CUT

A diamond's cut is the most important regarding the sparkling look of a diamond. Light refraction is obscured when a diamond is cut too deep(tall) or too shallow(short), taking away from fire and brilliance of the diamond.

Fire- The amount of color that the diamond emits.
Brilliance- The actual brightness of the diamond.

If the diamond measurements are out of the optimal range making the diamond too tall or short, it will not have a lively look. Fire and brilliance will be diminished. Due to this, the cut of a diamond can greatly affect the value. When looking at diamonds, you will typically see cut graded as excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor. The higher the quality of cut, expect the diamond to have a higher value.

It may be big, it may be clean, and it may be white, but if the cut is poor, the stone will look dull. When a diamond is cut properly, light is reflected from one facet to another and through the top of the stone.

(1.) Well-cut diamond (2.) A deep-cut diamond (3.) A shallow-cut diamond

Facet Chart for Round Diamond>>

 

Shape is something that gets confused with cut. Shape is exactly that, the geometric look, not the cut. The most popular shapes are round, princess, marquise, pear, oval, and heart. The choice on shape is once again something YOU get to choose. Get a shape that YOU want.