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The  4C's Although  this  topic  can  get  a  little  complicated,  you  will  see  that  if  you  spend  some  time
Diamond  Cuts learning  about  diamond  cuts,  you  will  be  able  to  pick  out  a  real  sparkler.
Diamond  Color
Diamond  Carat
Diamond  Clarity
In  this  article  we  are  going  to  talk  about  diamond  cuts.    It  seems  that  this
Many  customers  begin  with topic  can  be  pretty  confusing  to  many  people  looking  to  buy  a  new
the  notion  that  they  want  the diamond.    The  most  common  reason  for  this,  is  because  diamond  shape
More  Learning is  often  confused  with  diamond  cut.    Frankly  it’s  not  surprising  that  people
Flawless  vs  Internally
biggest  diamond  possible. get  a  little  confused  at  times,  especially  when  they  hear  diamond
Flawless professionals  referring  to  diamond  shapes  as  if  they  were  a  type  of  cut.
It’s  important  to  remember
VS1  vs  VS2
Wedding  Bands  vs when  shopping  for  a Common  examples  that  we  often  hear  are  Princess  cut  diamond,  Radiant
Wedding  Rings cut  diamond,  Emerald  cut  diamond,  Asscher  cut  diamond,  and  so  on.  
diamond  that,  “Bigger  Is  Not The  proper  terminology  that  should  be  used  is  Princess  Shape  diamond,
Diamond  Certification
Explained Always  Better”. Radiant  Shape  Diamond,  Emerald  shape  diamond,  Asscher  shape
diamond.…you  get  the  point.

Resources
Blog  -­  Articles Quick Diamond Cut Facts:
Engagement  Ring
Facets  make  up  the  surfaces  of  a  diamond.    When  light  enters  in  to  a  diamond,  these  facets  act  like  tiny  light
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bouncing  mirrors  that  reflect  light.    Light  that  is  reflected  from  properly  cut  and  polished  facets,  create  the  sparkle,  fire,
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scintillation  and  brilliance  of  a  diamond.  Where  sparkle  doesn’t  really  need  an  introduction,  here’s  a  quick  look  at  what
the  others  mean.

Brilliance Scintillation Fire

Brilliance  is  a  term  used  to
describe  the  total  amount  of
light  that  is  reflected  by  a
diamond.
When  light  hits  the  surface  of  a
diamond,  some  light  enters  the
diamond  and  some  is  reflected
back.  The  most  immediate  light
reflected  back  is  returned  by  the
crown’s  angle  facets.
Scintillation  is  a  term  used  to
describe  the  sparkles,  or
flashes  of  light,  which  are
produced  when  a  diamond  is
moved  underneath  a  light
source.
The  light  that  isn’t  reflected
back  enters  the  diamond  and
reflects  from  facet-­to-­facet,
toward  the  center  of  the
diamond.  This  light,  which
bounces  off  the  facets  of  the
diamond,  is  the  quality
described  as  scintillation.
Fire  is  a  term  used  to  describer
the  dispersion  of  light  into
different  colors  of  light.
Once  the  light  is  bounced  off
the  inside  walls  towards  the
center  of  the  diamond,  it  then
shoots  back  up  through  the  top
of  the  diamond.  Because  the
light  is  slightly  bent  by  the
diamond,  a  color  spectrum  is
visible  when  light  exits  the  top
of  the  diamond.

Diamonds  are  priced  “Per  Carat  Weight”.    This  is  referred  to  as  a  diamond’s  Price  Per  Carat  (PCP).    You  may  also
hear  it  referred  to  as  “Cost  Per  Carat”.  If  all  other  factors  were  the  same  when  comparing  2  diamonds,  a  better  cut
diamond  would  cost  more  per  carat  than  it’s  poorly  cut  counterpart.

Along  with  a  Diamond’s  Proportions  and  Symmetry  ratings,  a  Diamond’s  Polish  rating  is  also  considered  important  and
is  part  of  a  Diamond’s  Cut  Grade.    Polish  is  included  on  all  reputable  Diamond  Grading  certificates  such  as  GIA,  EGL
and  AGSL.    A  Poorly  Polished  diamond  can  have  a  negative  impact  on  the  diamond’s  brilliance.

