Cut

A well-cut diamond can make light perform in breathtaking ways, resulting in a magnificent display of three important diamond attributes: brightness, fire, and scintillation.

Brightness—called brilliance by many in the trade—is the combination of all the white light reflections from the ­surface and the inside of a diamond. Fire is the word for the flashes of color you see in a polished diamond. Scintillation describes the flashes of light and contrasting dark areas you see when the diamond, the light, or the observer moves.

The three major parts of a polished diamond, top to bottom, are the crown, the girdle, and the pavilion. The crown and the pavilion—and sometimes the girdle—have small, flat, polished surfaces called facets. Some polished diamonds also have a flat facet at the bottom of the pavilion, called the culet. This basic information will help you throughout the rest of this course and also in the retail store. After all, you won’t gain much respect as a jewelry professional if you describe the bottom of a diamond as “the pointy end.”

The term brilliant cut is used as a general term for gems of any shape with facets that are mostly triangular or kite shaped and that radiate from the center. In most retail settings, the standard round brilliant is by far the most popular diamond cut. It has 57 or 58 facets, depending on whether there’s a culet or not. Very small round diamonds are sometimes fashioned as single cuts, with just 17 or 18 facets.

Shapes or cutting styles other than the standard round brilliant are called fancy cuts. Fancy cuts also have names of their own. The most familiar are the marquise, princess, pear, oval, heart, and emerald cut. You’ll learn more about each of these in a later assignment.

Some fancy cuts are brilliants, and some are step cuts. Their “steps” usually consist of three rows of four-sided facets that are parallel to the girdle on the crown and pavilion. The emerald cut is the most popular step cut. Like standard round brilliants, emerald cuts normally have 57 or 58 facets. The table is usually rectangular, with beveled corners.

Baguettes are small rectangular or tapered stones, often used as side or accent stones for a large center stone. Baguettes are step cuts with only two rows of facets and unbeveled corners.

People tend to prefer fancy shapes for large diamonds. Brilliant cuts generally show more fire than step cuts, but step cuts usually show color better.

Mixed cuts feature a combination of brilliant and step facets. Usually the step facets are on the crown and the brilliant facets are on the pavilion, but sometimes it’s the other way around.

Specific manufacturers have developed and named their own cuts. This category is called branded cuts. Their names are sometimes trademarked or protected by copyright. If you’re handling a branded cut, use its name as one of its selling points.

From time to time, you might encounter diamonds cut in novelty shapes like stars, fish, birds, butterflies, crosses, horse heads, and clover leaves. Some people like them because they’re different.