Diamond Cut
Cut is the factor that fuels a diamond’s fire, sparkle and brilliance.
The traditional 58 facets in a round brilliant diamond, each precisely cut and defined, are as small as two millimeters in diameter. But without this precision, a diamond wouldn’t be nearly as beautiful. The allure of a particular diamond depends more on cut than anything else.
Though extremely difficult to analyze or quantify, the cut of any diamond has three attributes: brilliance (the total light reflected from a diamond), fire (the dispersion of light into the colors of the spectrum), and scintillation (the flashes of light, or sparkle, when a diamond is moved).
An understanding of diamond cut begins with the shape of a diamond. The standard round brilliant is the shape used in most diamond jewelry. All others are known as fancy shapes. Traditional fancy shapes include the marquise, pear, oval and emerald cuts. Hearts, cushions, triangles and a variety of others are also gaining popularity in diamond jewelry.
As a value factor, though, cut refers to a diamond’s proportions, symmetry and polish. For example, look at a side view of the standard round brilliant. The major components, from top to bottom, are the crown, girdle and pavilion. A round brilliant cut diamond has 57 or 58 facets, the 58th being a tiny flat facet at the bottom of the pavilion that’s known as the culet. The large, flat facet on the top is the table. The proportions of a diamond refer to the relationships between table size, crown angle and pavilion depth. A wide range of proportion combinations are possible, and these ultimately affect the stone’s interaction with light.
Diamond Color
Diamond color is all about what you can’t see. Diamonds are valued by how closely they approach colorlessness – the less color, the higher their value. (The exception to this is fancy-color diamonds, such as pinks and blues, which lie outside this color range.)
Most diamonds found in jewelry stores run from colorless to near-colorless, with slight hints of yellow or brown.
GIA’s color-grading scale for diamonds is the industry standard. The scale begins with the letter D, representing colorless, and continues with increasing presence of color to the letter Z, or near-colorless.
Each letter grade has a clearly defined range of color appearance. Diamonds are color-graded by comparing them to stones of known color under controlled lighting and precise viewing conditions.
Many of these color distinctions are so subtle as to be invisible to the untrained eye. But these slight differences make a very big difference in diamond quality and price.
WHY DOES THE GIA COLOR GRADING SYSTEM START AT D?
Before GIA developed the D-Z Color Grading Scale, a variety of other systems were loosely applied. These included letters of the alphabet (A, B and C, with multiple A’s for the best stones), Arabic (0, 1, 2, 3) and Roman (I, II, III) numerals, and descriptions such as “gem blue” or “blue white.” The result of all these grading systems was inconsistency and inaccuracy. Because the creators of the GIA Color Scale wanted to start fresh, without any association with earlier systems, they chose to start with the letter D—a letter grade normally not associated with top quality.
Diamond Carat
Diamonds and other gemstones are weighed in metric carats: one carat is equal to 0.2 grams, about the same weight as a paperclip. (Don’t confuse carat with karat, as in “18K gold,” which refers to gold purity.)
Just as a dollar is divided into 100 pennies, a carat is divided into 100 points. For example, a 50-point diamond weighs 0.50 carats. But two diamonds of equal weight can have very different values depending on the other members of the Four C’s: clarity, color and cut. The majority of diamonds used in fine jewelry weigh one carat or less.
Because even a fraction of a carat can make a considerable difference in cost, precision is crucial. In the diamond industry, weight is often measured to the hundred thousandths of a carat, and rounded to a hundredth of a carat. Diamond weights greater than one carat are expressed in carats and decimals. (For instance, a 1.08 ct. stone would be described as “one point oh eight carats,” or “one oh eight.”)
Diamond Clarity
Because diamonds formed deep within the earth, under extreme heat and pressure, they often contain unique birthmarks, either internal (inclusions) or external (blemishes).
Diamond clarity refers to the absence of these inclusions and blemishes. Diamonds without these birthmarks are rare, and rarity affects a diamond’s value. Using the GIA International Diamond Grading System™, diamonds are assigned a clarity grade that ranges from flawless (FL) to diamonds with obvious inclusions (I3).
Every diamond is unique. None is absolutely perfect under 10× magnification, though some come close. Known as Flawless diamonds, these are exceptionally rare. Most jewelers have never even seen one.
The GIA Clarity Scale contains 11 grades, with most diamonds falling into the VS (very slightly included) or SI (slightly included) categories. In determining a clarity grade, the GIA system considers the size, nature, position, color or relief, and quantity of clarity characteristics visible under 10× magnification.
Flawless (FL) - No inclusions or blemishes are visible to a skilled grader using 10× magnification
. Internally Flawless (IF) - No inclusions and only blemishes are visible to a skilled grader.