A  diamond  with  an  excellent  or  very  good  cut  grade,  does  not  guarantee  a  beautiful  diamond.    You  still  have  to
consider  all  of  the  other  diamond  grading  factors  such  as  fluorescence,  clarity,  color,  Polish,  culet  etc..    Buying  a
diamond  on  a  budget  is  like  performing  a  balancing  act.    You  have  to  consider  all  of  the  desirable  factors  that  you  want
in  a  diamond,  and  then  balance  them  against  your  budget.    Only  you  can  determine  whether  a  better  color  grade,  better
clarity  grade,  bigger  carat  weight,  or  better  cut,  is  the  most  important  factor  for  your  budget.
 You  don’t  have  to  buy  a  diamond  that  has  an  Excellent  cut  grade,  in  order  for  it  to  still  be  beautiful.    Since  GIA  and
AGSL  cut  grading  are  very  stringent,  even  a  diamond  with  a  “Very  Good”  GIA  or  AGSL  cut  grade,  can  be  very
impressive.

An excellent cut diamond will cost more per carat for two reasons:
1.   The  yield  may  be  lower.
This  means  that  there  is  more  waste  created  when  cutting  the  rough  diamond.  Often  times  a  cutter  may  decide  to  cut  a
diamond  to  make  it  bigger,  rather  than  better.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  cutter  decides  to  create  an  Excellent  Cut
Diamond,  he/she  may  have  to  remove  more  of  the  rough  diamond,  in  order  to  do  so.    Even  though  you  are  not  actually
purchasing  the  waste,  the  cost  is  still  factored  in  to  the  overall  cut  diamond  price.

2.   More  rare  and  more  desirable.

Diamonds  that  are  cut  with  Truly  Excellent  standards  are  less  abundant.  Approximately  only  20%  of  loose  diamonds  will
meet  the  Excellent  Cut  Grade  standards.  This  certainly  makes  them  more  rare  than  diamonds  that  are  less  than
perfectly  cut.  And  since  an  excellent  cut  diamond  will  tend  to  sparkle  with  maximum  potential,  it  is  certainly  more
desirable.

Quick Look at Common Cut Grades

EX  =  Excellent

VG  =  Very  Good

GD  =  Good

When  the  light  shines  in  it  has  no  place  to  go,  but  back  up  through  the  top  giving  the
FR  =  Fair best  possible  brilliance  and  fire.  Excellent  cut  diamonds  have  the  ability  to  make  all
colors  below  D  appear  whiter.  Overall  giving  off  a  sparkle  that  can  be  seen  across  the
room.
PR  =  Poor

Diamond Cut Matters

The  first  thing  to  mention  about  diamond  cuts,  is  that  cut  matters  a  lot!    At  least  if  you  want  your  diamond  to  sparkle.  (Who
doesn’t  want  to  buy  the  most  sparkly  diamond  possible?)    Often  times  people  shopping  for  diamonds,  tend  to  focus  on  only
3  of  the  4  C’s  (Carat,  Color,  Clarity)  and  often  forget  about  the  “4th  C”,  cut  grade.    A  Diamond’s  cut  grade  refers  to  how  well
a  diamond  is  cut,  or  proportioned.    It  also  refers  to  a  diamond’s  symmetry,  or  how  symmetrical  it’s  parts  are.    Proportions
and  symmetry  play  an  important  role  in  allowing  a  diamond  to  reflect  light  properly.  If  the  proportions,  symmetry  and  polish
are  perfect,  the  diamond  will  show  an  excellent  ability  to  sparkle,  and  likely  be  issued  an  “Excellent  Cut  Grade”

Learn The Parts Of A Diamond

In  order  to  learn  about  diamond  cuts,  first  learn  about  the  different  parts  of  a  diamond.

The  anatomy  of  a  diamond  consists  of  five

main  sections:

#1)  Table:    The  table  is  the  largest  facet  of

a  diamond  and  is  located  on  the  top  of  the
diamond.  (Yes,  it  is  considered  a  facet)  It
resembles  a  flat  “Table”  and  can  vary  in
size,  in  relation  to  the  size  of  the  diamond.  
Many  diamond  professionals  will  state  that
an  excellent  cut  round  diamond,  should
have  a  Table  diameter  that  measures  60%
of  the  Girdle  diameter.  This  is  called  the
60-­60  rule.  However  others  will  state  that
the  Table  diameter  percentage  should  be
between  53%  to  60%.    My  personal  opinion
is  to  stay  closer  to  60%.    This  is  one  area
of  Diamond  Cut  that  opinions  do  vary.

