Cut is a measure of how a diamond’s facets interact with light. A diamond’s cut grade is a measure of a diamond’s light performance.
Jewelry Education
Diamond Cut
Cut is a measure of how a diamonds facets interact with light. A
diamonds cut grade is a measure of a diamonds light performance. A
well cut diamond offers maximum light return out of the diamonds
table surface area. In a shallow cut diamond, light leaks out of
the bottom. A deep cut diamond allows the light to escape from the
sides.
Proportions refers to: Depth- The height of a gemstone measured
from the culet to the table. Table- Located at the top of the
diamond, the table is the largest facet of a diamond. Girdle- Range
of girdle thickness. Culet- Appearance, or lack thereof, of the
culet facet. This is the pointy area on the bottom of a
diamond.
Polish: The overall smoothness of the diamonds surface. It
varies from poor, fair, good, very good, and excellent.
Symmetry: Measuring the alignment and placement of the diamonds
facets in relation to one another as well as the evenness of the
outline as compared to shape. It varies from poor, fair, good, very
good, and excellent.
The less color a diamond has, the higher the color grade.
Generally, the whiter it is the more valuable and sought after the
diamond. The slightest hint of color can make a dramatic difference
in the value of a diamond. Color is generally the most important
characteristic after cut.
The human eye tends to detect a diamonds light performance, or
sparkle, first and then its color (yellow versus white). The color
scale starts from the letter D (the whitest) and going all the way
to Z (the most yellow).
At San Diego Jewelry Brokers, you will find only the finest
diamonds with color graded D-K.
Colorless Diamonds = D E F color grades
Near-Colorless Diamonds = G H I J color grades
Faint Diamonds = K L M color grades
Very-Light Diamonds = N P O Q R color grades
Light Diamonds = S T U V W X Y Z color grades
The D-to-Z color scale is the industry standard for
color-grading diamonds. Each letter represents a range of color
based on the diamonds tone and saturation.
Diamond Clarity
Clarity evaluates the number, size, and position of inclusions
and blemishes inside and outside of a diamond. All diamonds except
for Flawless have inclusions. In fact, almost all diamonds have
imperfections or what is referred to as inclusions. Many of these
imperfections or inclusions are microscopic and in most cases are
not noticeable by the naked eye. Eye-clean diamonds are the most
popular diamond clarity grades amongst consumers. An Eye-Clean
diamond is generally any diamond that is Slight Inclusion (SI)
level or higher.
Diamonds that have the smallest and slightest inclusions receive
the highest clarity grades.
FL IF stands for Flawless Internally Flawless: No internal or
external imperfections. Internally Flawless: No internal
imperfections. Extremely rare.
VVS1 VVS2 stands for Very Very Slightly Included: Very difficult
to see imperfections under 10x magnification. An excellent quality
diamond.
VS1 VS2 stands for Very Slightly Included: Imperfections are not
typically visible to the unaided eye. Less expensive than the VVS1
or VVS2 grades.
SI1 SI2 stands for Slightly Included: Imperfections are visible
under 10x magnification, and most often not visible to an untrained
eye. A great diamond value.
I1 I2 I3 stands for Included: This grade of diamonds will have
minor inclusions that may be visible to the unaided eye.
The most popular clarity of diamonds is eye-clean diamonds,
which are SI1-SI2 in clarity as they have no imperfections visible
to the untrained-eye through when looked at facing up.
Diamond weights are measured in metric carats or ct. A carat is
divided into one hundred points; a single point is one hundredth of
a carat. A one carat diamond is 100 points. Diamonds are weighed to
a thousandth (0.001) of a carat and always rounded to the nearest
point. A 1.05 carat diamond, for example, is described by most
jewelry professionals as one point oh five carats, or one oh five.
A fraction of a carat weight difference can mean huge difference in
price of a diamond. A 1.00 carat diamond, for example, has more
value than a 0.99 carat of a comparable diamond quality
factors.
People often confuse the words Carat and Karat as they are
pronounced the same. Karat is a unit of measure used to describe
the level of purity of gold there is in an alloy.
Round Brilliant Cut Diamonds
The round brilliant cut diamond is the most popular diamond
shape, because if it has been cut properly it will tend to have
more sparkle when observed by a human eye. A round diamond will
give you a nice balance between its clarity, color, and cut while
still producing a top notch fire and brilliance.
Princess Cut Diamonds
Princess cut is the most popular non-round shape. Princess cuts
are square in shape and have pointed corners. They offer a unique
look and a brilliance that will blow you away. When purchasing a
princess cut make sure the length to width ratio is close to each
other if going for a perfect square look.
Emerald cut offers rectangular facets, which create a unique
optical appearance. They often have large see-through tables thus
they highlight the clarity of a diamond more than other diamond
shapes.
Asscher Cut Diamonds
Asscher cuts are nearly identical to the emerald-cut except theY
tend to be square in look and have cut corners. They offer square
facets that create a unique vintage look while staying classy and
elegant.
Marquise Cut Diamonds
The shape of a marquise can maximize carat weight of a diamond,
giving the diamond a larger weight appearance. Most marquise shapes
are set in diamond rings north to south, while west to east looks
just as beautiful.
To know more information, visit us
http://sandiegojewelrybrokers.com/
