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Article Series: Jewelry
A Quick Education On Jewelry
How
a Diamond Is Cut Determines Its Value
The cut of a diamond is a major factor in
determining its value. Cut is one of the four c’s that work
together to determine a diamond’s value. Diamond cutting
is the process that creates a gem-quality diamond out of mined
rough materials. A diamond’s cut describes the way a diamond
has been shaped and polished from its beginning form as a rough
stone to its final gem proportions. The diamond’s cut also
describes the quality of workmanship and the angles to which
a diamond is cut. The cut of the diamond is often confused
with the shape, but the cut primarily determines its shape.
Experts use mathematical guidelines to determine the angles
and length ratios at which a diamond should be cut to reflect
its maximum amount of light.
The round
brilliant cut is the most common diamond cut. The
brilliant cut is guided by specific mathematical guidelines,
but fancy cut stones are not able to be accurately guided by
mathematical guidelines. The techniques for cutting diamonds
have been crafted and perfected over hundreds of years. Mathematician
Marcel Tolkowsky made the greatest achievement in diamond cutting
in 1919. Tolkwosky created the round brilliant cut by calculating
the ideal shape to return and scatter light when a diamond
is viewed from above.
Today, the round brilliant cut has 57 facets (polished faces)
with 33 on the crown(top half of diamond), and 24 on the pavilion(the
lower half). The crown diffuses light into various colors,
and the pavilion reflects light back through the top of the
diamond. The further a diamond’s characteristics are from the
Tolkowsky’s ideal cut diamond, the less light that will be
reflected by the diamond. However, today, carat weight tends
to be more important than a diamond’s cut, so many diamonds
are cut poorly to increase the carat weight. In cutting the
diamond the middle is known as the girdle, and the girdle is
often made thicker or the depth may be increased to make the
carat weight closer to 1.0 carat. Increasing the depth of the
girdle does not make the diamond appear bigger, and it greatly
reduces the sparkle of the diamond.
A poorly cut 1.0-carat diamond may have the same diameter
and appear as large as a 0.85-carat diamond. The depth percentage
is the first indication of the quality of the cut of a round
brilliant diamond. An ideal round brilliant diamond will have
a depth percentage greater than 62.5 percent. Another indication
of a quality cut will be the diamond’s overall diameter. A
round brilliant cut 1.0-carat diamond should have a diameter
of 6.5mm. The Gemological Institute of America has surpassed
Tolkowsky’s mathematical model with its Facetware software,
which is the culmination of 20 years of studies on diamond
cuts. In 2003, the Genesis cut was developed; the cut differs
in shape from the traditional cuts. The Genesis cut has concave
surfaces and angles and resembles a four-pointed star.
Diamonds
can be cut square round, oval, and other shapes, and all
diamonds are put into three main categories, which
are brilliant cuts, step cuts, and mixed cuts. Brilliant cuts
have many facets, shaped like triangles that point outward,
allowing light to be captured and shine through the diamond.
In brilliant cuts the light bounces off of the facets and creating
a brilliant shimmer to the stone. Step cuts have fewer facets
than brilliant cut diamonds, and its facets are sloped with
four sides that step up and down on the slope of the cut. The
emerald cut is the most common step cut, which is cut into
a rectangular shape. Mixed cuts are a mix of between brilliant
and step cut diamonds. The part of the diamond viewed from
the top will be a step cut, with the under side being a brilliant
cut.
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
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