Of course, you already know about the 4Cs of diamonds – cut, color, clarity and carat weight – and their importance in selecting the right gem. However, if we had to choose one “C” as the most critical to a diamond’s beauty, it would be its cut.

The Human Touch

Cut is really the only quality of a diamond that is controlled by a human, in this case, the gem cutter. His job is to take a rough diamond and transform it into a sparkling gem. Regardless of a diamond's shape, each cut is created using precise mathematical proportions.

Round Brilliant Has 58 Facets

For example, the standard brilliant cut, developed in 1919, and still the most popular cut, contains a total of 58 facets - the small, polished planes that reflect light. The large facet at the top is known as the table; the crown is the upper portion of the diamond; the girdle is the narrow band at the outer edge; the pavilion is the lower part of the stone, extending to the culet, which is the bottom tip.

How a Diamond Gets Its Brilliance

A diamond's quality of reflection is known as brilliance, which is caused when light enters through the table, travels down to the pavilion where it reflects from one side to the other, and back up through the table to the eye of the viewer. The precision of the angles of the facets controls the amount of reflected and refracted light and gives the diamond its brilliance and fire - critical factors in judging the quality of a diamond.

When It Doesn't Make the Grade...

If a diamond is cut poorly, light enters the table but instead of reflecting back, it gets misdirected out the sides or bottom of the stone, resulting in less fire and brilliance. That is why the quality of the cut is essential to a diamond's beauty.

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