Diamond Jewelry Cut

A diamond's cut is not its shape.

A diamond may be cut into any shape by grinding and polishing, creating small flat planes on the diamond, so that the maximum amount of light is reflected.

These polished flat planes are "facets" and are produced according to exact mathematical formulae. A good cut gives a diamond its brilliance, sparkle and fire:

• Brilliance:The internal and external reflection of light from a gemstone.

• Sparkle: Also known as Scintillation - A flashing effect produced when a diamond is moved and rotated in light.

• Fire:Also known as Dispersion - Rainbow colored flashes resulting from the refraction of light, particularly when viewing a diamond in strong, direct light.

The most popular shapes are -

• heart,
• marquise,
• oval,
• pear,
• princess,
• round,
• trillion,
• emerald.

The shape of a diamond

has an impact on how the diamond sparkles, but table size, crown angle, and pavilion depth are just as important. All these items have a dramatic effect on diamond jewellery quality and appearance.To the diamond insdustry these are all important aspects of a diamond's cut.

The cut of a diamond

is a reference to the stone’s depth, width, brilliance, durability, clarity, and other aspects of the diamond. A missing or off center culet, misalignment, a diamond that is too thick or too thin, cracks, or broken culets are common cutting problems.

When shopping for a diamond, you should choose the shape that you like the best, and then look at several different diamonds to find the best cut of that shape – the one that sparkles the most, in all types of lighting.