Diamond Cut

Diamond ‘cut’ often refers to two separate characteristics of a loose diamond:

1. Its shape ie. round, princess cut, oval, etc
2. Its make, or style of cutting and quality, which consists of polish and symmetry.

In this article, we’re going to look at diamond cut in relation to a stone’s ‘make’ ie. how well it has been formed.

Why diamond cut is important

An excellent diamond cut produces a diamond with a high light return, dazzling brilliance, fire and scintillation.

A poorly cut diamond, on the other hand, can cause light to seep out of the sides and bottom of the diamond, or it can limit the amount of light that enters a diamond. Poor cuts can therefore cause the diamond to appear dark, dull and lifeless, despite its color and clarity grades. This fact makes a diamond’s cut the most significant factor to influence appearance.

A diamond’s shape as well as its polish and symmetry affect the “behavior” of the stone—simply speaking, how it reflects light. The cut of a diamond influences three main qualities:

• Brilliance is the total amount of light reflected by a diamond. When light hits the diamond’s surface, some light enters and some is reflected back. The most immediate light reflected back is returned by the crown’s angles.
• Scintillation refers to the flashes of light, or sparkles, which are produced when a diamond is tilted from side to side. The light that isn’t immediately reflected back enters the diamond and reflects from the inside walls toward the center of the diamond. This light, which bounces off the internal walls of the diamond, is the quality described as scintillation.
• Fire refers to the dispersion of light into different colored light. Once the light is bounced off the inside walls towards the center of the diamond, it then shoots back through the top of the diamond. Because the light is slightly bent by the diamond, a color spectrum is visible when light exits the top of the diamond.

How a diamond’s cut affects its sparkle

Polish and symmetry significantly impact all three of these. In the following picture you can see the most critical parts of a diamond and their names.

To ensure that the diamond has the best brilliance and fire, the best option is to stay away from stones with proportions below the ideal standard.

Below you can find the explanation for all facets of a diamond and standards below which you should not buy the stone. The information about such standards can be found in the diamond certificate. GIA calls their certificates diamond dossiers or diamond grading reports while AGS calls theirs diamond quality documents or diamond quality reports.

A diamond’s most critical parts:

1. Diameter of a loose diamond, measured at the Girdle, which is the widest portion of a stone.
2. Girdle – the middle portion of a diamond stone, its widest part. The Girdle is measured from “extremely thin” to “extremely thick” – the “medium” thickness Girdle is preferred (you can find the information about it in the diamond certificate). Stay away from a “thin” Girdle as it is too fragile and can chip more easily, also do not buy a “thick” one either as it is unnecessarily adding weight to the stone where it matters the least.
3. Table – the top of the diamond, whose area size ideally should be 53% to 57.5% (in a Round Brilliant) of the Girdle diameter according to the American Gemological Society (AGS) lab studies. Some jewelers say up to 64% is still acceptable. Run away from the diamond with the Table area above 64%.
4. Depth – in a Round Brilliant, length of the stone from the surface of the Table to the bottom of its Pavilion). Depth should ideally be 58% to 63% of the stone Diameter
5. Crown – the portion of the diamond between its girdle and its table) – the Crown angle in the well-cut diamond should be 33 to 35 degrees.
6. Pavilion – in a Round Brilliant, the cone-shaped lower part of the stone:
   a. The Pavilion Depth of the stone, according to the AGS Lab, should ideally be 42.5% to 43.5%. Pavilion Depth is a portion of the overall diamond Depth and represents the height of a diamond Pavilion or the distance from the Girdle to the bottom of Pavilion, called Culet. In diamonds with very deep Pavilions, the entire surface of the Table appears to be dark creating what industry experts call a “Nailhead”. On the other hand, stones with shallow Pavilions often produce a “Fisheye” effect due to Girdle’s reflection in the diamond’s Table. So, if the Certificate specifies the Pavilion Depth is above 43.5% or below 42.5% – the diamond’s sparkle will be diminished.
   b. Pavilion angle is another important dimension of the stone, which determines its brilliance and fire. However, many GIA certificates (called Diamond Dossiers and Reports) do not provide information on the diamond’s Pavilion angle. So, you will have to rely on the information on the stone’s overall quality of the Polish and Symmetry as well its Table size and Depth (all GIA Dossiers and Reports provide this information as a bare minimum).
   c. The relationship between the Crown angle and the Pavilion angle (see above) has the greatest effect on the look of the diamond. A slightly steep Pavilion angle can be complemented by a shallower Crown angle, and vice versa.
7. Culet – the facet at the bottom tip of a gemstone. The quality of the Culet is typically specified in a diamond certificate – the preferred Culet is not visible with the unaided eye (so, the best one should be graded either “None” or “Medium”).

