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PlatinumJewelry.biz - Diamond Cut Quality The cut is the most important characteristic of a diamond. When you see diamonds selling for prices that are too good to be true, it is usually because they are cut poorly. How well a diamond is cut determines how much of the light that enters a diamond is reflected back out of the top of the gem, and hence how much sparkle you see. If a diamond is cut poorly, the light entering the diamond from above will reflect out the sides and bottom, and the stone will look dead – there will be no sparkle and fire, regardless of the color or clarity of the stone.
Many diamonds are cut poorly. This is because a cutter can often get more weight (and therefore a higher price) out of a rough diamond by taking shortcuts in the proportions of the stone. In the best-case scenario, approximately 50% of the weight is lost from the original crystal in the cutting process. Because size is important to many consumers, often cutters sacrifice diamond beauty in order to save weight, maximizing the size of the finished diamond. Note that cut is also referred to as make. To make it easier to judge the cut, we classify diamonds into different categories. Very good cut diamonds are exceptionally proportioned "investment quality" stones that reflect back as much as 90% of the light entering the diamond from above. The very best of the round diamonds are called "ideals". "Good"-rated diamonds are also well proportioned stones that make fantastic jewelry because of their ability to reflect light. Fair and Poor-cut diamonds are less well proportioned, and therefore are generally less expensive. These stones can reflect as little as 40% of the light entering the stone back out of the table. It is usually worth the money to buy a Very Good or Good-cut diamond, even if it means buying a smaller stone, or one with lesser color and clarity grades.To determine how well cut a diamond is, all you need to do is examine a couple grades on the certificate: depth percentage (the height versus the width of the stone) and table percentage (how large the very top of the stone is versus the width). In addition, you will want to make sure that the polish, symmetry, girdle, and culet fall within acceptable standards. This sounds harder than it really is! To see if a round diamond is well cut, just compare the diamond’s certificate to the following chart: Proportion
Guidelines for Round Diamonds:
There are also proportion guidelines for diamonds of other shapes. To see these, click here. Optical Beauty: The way a diamond reflects and refracts light is dazzling to the beholder. There are four factors that determine the optical beauty of a diamond: luster, brilliance, dispersion, and scintillation.
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