What does Diamond Cut mean?
The cut refers to how the diamond interacts with light and thus how the diamond looks. The quality of the cut is determined by its symmetry, proportion and polish. The cut of the stone has the greatest impact out of the 4 C’s as it determines its brilliance and brightness.
The cut of the stone does not refer to the shape.
Showing how light enters a diamond and sparkles through
Why Does Cut Matter?
If a diamond is cut poorly, it will make the diamond look dull and flat. Even if you have a stone that has a high carat or clarity grade, if the craftmanship is not there, a bad cut will result in a low quality looking finish.
A good cut will allow for the greatest amount of light to enter the diamond and effectively reflect the light throughout the stone to make it is as bright and sparkly as possible.
The cutting of diamonds is done by hand and therefore the angling of each facet needs to be 100% even and accurate.
If a stone is cut too shallow or too deep, the light will be misaligned and unable to reflect off its facets effectively. This means the light will be lost through the bottom or the side of the stone dramatically reducing the diamond’s shine.
What is a Brillant Cut
To evaluate the cut of a diamond, we assess the brilliance, fire and scintillation of the stone.
Brilliance: refers to the amount of white light reflected
Fire: the dispersion of light into the colours of the rainbow
Scintillation: the amount of sparkle produced when moved. This is measured by the light and dark contrast.
The grading for cut ranges from Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. It is recommended to aim for the highest grading possible for cut when selecting a diamond. A high quality cut will make the biggest difference to your stone selection compared to the other C’s.
Types of Cut
There are two main ways to cut a diamond to optimise its sparkle and shine.
Brilliant Cut:
Made out of triangle or kite-shaped facets, the stone is cut so that these facets are arranged to angle towards each other towards the centre of the diamond. This creates an effect similar to a kaleidoscope and gives the most optimal return on sparkle and light.
This cut is most commonly found in the classic round diamond cut (which is also the most expensive diamond type). It is also used for oval, pear, cushion and marquise cut diamonds.
Step Cut:
Step cut stones are cut with rectangular facets that run parallel to each other. These facets are comparable to a staircase, whereby the facets descend in size down into the diamond.
This style of cut typically emphasizes the diamond’s clarity and colour, as any imperfections are distinctly noticeable by the naked eye.
Step cut diamonds are most commonly seen in emerald or baguette shape stones.