Diamond Cut - Proportions of a Diamond
Understanding Diamond Cut and Shape
Before exploring the importance of diamond cut, we must differentiate between cut and shape. While shape refers to the outline or physical appearance of a diamond (such as round, princess, or emerald), cut refers to the diamond's facets, proportions, symmetry, and reflective properties. Furthermore, the cut grade determines a diamond's ability to reflect light and maximize its sparkle.
Brilliance: Capturing and Reflecting Light
The brilliance of a diamond refers to its ability to reflect light and create sparkle. A well-cut diamond will maximise the amount of light entering the table facet and redirect it back to the viewer's eye.
However, a poorly cut diamond, results in light leakage, leading to a dull and lifeless appearance. The precision of the cut directly affects the diamond's ability to captivate with its radiance.
Fire: Dispersion of Spectral Colors
Scintillation: Dynamic Sparkle and Movement
Diamond Cut Grades: Evaluating Quality and Value
At Serendipity Diamonds, we adhere to a minimum of a very good cut grade for all diamonds. Some diamond grading laboratories specify an ideal cut for many diamonds. But, keep in mind, GIA certificates only specify a cut grade on round diamonds. Most importantly, 'Excellent' remains the highest cut grade available from GIA for a round diamond. For best results, we recommend diamonds with a combined excellent cut, polish and symmetry.
Lab-grown diamonds and ideal cut grades
At this point, we should comment on the availability of lab-grown diamonds made in a laboratory. In addition to natural diamonds, we now provide most of our jewellery designs made with lab-grown diamonds by special request. Typically, polishers proportion lab-grown diamonds to meet ideal proportions. For this reason, many lab diamonds feature ideal cut specifications on their accompanying IGI diamond grading reports.