#2)  Crown:    The  crown  is  made  up  of

several  facets  and  is  the  top,  angled  portion  of  the  diamond.    It  is  the  section  located  below  the  table  and  above  the  girdle.  
The  crown  facets  of  a  typical  Round  Brilliant  Diamond  Cut  consist  of  8  Star  Facets,  8  Kite  Facets,  and  16  Upper  Girdle
Facets.

#3)  Girdle:    The  Girdle  forms  the  outer  most  edge  of  a  diamond  and  it’s  where  the  crown  (top  portion)  and  pavilion  (bottom
portion)  of  the  diamond  meet.  It’s  kind  of  like  the  “Equator”  of  the  diamond.  Some  Diamonds  have  smooth  Girdles  and
others  have  “faceted  girdles”.  Also,  the  Girdle  of  a  diamond  can  vary  in  thickness.  A  Girdle  that  varies  in  thickness  too
much  can  be  a  sign  of  a  poorly  cut  diamond.  For  example,  if  a  Girdle  varies  from  Extremely  Thin  to  Extremely  Thick,  that
is  probably  not  a  good  sign.  You  should  also  consider  staying  away  from  a  diamond  with  an  extremely  thin  Girdle  as  it  may
be  prone  to  chipping.

#4)  Pavilion:  The  Pavilion  is  the  lower,  angled  portion  of  the  diamond.  (the  bottom  half  of  the  diamond)    The  pavilion  also  is
made  up  of  facets.  These  facets  consist  of  16  lower  Girdle  Facets  and  8  Pavilion  Facets.

#5)  Culet:    The  culet  (not  cutlet)  is  the  tiny  facet  at  the  very  bottom  point  of  a  gemstone.    If  a  diamond  is  cut  perfectly,  there
may  be  no  culet  because  the  Pavilion  facets  will  align  perfectly  to  form  a  point.    If  a  diamond  is  cut  poorly,  a  culet  will  be
present  and  can  vary  in  size.    Generally  speaking,  a  culet  is  not  desirable  since  it  can  create  a  dark  shadow  that  is  visible
when  looking  through  the  top  (table  facet)  of  the  diamond.    The  bigger  the  culet,  the  bigger  the  shadow.    If  a  culet  is  present,
it  may  be  polished  to  form  an  additional  facet.    This  means  that  a  round  diamond  can  have  58  facets,  instead  of  57.

The Girdle and Diamond Cuts

The  Girdle  diameter  also  plays  an  important  role  in  calculating  the  depth
percentage  of  a  Gemstone.    In  order  to  calculate  the  Depth  percentage,
Gemologists  will  measure  the  total  depth  of  the  stone  in  millimeters  (From  the
Table  Facet  to  the  Culet)  and  divide  that  measurement  by  the  average  Girdle
diameter.A  depth  percentage  of  60%  is  desirable  for  an  excellent  cut
grade.  My  personal  opinion  is  to  stay  within  59%  to  61%  depth.

Depths  lower  than  59%  are  shallow  cut  diamonds  and  may  appear  larger  than
they  should  for  their  respective  carat  weight.  Depth  percentages  larger  than
61%  will  be  Deep  cut  diamonds  and  appear  smaller  than  they  should  for  their
respective  carat  weight.    Although  you  may  be  tempted  to  buy  a  shallow  cut
diamond  so  that  it  appears  larger  than  it  should,  just  remember  that  you  may  lose  some  of  the  Sparkle  Factor!

A look into how Depth, Girdle and Polish of a diamond plays a major role.
The  side  example  gives  you  a  great  idea  of
why  you  can’t  just  look  at  the  carat  weight
when  you  purchase  a  diamond.  You  have  to
look  at  how  well  the  diamond’s  cut  is  graded.
And  part  of  the  cut  grading  has  to  do  with
the  girdle  and  polish  of  your  diamond.

I  like  to  look  at  the  Girdle  and  the  Polish

together,  as  they  are  what  I  call  the
reflective  surfaces.  Here’s  a  good  way  to
look  at  this.

