The goal of diamond cutting is to maximize a stone’s fire, brightness, sparkle, and overall aesthetic appeal. The way in which light interacts with a diamond depends on its cut. A diamond is called rough before it is cut and polished. Raw diamonds have an impenetrable skin that is frequently challenging to look through. Rough diamonds have little to no brilliance. The reason for this is that they lack any facets or faces that could potentially reflect and bounce light. When light strikes a diamond, it enters the stone, bounces off of it, reflects inside of it, and eventually returns light to your eye. You are seeing that glitter. A diamond’s cut directly affects how much light performance is possible. The shine of a diamond depends on the angles, positions, sizes, and shapes of its edges
Let’s explore more information about the Diamond Cuts.
History of Diamond Cuts
Starting with the enlightening History of Diamond Cuts. Here we explore the exciting journey of evolution and expert craftsmanship over a period of time.
- Ancient Times: The Beginning of Diamond Cutting
In India, Diamonds came into light around the 4th Century BC. During that time they are known for their rarity and expensive nature which possess a nature of luxury for buying. In ancient centuries when diamonds are just introduced, people want them to stay in their natural size and shape without carving them in a beautiful structure.
Therefore, it can be concluded that cutting practices are minimal, and only polishings for a bright shine were preferred in ancient times.
- Middle Ages: Point Cut
Middle age is roughly a time between the 14th and 15th centuries when the starting of the cutting era took place which was known as the “Point Cut”. This is the basic practice of crafting a diamond into a refined natural shape.
Thus, it can be stated as the initial phase where the cutting was just started and came into knowledge.
- 15th Century: Table Cut and the Role of Technology
In the 15th century, a “Table Cut” technique emerged in which the topmost part of the diamond is started to be optimized to improve its beauty and brilliance rather than preserving the natural structure.
Over this period, the invention of polishing wheels by diamond cutter Lodewyk van Berken in the late 15th century (known as “scaif”) shaped diamond cutting to almost precision jewels. During this time people began to accept the cutting evolution of diamonds.
- 17th Century: Rose Cut
In the 16th and 17th centuries, there was a rise of Rose cuts in the diamond market. Featuring a design inspired by a structure of rose with a flat base, and a dome-shaped top, with triangular facets.
This cut became popular because of the facets preserving light and embellishing a sparkling article.
- 18th Century: Old Mine and Former European Cuts
In the 18th century, more complex cuts were adopted and the name of “Old Mine Cut” emerged. During that time a shape was constructed featuring a high crown, a deep pavilion, and a small table. Basically, a contemporary cushion cut was introduced.
During the start of the 19th century, more such structures were crafted. For instance, a round diamond cut was also from this era featuring larger facets and enhancing the diamond’s sparkle and brilliance.
- 19th Century: The Rise of the Brilliant Cut
The Modern Round Brilliant cut came in the 19th century. In 1919, mathematician Marcel Tolkowsky presented his thesis to the public in which he wrote that cutting a diamond increases its brilliance known as the “Tolkowsky Ideal Cut,” a standard still used today. Featuring 58 facets, the Brilliant Cut enhances the reflection of light and gives diamonds the sparkling effect they are known for. This cut became the most popular and still dominates the diamond market today.
- 20th Century: Fancy Cuts and Modern Advancements
In the 20th Century, the scenario of diamond cuts evolved and crafted various other shapes like Emerald, Pear, and Marquise. These cuts offered personalization options in desired jewellery articles which enhanced the power of the diamond industry.
Laser cutting and computer-aided design are also some added advancements that allow crafters to produce more such beautiful jewellery with sparkling diamond cut.
- 21st Century: Innovative Cuts and Sustainability
In today’s era, people are more concerned about the environment and sustainability, thus moving on to ethical options that do not harm the environment. Therefore, the diamond industry introduced an ethical alternative to mined diamonds, “The Lab-Grown Diamonds”.
These diamonds are crafted with similar physical and chemical formalities without harming Mother Nature and constructed sustainable beautifully designed articles by the cutters for modern customers.
Cut Scale: The Elements
A diamond’s cut can be evaluated after it has been polished and cut. GIA evaluates a diamond’s cut foundation by precisely measuring the angles and sizes of its facets. These include the diamond’s table, depth, crown, girdle, pavilion, and culet. Furthermore, polish and symmetry could make a small difference. The sum of all these factors determines the cut grade of the diamond. The behavior of light is what makes diamonds shine. Every size and shape of a diamond has the perfect cut ratio. Ask one of the gemologists if you’re looking for an excellently cut diamond, and they can recommend a couple of alternatives with perfect proportions.
