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The smart consumer's diamond buying guide.... |
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Diamond Buying Made Easier > Diamond CutDiamond CutDiamond cut does not refer to diamond shapes. Diamond cut refers to the placement and angles of the facets around a diamond. This is by far the most important consideration in how to buy a diamond. I cannot stress this enough!.... diamond cut is responsible for the liveliness of a diamond!!!! The beauty of a diamond is released when its optical characteristics are maximized by the proper placement of the facets and the angle of those facets. 
A well cut diamond (a diamond with a proper diamond cut) has the direct purpose to have light enter the top of the diamond, be reflected around the bottom of the diamond, and then be returned back through the top of the stone. The bottom of the diamond (the pavilion) should act like a mirror, much like the way a rhinestone is so blingy! A rhinestone is a piece of glass with silver paint on its bottom, reflecting all the light back out the top... diamond cut is not a factor with a rhinestone. Diamonds do not come out of the ground already faceted! 
Originally, thousands of years ago, diamonds were left in their original diamond rough crystal shape. Because diamond is the hardest substance it took awhile to figure out how to
cut and polish diamonds.
It was first discovered that diamond has perfect cleavage so when it was hit in a certain direction a perfectly flat smooth face was left on the side of the diamond.... and it progressed from there. In the early 1900's, diamond cutters developed what we know as the modern round brilliant cut diamond, this came about through a lot of trial and error, along with a bit of math. In the past 30-40 years, diamond cutting has vastly improved because diamond dealers, retailers, and consumers have really picked up a lot of gemological education about diamond cut. Additionally, with the advent of computers and specialized measuring devices, diamond cutters are now able to make very exacting angles to maximize the diamond cut.  When a diamond cutter departs from a properly cut diamond, for example making a shallower diamond cut or deeper diamond cut, this will allow light to leak out through the bottom of the diamond.... this is not a good thing! I will explain why a diamond cutter will alter the diamond cut in just a minute. There are 3 factors that determine diamond cut- Brightness (Brilliance)- the combination of all white light reflecting from the surface and interior of a diamond. Fire- the colored flashes that can be seen in a diamond. Mostly from the angled crown facets. Scintillation- the flashes of light seen in a diamond when you move it from side to side....the "sparkle". A diamond's "make" is a trade term referring to how well or poorly a diamond is proportioned, referring to the diamond cut. If I say that a diamond is "well made" it means that it was well cut and has very good optical performance. You might hear.... "poor make", "off make", etc. Once, I told a customer that a diamond was "well made" and they thought that the diamond was a diamond grown in the laboratory..... that we actually made the diamond. Diamond cutters are generally highly skilled and they don't cut a diamond with a "poor make" by accident. Anytime there is a departure from a proper diamond cut it is done for one reason.... economics. The price of a piece of diamond rough that is available on the market is pretty well standardized. To cut a well-proportioned diamond or to cut a poorly proportioned diamond can take a similar amount of time... it will not take 2, 3, or 4 times the amount of time to cut a well proportioned diamond. Diamond cutting and diamond cut - a quick primer - In cutting a finished diamond from a piece of diamond rough, the diamond cutter will loose around +/- 50% of the weight of the diamond rough. The diamond cutter will try to make sure that they cut away any inclusions in the diamond rough as they cut. Sometimes they will make adjustments to the finished diamond in order to cut away just a bit more of an inclusion.... the cutter will end up having a higher diamond clarity but a lower diamond cut. - Diamond cutting houses will tend to specialize in certain types of finished diamonds. Some will cut fancy shapes, some will cut "Ideal Cut" diamonds, and some will specialize in squeezing as much finished weight out of a piece of diamond rough as possible. There is a market for all of these types of finished diamonds.... some people want big diamonds but they don't care about diamond cut, they just want to tell people how much their diamonds weighs! - If a diamond cutter is planning out a diamond and it looks like he could have an "excellent diamond cut" diamond that would have a finished weight of 0.97ct. or if he makes a few adjustments (making the girdle a bit thicker) he could have a "very good diamond cut" diamond that weighs in at 1.02ct., he probably will opt for the heavier stone because it will bring in more $£¥€!  I will go into more details about Diamond Cut in
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