The  Girdle  is  the  basically  the  middle  of  the

diamond.  It  separates  the  crown  and  table
from  the  pavilion  and  culet.  All  light  has  to
pass  through  the  Girdle,  and  then  bounce
back  up  again.  So  it  stands  to  reason  you
don’t  want  such  a  thick  girdle  otherwise  the
light  will  have  a  harder  time  getting  through,
and  be  more  apt  to  reflect  the  light  in
abnormal  ways.

Polish and Diamond Cut

Polish  directly  effect  Cut.  The  polish  is  basically  how  clean  the  diamond  surface  is  after  it’s  been  cut.  The  microscopic
ridges  in  the  diamond  play  another  important  part  of  reflectivity.  Lets  say  you  had  a  piece  of  glass  and  you  scratch  the
surface  of  the  glass,  as  you  can  image  when  light  hits  the  glass  and  the  scratch  it  will  reflect  oddly.  So  by  keeping  your
Girdle  between  Thin  and  Slightly  Thick  you  allow  the  most  light  to  get  through  without  any  issues.  Same  with  the  polish  of
the  diamond.  All  diamonds  will  have  a  polish  grading.  Try  to  keep  it  Very  Good  to  Excellent.

Quick Look At GIA Girdle Measurements:

ETN  =  Extremely  Thin

VTN  =  Very  Thin

THN  =  Thin
MED  =  Medium
STK  =  Slightly  Thick
An  Extremely  Thin  or  Very  Thin  Girdle  has  no  problem  allowing  light  to  pass  through
it,  the  problem  lies  in  the  actual  thickness  of  it.  The  thickness  is  so  thin  that  these
THK  =  Thick grades  become  very  susceptible  to  breaking  or  cracking.  You’ll  notice  that  if  a
diamond  has  an  extremely  thin  girdle  it’s  actually  penalized  4  points,  if  it’s  a  very  thin
VTK  =  Very  Thick girdle  the  cut  will  get  penalized  1  point.  You’ll  want  to  avoid  these,  as  accidentally
ETK  =  Extremely  Thick hitting  your  ring  up  against  a  wall  could  chip  your  diamond.
 The Diamond Cuts Of GIA, EGL and AGSL
The  next  thing  to  mention  about  “Diamond  Cuts”  is  that  different  diamond  grading  organizations  will  use  different  terms  to
describe  them.    And  to  make  matters  even  more  confusing,  some  retail  jewelers  will  sell  diamonds  using  their  own  names
for  cut  grades.  These  companies  want  to  give  the  perception  that  these  diamonds  are  “The  Best  Of  The  Best”  and  you
should  pay  more  for  them.  (A  common  trick  among  many  jewelers)

If  you  are  willing  to  pay  Top  Dollar  for  these  diamonds,  by  all  means  go  ahead.  However  if  you  would  like  to  save  some
money  and  still  get  a  beautiful  diamond,  just  do  your  homework  and  pick  out  the  winner  yourself.    Remember,  if  you  are
buying  a  diamond  from  a  reputable  jeweler  you  will  have  plenty  of  time  to  return  the  diamond  if  it  doesn’t  meet  your
expectations,  as  most  offer  30-­60  day  money  back  guarantees.

GIA  CUTS EGL  CUTS AGSL  CUTS

Excellent  /  Triple  X Super  Ideal 0  =  AGS  Ideal  (Also  called  AGS  000)
Very  Good Ideal 1  =  Excellent
Good Good 2  =  Very  Good
Fair Fair 3-­4  =  Good
Poor Poor 5-­7  =  Fair
8-­10  =  Poor

Predict The Cut Grade Of A Diamond (This Is Really Neat!)

A  very  handy  free  online  service  that  you  can  take  advantage  of,  is  the  GIA  Facetware®  Cut  Estimator.    You  will  have  to
register  for  a  free  account  in  order  to  use  this  free  service.    However  if  you  have  the  necessary  information  about  any
diamond,  you  can  predict  how  GIA  would  grade  the  cut  of  that  diamond  by  using  GIA’s  database  of  more  than  38.5  million
diamond  proportion  sets  in  order  to  estimate  the  cut  grade  for  any  standard  round  brilliant  diamond  in  the  GIA  D-­to-­Z  color
range  and  Flawless-­to-­I3  clarity  range.

If  you  have  any  questions,  please  do  not  hesitate  to  contact  us.
Call  us  at  213-­222-­8868,  or  send  us  an  email.

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