The Cut Scale
Fair & Poor: A diamond receives a Fair or Poor grade if there is noticeable light leakage. Because of their excessive depth or shallow height, these diamonds frequently leak detectable amounts of light. These are very less attractive and have little brilliance. The minimal light performance requirements set by With Clarity are not met by fair or poorly cut diamonds. The best 35 percent of diamonds with gem quality fall into this cut category. These diamonds should be avoided because they won’t create for brilliant jewelry.
Good: Sharply cut diamonds with a lot of sparkle and light absorption. Although there is some light leakage, well-cut diamonds sparkle brilliantly overall. Compared to precisely cut diamonds of the same form, these diamonds can have measurements that are substantially larger or even smaller. Cutters may purposefully make cuts that have Good proportions in order to accomplish a specific style or look. Top 25% of diamonds are seen in a good cut grade. A well-cut diamond can combine size and value well, but you should always be cautious and have a gemologist evaluate a specific diamond before making a purchase.
Very Good: Diamonds with superb cuts that almost entirely realize the potential of the stone. really bright and lets in very little light. Deliberate cutting is commonly used to achieve a Very Good or greater rating in order to enhance a diamond’s other characteristics, such as color, clarity, or carat. Fifteen percent of diamonds with gemstone quality have a superb cut. Excellent cut diamonds can be a great choice if your goal is to maximize the value of the other parts.
Excellent: The greatest rating, denoting the best diamonds available worldwide. The greatest brightness and brilliance of a diamond is unleashed by expertly created and precisely cut diamonds with an Excellent cut grade. Light passing through a diamond has little to no light leakage. Three percent of all diamonds are in this elite grade. As production technology develops, more diamonds are well-cut. A superb-cut diamond is typically an excellent choice, although any size or shape of a diamond could be a nice one.
Finish: Symmetry, Facets, and Polish
Polish, symmetry, and faceting are other variables that impact the cut grade. There are two common cuts for diamonds:
- step cuts
- brilliant cuts
Step Cuts
Step cuts include diamonds with fire or brilliance, including Asscher and Emerald cuts. They have facets that mimic a staircase and a somewhat more simple appearance. They are thought to be exceptionally graceful and maximize the brilliance of the diamond. These cuts, albeit elegant, have fewer facets than brilliant-cut diamonds, therefore they do not reflect light as much. Even while each diamond is beautiful in its own right, it’s crucial to take your preferred level of shine into account when choosing a diamond cut.
Brilliant Cut
Maximum diamond dazzle can be seen in brilliant cuts, most typically found in round or princess-cut diamonds. Compared to step cuts, they have more facets, which are triangular and kite-shaped. High levels of diamond sparkle and maximal fire and scintillation are found in brilliant cuts.
Furthermore, the production process results in symmetry and polish. The flawless smoothness of a diamond’s facet surfaces is known as its polish. Remaining tiny striated polish lines could have an impact on diamond cut and light performance. Symmetry is the other characteristic. The pattern and evenness of the facets’ size, shape, and placement are what constitute symmetry. Incorrect facet placement can have an impact on light performance and, consequently, cut grade. For instance, a table facet that is off-center may lessen diamond brilliance.
Light Performance
The brilliance and glitter that you observe in a diamond are reflected in its cut. Light performance is that sparkle. Light performance is made up of elements such as reflection, refraction, and dispersion. A diamond is better and will dazzle brighter in your jewelry if it can reflect and showcase light more effectively and consistently.
Reflection
The brilliance and glitter that you observe in a diamond are reflected in its cut. Light performance is that sparkle. The components that make up light performance are dispersion, refraction, and reflection. A diamond is better and will dazzle brighter in your jewelry if it can reflect and showcase light more effectively and consistently.
Refraction
The perfect diamond is shaped so that light enters, travels through, bends, and finally leaves the diamond’s top. We call this idea refraction. Diamonds have a high refractive index of 2.41, which accounts for their amazing sparkling properties. The refraction is most visible when cutting is done perfectly. A well-cut diamond allows light to reflect flawlessly inside of it.
Dispersion
Have you ever noticed that a diamond reflects every hue in the rainbow instead of appearing to be black and white? That, however, is the outcome of dispersion. A diamond’s dispersion, or how light moves through it before bending and returning to your sight, is measured at 0.44.It is most commonly referred to as “the fire within a diamond.” The reason why diamonds are so beautiful is because they can display all of these colors. Diamonds have an excellent dispersion that is generally unmatched by imitation diamonds or other gemstones. Diamonds are therefore believed to be the most commonly utilized material for jewelry, including engagement rings.
