of white light into the colors of the rainbow. Diamonds are excellent at scattering light and displaying it as a spectrum of colors that glint sparks of red, orange, yellow, green, or blue. Diamonds must be precisely cut for light to disperse this way. Poorer cuts do not refract or scatter light as efficiently which leads to a lack of fire from a stone, diminishing the stone’s beauty.
Scintillation:: Scintillation denotes the sparkle a diamond displays as you move it in the light. The facets split the white light into an array of colors, creating sparks of light that appear to move along the surface of the diamond. This is contrasted against the darker, colored flashes that refract through inner facets. The symmetry and balance between lighter and darker areas create the overall sparkle of a stone.
Design
Proportions: A diamond’s proportions are measured by its crown and pavilion angles as well as the overall measurements of its facets. Facets are like tiny mirrors and their proportion is a significant contributor to the overall face-up (top view) appearance of a diamond.
Craftsmanship
Polish: Polish is the quality of a diamond’s external surface condition created by the polishing process. Features like pits or nicks are considered when evaluating polish. It is graded on a scale ranging from Excellent to Poor and is listed on a diamond certificate.
Symmetry: Symmetry is the exactness of a diamond’s external shape and the even arrangement of its facets. It can be divided into two categories, proportion related (external) and facet related (internal). It is also graded on a scale ranging from Excellent to Poor and is listed on a diamond certificate.