Whitefacet Blog: Diamond Cuts

Showing posts with label Diamond Cuts. Show all posts

Fair & Poor Cut Diamonds

Posted by Whitefacet.com | Diamond Cuts | 2:19 PM

Diamonds of this Cut category should generally be avoided unless your only consideration is to get the largest possible Diamond for your budget and if you are not too concerned about quality.

A Fair or Poor Cut Diamond will only realistically reflect a small amount of light that enters it and will be visibly less brilliant than the other Diamond Cut categories.

If all you are interested in is size then sure, why not, but most people will generally be happy to make sacrifices in Carat weight in order to obtain a Diamond that possesses and displays more fire and brilliance. Having said this, the choice as they say, is yours....

Good Cut Diamonds

Posted by Whitefacet.com | Diamond Cuts | 2:08 PM

Good Cut Diamonds reflect much of the light that enters them, although their proportions usually fall outside of the preferred ranges because the cutter made the choice to create the largest possible Diamond from the original rough crystal, rather than choosing to create a smaller Diamond of Premium or Ideal quality.

Cut Diamonds in this category offer good value for money for the budget conscious consumer who needs to work within certain pre-determined guidelines. Those of you who want to stay within budget and still walk away with a good sized Diamond without having to completely sacrifice the quality and beauty of your chosen stone should consider Good Cut Diamonds.

Very Good Cut Diamonds

Posted by Whitefacet.com | Diamond Cuts | 12:55 PM

Very Good Cut Diamonds are almost as brilliant as Premium or Ideal Cut stones and they do refract almost all of the light that enters them, meaning that Very Good Cut stones do still appear brilliant and sparkling.

Typically with a Very Good Cut Diamond, the cutter has deliberately chosen to move away slightly from the Ideal Cut criteria so as to create a larger Diamond. As a result of this certain variables such as table size or girdle width may fall outside of customers preferences.

The fact that certain variables may be outside of what is termed "Ideal" should most definitely not deter you from considering Very Good Cut Diamonds as your average Joe would most certainly not be able to tell the difference between an Ideal Cut stone and one with a Very Good Cut, even if given the opportunity to compare an example of each side by side. What this does mean to a certain extent is that you are at the mercy of your Jeweler when it comes to identifying the Diamond Cut criteria, one of the reasons it is very important that you only ever consider purchasing Independently Certified Diamonds, a topic we will cover in the future.

However, and in short, do consider Diamonds that are classed as having a Very Good Cut as they often do offer excellent value for money.

Premium Cut Diamonds

Posted by Whitefacet.com | Diamond Cuts | 12:27 PM

Ok, Ok, I know, I neglected to mention this cut category before...

Premium Cut Diamonds are generally almost as well cut and sometimes as well Cut as Ideal Cut graded stones, although often priced a little more competitively.

A Premium Cut Diamond is still cut with the intention of obtaining the greatest fire and brilliance from any given Diamond and very much like the Ideal Cut stones these are very much for the individual who craves the best that money can buy.

Ideal Cut Diamonds (Additional)

Posted by Whitefacet.com | Diamond Cuts | 12:08 PM

Also worthy of note is that an Ideal Cut Diamond's Cut is intended to maximize the stone's brilliance & the typically smaller tables on Ideal Cut Diamonds also serve as a tool for creating exaggerated dispersion, or fire as well, resulting in a truly stunning Diamond.

In short, an Ideal Cut Diamond is a bit like an expensive car - usually only enjoyed buy people who have the means and enjoy knowing that they are the owners of one of the finest things money can buy.

NB - The Ideal Cut Grade only applies to Round Brilliant Cut Diamonds.

Ideal Cut Diamonds

Posted by Whitefacet.com | Diamond Cuts | 1:54 PM

Ah, the creme de la creme of Diamond Cuts - Ideal.

What D is to Diamond Color and FL is to Diamond Clarity, Ideal is to Cut - absolutely the best you can get. Now a little history lesson.....

The basis of what makes up the criteria for an Ideal Cut Diamond was determined by the thesis of a young mathmatician, Marcel Tolkowsky way back in 1919. His thesis explored what made the best Cut in terms of creating the greatest fire and brilliance.

Whilst looking for an Ideal Cut Diamond, take into account the following:

Look for a Table Diameter of 52.4%-57.5%, a Crown Angle of 33.7 to 35.8 degrees, a Pavilion Depth of 42.2%-43.8%, a girdle Thickness of Thin, Medium or Slightly Thick and a Culet Size of None, Pointed, Very Small, Small, or Medium. Stick close to these guidelines and you won't go far wrong.

Diamond Cut Classes - What is well Cut?

Posted by Whitefacet.com | Diamond Cuts | 7:02 PM

Well Cut is a term used for a Diamond that has been cut to proper proportions and where light entering the top of the Diamond is reflected from one facet (cut, polished surface) to another and then dispersed through the top of the Diamond (table). Within the Well Cut standards we have Ideal, Excellent and Very Good Cut categories.

Ideal Cut: This cut combines the best in fire & brilliance. A truly awesome sparkling Diamond.
Excellent Cut: The stone exhibits great beauty, yet with a slight flexibility of percentages.
Very Good Cut:This range of Cut balances precise proportions with price considerations.

Diamond Cut Vs. Light Reflection / Refraction

Posted by Whitefacet.com | Diamond Cuts | 6:47 PM

In order to better understand Cut, we need to firstly understand what Cut means in terms of fire & brilliance and light refraction.

The diagram to the left aptly shows what happens when a Diamond is Cut ideally, Vs. what happens when the stone is not Cut well.

The top picture shows an Ideal Cut Diamond - you can clearly see that the light entering the Diamond is reflected from one facet to another and eventually is reflected back through the top of the stone in its entirety resulting in a brilliant, sparkly Diamond.

The middle diagram shows what happens when a Diamond is cut too deep. Much of the light entering the top of the Diamond escapes through the side of the stone (pavilion), resulting in a less than sparkling stone.

The last scenario is the shallow, or thin Cut stone. What happens when a Diamond is cut too shallow is that the light entering the top of the stone escapes through the pavilion before it can be reflected back through the top (table) of the Diamond.

Diamond Cut

Posted by Whitefacet.com | Diamond Cuts | 5:11 PM

A Diamonds Cut has perhaps the most profound effect over how a Diamond sparkles (refracts light).

How each individual stone is Cut has an incredible effect on the fire & brilliance of the Diamond, with an Ideal Cut (sometimes also referred to as European Cut) being the best Cut grade available and one which completely maximizes the sparkle, fire and brilliance.

Generally speaking, the further down the Cut scale you venture the duller the Diamond appears.

The main Cut classes are as follows:

Ideal

Excellent

Very Good

Well Cut

My next post will break down each cut "class" and hopefully offer at least some insight into Diamond Cut.

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