Cost Effect
Similar to the other Cs for diamonds, cut grade can have a big effect on cost. The greatest amount of excellent-cut or flawlessly-cut diamonds are seen today. The advancement of technology in the diamond-producing industry has made it possible for diamantaires to cut with greater precision. An Excellent cut might command a premium of 5%–10% over the following grade, Very Good cut, in round diamonds. This also holds true for Very Good to Good.
Cut grades are not assigned by the GIA to fancy-shaped diamonds (diamonds with forms other than round cuts). This is due to the fact that fancy shapes allow diamonds to have a wide range of lengths and widths while maintaining their maximum brightness and sparkle. Clarity uses a range of diamond characteristics to determine how fancy shapes should be graded.
Making sure there is no loss of light is very vital when choosing a diamond. Very Good cuts feature more affordability, whereas Excellent cuts are the most expensive. When examined side by side, the slight variations in glitter become apparent. If at all possible, we advise maximizing on the Cut grade.
Since beauty is subjective, there are fewer limitations for fancy shapes. Still, with non-round diamond forms, you may usually safely go a grade lower. Which qualities or factors are most important to you must be decided.
Components of Diamond
A diamond’s anatomy is made up of multiple components that are strategically placed to maximize the stone’s brilliance. Since one component may be flawless and another defective, the diamond’s cut grade is truly ascertained by evaluating these components together. Every facet of the diamond needs to be perfectly cut for crafting an outstanding cut. The components of a diamond are as follows:
- Cultet
A diamond’s culet refers to its lowest point. The diamond’s faceting joins at this point below the table to close it off, stopping light from going through and causing it to bounce inside the diamonds before reflecting back. Point culets with a grade of None are most frequently found. Large or medium-sized culets in diamonds usually leak light and are only found in an old mine or old European cut diamonds. The culet, which is the thinnest section of the diamond, can chip from blunt force or damage, even though diamonds are extremely difficult to break or chip.
- Girdle
The narrower middle section between the pavilion and the crown of a diamond is called the girdle. It represents a diamond’s widest point. Girdles can be left unpolished, polished, or faceted. The girdles of modern diamonds are often a little bit narrower when polished and feature facets. The cut grade impacts the thickness of the griddle Girdle, ranges that are thin to somewhat thick are ideal. During the setting procedure, very thin girdles may crack or break, while very thick girdles may cause girdle reflections within the diamond, which will lessen its brilliance. - Pavilion
The lower part of the griddle is called the pavilion. A diamond’s pavilion, like its crown, needs to be properly faceted and tilted in order to reflect light. The pavilion’s function is to reflect light back as it enters the crown, creating a shimmering effect. Light will leak through the pavilion if the angles are too shallow or deep. That glimmer is just light refracting off from itself. If there is no return of light, the sparkle vanishes. The pavilion angle of a round diamond should be between 40 and 41.6 degrees. - Crown
The term “crown” refers to the top layer of a diamond that lies above the girdle. It is called the crown because, when viewed from a profile angle, it is positioned at the diamond’s height and has the appearance of an upside-down crown. The maximum point of light ingress and exit is the crown. The crown must be angled precisely to bounce, reflect, and/or refractively for the best possible diamond shine and brightness. When there is a shallow crown or crown angle—which might give the appearance of a level top—light leakage may rise. A heavy or steep crown angle that obstructs light penetration may reduce the diamond’s brilliance. - Depth
The depth of a diamond measures the distance from the table to the culet. Depth, along with the table, is important for determining the diamond’s cut grade. Diamonds cut too deep (greater distance from table to culet) cause light leakage and appear smaller than other diamonds with the same carat weight, as the weight is concentrated in the depth. Shallow-cut diamonds (shorter distance from table to culet) may also result in light leakage but often look larger since the carat weight spreads wider. The ideal depth for round-cut diamonds is between 59% and 62.9%.
- Table
The largest and highest facet of a gemstone where light can enter and exit with fire and sparkle is called the diamond table. A round-cut diamond’s table facet should be between 54% and 61% of its total. A larger table may cause a diamond to appear larger because of increased reflection rather than refraction.
Now, if you read this article and know everything about diamond cuts. Then what are you waiting for? Explore the beautiful collection by Emori of Lab-grown diamond jewellery engraved with beautiful diamond cuts and shop for the best suitable sparkling article for you.