Ratios and proportions of various diamond dimensions in relation to each other are what impact the brilliance and scintillation of the stone most significantly.

They determine how well (or not so well) and how much of the light is reflected inside the crystal and back to the surface through the diamond’s table. You can find this information on certificate specification enclosed with every certified loose diamond. If the diamond is not certified by one of the gemological labs, then buying such a diamond is not advisable, unless you are a professional gemologist and can certify diamond specifications yourself.

Diamond Proportion

To optimally capture light and reflect it back, a diamond’s pavilion must have accurate angles and depth. If the angle of the pavilion is too shallow or too deep, light will escape or leak out, creating dark and dull “stains”. The crown angle is also extremely important since this affects the way that light enters and exits the diamond.

Not only are the angles important, but depth percentage and table percentage are also key factors that contribute to the quality of a diamond’s cut. Depth percentage refers to the depth of the diamond divided by its diameter. Shallower diamonds have low depth percentages whereas deeper diamonds have higher depth percentages.

A good target depth percentage for a round diamond is considered to fall between 59 and 62.5%. Table percentage refers to the width of the table divided by the diameter.

Again, diamonds with a higher table percentage have larger tables, and diamonds with a smaller table percentage have smaller tables. A good target table percentage for a round diamond is considered to fall between 53 and 59%.

Diamond cut grades

The GIA (the Gemological Institute of America) grades diamonds using the following scale:

• Ideal/ Excellent – Excellent light performance. Reflects almost all of the light that enters. Rare and extremely beautiful cuts.
• Very Good – Very good light performance. Reflects almost all of the light that enters. Very Good diamond cuts are considered to be an outstanding value.
• Good – Good light performance. Reflects most of the light that enters. Good diamond cuts are far less pricey than Very Good cuts.
• Fair – Not as brilliant as a Good cuts or above, Fair diamond cuts are still considered good quality diamonds.
• Poor – Poor cut diamonds are typically cut too shallow or too deep causing much of the light to leak out of the diamond’s sides and base. Most high end diamond retailers do not carry Poor cut diamonds.

Diamond polish

The ‘polish’ grade describes the smoothness of the diamond’s facets. The symmetry grade refers to alignment of the facets in relation to each other:

• Poor polish of the diamond surface can dull the light radiating from the stone. It may also create blurred or dulled sparkle.
• Poor symmetry can misdirect the light inside the stone as it enters and exits the diamond – the more light is lost due to poor symmetry, the less sparkly the stone would look and the more dark spots you can observe when looking at the diamond from the top.

Diamond Symmetry

A diamond’s facets must be symmetrical in order to maximize the amount of light that enters and exits the stone. Diamonds with poor symmetry look slightly distorted, unbalanced and improperly shaped. Moreover, they will affect brilliance, scintillation and fire. Many asymmetrical round stones are not completely round, or have misshapen facets or off-center culets. Zoara recommends that you consider round brilliant diamonds with a symmetry grade no lower than Very Good, and fancy cut diamonds with a symmetry grade no lower than Good.