The 4 Cs of Diamonds: The Cut

The 4 Cs of Diamonds: The Cut

Cut is the most important characteristic when selecting a diamond. The reason is because it directly impacts the beauty of a diamond.

The cut, although commonly associated with the shape of a diamond (for example, round, oval, pear, etc.) has nothing to do with it, on the contrary, it refers to proportions, symmetry and shape. polishing a diamond.

Although extremely difficult to analyze and quantify, diamond cutting has three primary effects on appearance: brilliance (the brilliance created by the combination of all white light reflections from the surface and interior of a diamond polished), fire (the scattering of light in the colors of the visible spectrum, seen as flashes of color), and twinkle (flashes of light and dark, or twinkling, when moving a light source or diamond).

When forming a diamond from a rough stone, the cutter must balance optimal cut (and therefore appearance) against maximum performance (cutting the diamond to maintain as much carat weight of the rough stone as possible). Because many customers are willing to pay more for a larger, fair-cut diamond than for a slightly smaller, well-cut diamond, there is pressure on the cutter to sacrifice appearance for weight. This is the reason why the degree of cut is so important; allows the buyer to identify stones that were cut peer-to-peer in an effort to gain carat weight.

To achieve all three effects at the same time, the cut must be perfect. But first we have to understand the parts that make up the body of the diamond and its variations. The body of diamonds is divided into: crown, belt and pavilion.

  • CROWN: It is the upper part of the diamond where you can see the table and its facets (bevel, star and upper plate).

  • BELT: It is the line that connects the crown with the pavilion and functions as an adjustment edge. Generally, the contour of the girdle does not affect the look of the round brilliant unless it is very irregular. We recommend avoiding extremely thick or thin girdles.

  • PAVILION: It is the lower part of the stone and has its own facets (the lower girdle, the pavilion and the culet). The culet is the flat facet at the bottom.

TABLE AND DEPTH. For round diamonds we recommend a table between 52% -60% and a depth between 58% -63.5%.

It is important to know that the size of the diamond does not influence the light output, but the incorrect distribution of its proportions can reduce its brilliance. For example, a stone that is too shallow or too deep may lose its shine or lack light. The goal is to find a diamond with perfect symmetry between the top and bottom so that it shows great light output. These are your cut options:



  • A Excellent Cut or ideal shines beautifully reflecting all the light that travels through it with maximum fire and brilliance. All light comes out of the upper side of the stone.

  • A Very good Cut sets between an Excellent and Good cut that reflects most of the light back through the top. It is almost as bright as an ideal diamond, but cheaper.

  • A Good Cut reflects most of the light coming through the top, has good light performance but is not as good as excellent cut .

  • A Fair Cut is established between diamonds with good and bad cut. It loses its shine by letting light escape through the bottom of the stone, reducing the effect of the light.

  • A Poor Cut (deep, very deep, or very shallow) allows almost all light to escape through the sides and bottom, which causes loss of life and opacity.

Diamond cuts are classified into brilliant, stepped and mixed cuts. The round is the only diamond with a brilliant cut due to its 58 facets (57 if it has a culet). The faceted stones that run parallel to the girdle are the stepped ones like the Baguette, Asscher, and Emerald; and diamonds with brilliant and stepped cut characteristics are Princess, Cushion and Radiant; classified as mixed cut diamonds.

Cutting does not only refer to the variation between shapes, their symmetry or their proportions; it is also about the final size of the diamond. For example, a cushion cut diamond can be a perfect square or a defined rectangular.

At Dídiamant we offer all types of diamonds between different cuts, shapes, colors, clarity and carats; But when it comes to the cut we always suggest to our clients that they look for an Excellent or Very Good cut. Sometimes, if you are lucky enough, you can find attractive options between good cuts, but it is difficult to find one with a ravishing shine. Also, this could be an option when you are willing to sacrifice cuts to increase the carats of your diamond, choose a better color, or select the purest clarity.

Now that you know everything about the cut, it is your turn to decide what cut you want your diamond to have, just keep in mind that one of the most important characteristics of a diamond is its brightness, its light, its brightness; which is directly influenced by the cut. So choose wisely!