The Better Cut a Diamond, the More Brilliant it will appear.
While nature determines a diamond's clarity, carat weight and color, the hand of a craftsman is necessary to release its sparkle and beauty. When a diamond is cut to good proportions, light will reflect from one mirror-like facet to another and disperse through the top of the stone, resulting in a display of brilliance and fire.
Diamonds that are cut too shallow or too deep lose light that can spill through the side or bottom. As a result, poorly cut stones will be less brilliant and beautiful then well cut diamonds.
There are several different types of cuts when it comes to diamonds. They Are:
The cut of a diamond is the only property which is totally dependent on man. Cut is actually one of the most important aspects to consider when choosing your diamond.
Cut refers to not only the shape of the diamonds, but its proportions and finish. These determine the sparkle of the diamond.
Even if you have two equal polished diamonds, both the same carat size, both the same color, both the same clarity, they may look completely different. There are many different shapes, and facets in a diamond. The weight can be distributed in different parts of the stone.
Here's a picture of what is called in the Diamond industry an ideal cut stone:
The goal in terms of extracting the greatest beauty from a Diamond, is to have light enter a Diamond, disperse the light as it bounces inside the Diamond, thereby producing the different colors and sparkly effect, and finally returning as much light to the eye as possible.
The proportions shown above are the best for maximum light return. It is possible for a diamond cutter to extract more weight out of the diamond by increasing the diameter of the stone. This will make the stone too shallow, and light may escape from the side of the stone, or leak out of the bottom of the stone.
This is not to say that a shallow or deep stone is a sign of a poor, or "low-quality" diamond cutter. Sometimes the shape of the rough diamond makes it impractical to cut a stone closer to "ideal" proportions without losing significant weight. But it is important to note the "light leakage" which will result from this cut.
