Diamond experts say that types of diamond cuts and diamonds cutting styles are the least understood of the four Cs (color, clarity, cutting and carat), and yet they have a significant impact on price. When compared to a poorly cut diamond, a well-cut diamond may easily be priced at 40 to 50 percent more. Let me explain what it is all about.
So, what exactly cut means in reference to diamonds and other stones? First of all, cut does not mean shape. Shape describes the outline of the diamond’s edge. When selecting the shape of the diamond we are talking about individual preference. Regardless of the shape you have selected, you must evaluate the diamond’s cutting.
There are three different diamond cutting styles to choose from: mixed cut, step cut, or brilliant cut. The most popular cutting style is a brilliant cut that uses many facets, however, triangular and kite-shaped styles are also widely used, and are normally arranged in a certain way to build maximum brilliance.
A step cut uses smaller number of facets, typically rectangular or trapezoid in shape, set up in a more linear pattern (the one you can see in the emerald cut). Although not as brilliant as those diamond cuts in a brilliant style, step cut diamonds are capable of producing a fiery, lovely stone with some understated but still a very elegant personality.
A mixed-cut style, as you might have already guessed, would combine elements from both brilliant and step-cut styles.
The diamond cut, also referred to by the specialists as “make,” is highly important due to its effect on the beauty and personality of the diamond. While evaluating the cut, we judge many factors, including the gemstone’s proportions and finish, and how they impact on the diamond’s ability to produce the brilliance (the sparkle, the liveliness) and the fire (the gorgeous rainbow colors that flare from within) that sets diamonds apart from all other gems.
Among all types of diamond cuts, a diamond cutting with the round brilliant cut is the most popular shape. The traditional round brilliant-cut diamond has fifty eight facets, with twenty four of them on the bottom, thirty three on the top and a culet (the point at the bottom).The small in size round brilliant-cut diamonds are referred to as “full-cut” to make a distinction from “single-cut” diamonds that have only seventeen facets, or “Swiss-cut” with only thirty three facets. The “single-cut” and “Swiss-cut” diamonds have less liveliness and brilliance than the full-cut stones, but with less facets they are easier and not so expensive to cut. Nowadays, there are a lot of specialty cuts that have more than fifty-eight facets.
Overall, the round brilliant-cut diamonds boast greater brilliance than other shapes, but other shapes can also be very nice. Recently a lot of new shapes have appeared, with some of them comparing very favorably to round stones for the total liveliness and brilliance. Now more than ever, it is important to understand as much as possible about the complex world of diamonds so that you can get what you really want and enjoy your diamonds purchases for years to come. Diamonds and Company will help you navigate the world of diamonds starting from understanding the complexities of the diamonds are grown in a laboratory to selecting a reliable jeweler.
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