Diamond Cut

When referring to “cut,” people often think of the shape of a diamond rather than its cut attribute. The shape of a diamond is the outline of the diamond when viewed from the top.

 The “Cut” of a diamond indicates the quality of that diamond’s proportions, polish, and symmetry. These factors will affect how much Brilliance (Brightness), and Sparkle (Fire & Scintillation) the diamond will have. The Cut Scale of Diamonds is used to determine that quality.

Brightness: The amount of  white light reflected from a diamond internally and externally
Fire: The scattering of white light through a diamond into all the colors of the rainbow
Scintillation: The amount of sparkle a diamond produces, and the pattern of light and dark areas caused by reflections within the diamond

The Cut Scale of Diamonds is divided into five categories: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor. An Excellent cut diamond has the most brilliance and sparkle, and it exhibits most of the white light that refracts and displays into the colours of the spectrum. A Very Good cut diamond is still quite brilliant, but slightly less so than an Excellent cut. So on and so forth until the categorization of Poor cut. This diamond reflects very little light, and may appear dull, cloudy, and lifeless.

To note, diamonds with perfect clarity or colour may seem desirable, however, if they are poorly cut, they will appear dull and lifeless. On the other hand, even diamonds with average or below average colour and clarity can appear brilliant if they have an excellent cut.

When buying a diamond it is important to consider the Cut Scale. A higher cut grade means a more brilliant diamond, and better value. If the proportions, polish, and symmetry are all graded as Excellent, referred to as “Triple Excellent”, this diamond is rare. However, it is important to remember that the Cut Scale is only one of the four Cs of diamond buying (the others being Clarity, Colour, and Carat.