Diamond Cut

Cut describes the proportions and angles of a diamond. Many people confuse cut with the shape of a diamond. While diamonds are available in a variety of shapes including round, square, pear, heart, marquise, and oval, the shape is not as large a factor when it comes to assessing the value of a diamond.

Well Cut Diamond

Although nature determines the clarity, color and carat weight of a diamond, it takes a master diamond cutter to reveal a diamond’s true beauty. A well cut diamond reflects light from one mirror-like facet to another and projects the light through the top of the stone. The result is a diamond with a “full life”, or a fiery and brilliant display.

It is the brilliance of a diamond that makes it stand out. A poor cut will make it look dull even with excellent color and clarity. Many diamonds today are not cut as well as they could be. Many cutters choose to sacrifice some of the diamond’s beauty to achieve a stone that is a larger carat weight. Diamonds that are cut too deep or to shallow leak light through the side or bottom, resulting in a lackluster appearance and diminish value.

Ideal cut diamond

Nearly all light that enters the stone is reflected out of the top, designed to maximize brilliance.

Deep cut diamond

Light will travel out of the bottom or sides making the stone look dark and dull.

Shallow cut diamond

Light will be lost out of the bottom or sides causing the diamond to lose its fire or brilliance.

At Inter-Continental Jewelers, we only carry the higher cut, quality diamonds so that you don’t have to worry about picking a poorly cut diamond. As we stated above, nature dictates the characteristics of color, clarity and carat, but humans directly influence the cut. A finished diamond should be symmetrical. The table should be proportional, well-centered, and flat, not sloping. The cutlet should be centered when viewed from the top. The crown and pavilion facets should be properly aligned. And, the girdle should be perfectly round exhibiting a straight edge when viewed from the side.

 Ideally, the diamond should contain no extra facets, though extra facets may not have a significant adverse impact on its value depending on their shape and placement. From an aesthetic standpoint, a smaller, properly proportioned diamond is to be preferred over an improperly cut stone of greater carat weight and equal price. Acceptable feature proportions are calculated or expressed as a percentage of the diamond's girdle diameter.