Symbol Meaning Definition
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F
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Flawless
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Free from all inclusions or blemishes
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IF
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Internally Flawless
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No inclusions are visible at 10x magnification
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VVS1
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Very Very Slightly Included#1
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Inclusions that are extremely difficult to locate at 10x magnification
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VVS2
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Very Very Slightly Included #2
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Inclusions that are difficult to locate at 10x magnification
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VS1
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Very Slightly Included #1
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Minor inclusions that are difficult to locate at 10x magnification
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VS2
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Very Slightly Included #2
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Minor inclusions that are somewhat difficult to locate at 10x magnification
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SI1
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Slightly Included #1
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Noticeable inclusions that are easy to locate at 10x magnification
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SI2
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Slightly Included #2
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Noticeable inclusions that are very easy to locate at 10x magnification
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I1
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Included #1
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Obvious inclusions. Somewhat easy to locate with no magnification
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I2
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Included #2
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Obvious inclusions. Easy to locate with no magnification.
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I3
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Included #3
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Obvious inclusions. Very easy to locate with no magnification
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Diamond Facts
Diamonds are the hardest natural substance on earth, and are 4 times harder than the second hardest mineral- Sapphire.
Not all diamonds are white. Impurities can lend diamonds a shade of blue, red, orange, yellow, green, brown and even black. Vivid blue, green and pink mined diamonds are the rarest.
The tradition of a diamond engagement ring started in 1477 when Archduke Maximillian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy.
The largest Diamond ever found was the Cullinan at 3,106 carats. It was cut into several large polished stones; the two largest of these is now part of the British Crown Jewels.
The majority of diamonds mined are used for industrial purposes. Only 20% are suitable for fine jewelry.
It takes a diamond cutter 10 years of apprenticeship to learn to cut a 1carat diamond.
Only 10% of the world’s population has ever held a 1carat diamond- and even less have held a 2carat!
Diamonds can be up to 3.4 billion years old! Just think, your diamonds are older than dinosaurs!
In the U.S., diamonds have been found in only three states- Arkansas, Colorado, and Montana.
Many skin care products use diamond dust as an ingredient for exfoliation. Talk about pampering your skin!
The word Diamond comes from the Greek word "adamas," which means "unconquerable and indestructible."
It takes 250 tons of earth to produce a single one-carat diamond. In other words, you’d have to sift through 250 1-ton dump trucks to find a diamond the size of a large pea!
In one thousand polished diamonds; only one will weigh more than one carat.
At the rate that diamonds are being mined today, there are only 40 more years before all known deposits will be mined out.
The first written notation of precious diamonds dates back to around 500 B.C.
In order for a diamond to burn, it must be heated to one thousand, two hundred, and ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit. We had our jeweler test this theory with a torch- but don’t try it at home!
Although the U.S. accounts for less than one-percent of total global gemstone productions, America buys more than half of the world's total gem quality diamonds - accounting for the world's largest diamond market.
The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas is the world’s only diamond mine open to the public- tourists dig for free and keep what they find. The only perfect diamond yet to be found- the Strawn-Wagner diamond- was found in this mine in 1990!
Valued at $141,000 in 1908, the Hope Diamond is now estimated to be worth up to $350 million. The 45.52 gray-blue stone is on display in the Smithsonian Museum.
Why wear the ring on the third finger of the left hand? The ancient Egyptians believed that the vein in that finger ran directly to the heart.
Jewish high priests turned to diamonds to decide the innocence or guilt of the accused: a stone held before a guilty person was supposed to dull and darken, while when held before an innocent one to glow with increased brilliance.
The Greeks believed the fire in the diamond reflected the constant flame of love.
The capacity of diamond to conduct heat distinguishes it readily from other gems and exceeds that of copper, an excellent thermal conductor, by about 4 times at room temperature.
Diamonds are called "ice" for good reason- they not only hold a lower temperature than our bodies, but they can also extract or conduct heat away from us.
Diamond powder administered internally is a legendary poison prized for its effectiveness and “snob appeal.” Catherine de Medici was famous for dealing out death by diamond powder.
If you were to gather all the diamonds ever polished since the beginning of time, they would fill only one double-decker bus.
74% of all brides receive a diamond engagement ring. Of those, 60% are involved in picking out their ring, while 3% actually pick it themselves.
An estimated 10 million people globally are directly or indirectly supported by the diamond industry.
The phrase ‘Diamonds are Forever’ was coined by the DeBeers company in 1938 during one of the most successful advertising campaigns in history. The James Bond movie with the same title was actually promoted by DeBeers.
Unlike other gems, diamonds form in the earth's mantle--up to 100 miles below the surface. They get pushed up to the ground by volcanoes.
Since 1940, diamonds have doubled in value every ten years, at minimum.
In 1761, King George III first introduced the tradition of the "keeper," or guard ring. He presented a band encircled with diamonds to his bride, Queen Charlotte. This began the tradition of the wedding band.
A rough diamond looks so much like a pebble that most people would pass it by without a second glance.
The price of a diamond grows exponentially with its size because the larger the stone, the rarer it is- therefore a single diamond of two carats is worth more than twice a much as 2 one carat diamonds.
An estimated 5 million people have access to appropriate healthcare globally thanks to revenues from diamonds.
The most expensive piece of jewelry ever designed specifically for a movie was the necklace worn by Nicole Kidman in the musical Moulin Rouge. Stefano Canturi designed the $1 million creation. It was made of 1,308 diamonds with a combined total of 134 carats set entirely in platinum.
