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Breaking Down the 4 C’s of Diamond Buying: Cut

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When someone is discussing the cut of a diamond, your first thought might be the shape, but the term “cut” can also refer to something else. The cut of a diamond is how well it reflects light—something often called a diamond’s sparkle. Since sparkle is often the first thing people notice about your diamond, many consider cut to be the first and most important consideration when purchasing a diamond.

Understanding Diamond Sparkle

A quality diamond cut will show off the heart of a diamond, and perfect angles and finish allow light to flow through. Before you can understand diamond sparkle, though, it’s important to understand a little bit about the anatomy of a diamond.

  • Diameter is the overall width of the diamond
  • Table is the flat area at the top of the diamond
  • Crown angle and crown height measure the distance between the widest part and the table area
  • Pavilion angle and pavilion height measure the distance between the widest part of the diamond and the bottom point
  • Cutlet is the point at the very bottom of the diamond

In well-cut diamonds, light enters through the table, travels to the pavilion and reflects back and forth on each side before it exits the diamond through the table again.

Cut Options

There are four basic cuts that you can get in a diamond.

Ideal Cut: a smaller table area at the top creates the best dispersion of light, and only round diamonds are available in ideal cut.

Excellent Cut: close to ideal cut, excellent cut diamonds are usually slightly less expensive.

Very Good: these diamonds stray slightly from the ideal proportions, and usually it’s in the interest of creating a larger diamond; choosing this cut can help you get a better value by sacrificing some of the cut quality.

Good: a good cut strays more from the ideal proportions because cutters would rather create a larger diamond than they could by cutting off excess weight for the best proportions.

Fair & Poor: these cuts are the least desirable, either too shallow or too deep, so light reflects down and away from the diamond instead of being reflected back through the table area at the top.

How Cut is Graded

The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) and the AGSL (American Gem Society Laboratories) set the standards for diamond grading, and while there are some differences, they both generally grade on the overall appearance of the face, design, and craftsmanship or finish. The GIA uses a computer model while the AGSL uses 11 criteria for their analysis.

To learn more about diamond cut and check out the huge selection available in the highest quality cuts, visit AAA Jewelry in Salt Lake City today and talk to our experienced jewelry experts.