In our continuing series on helping you buy the best diamond for your budget, this week we talk about Cut, one of the four Cs, and an important one that will determine the appearance of the stone you purchase when you shop for jewelry in the DC area.
In its simplest, non-esoteric terms, cut refers to the angles of the facets and how they interact with each other in terms of aesthetics, brilliance, and, ultimately, value. There are so many factors involved in assessing proportion, symmetry, and polish, and we’d be happy to go over them with you when you visit us at Loudoun Jewelry on Maple Avenue.
One thing to know is that many people use the terms cut and shape interchangeably; they really shouldn’t. Cut, as mentioned, refers to the factors discussed above, while shape is just that: heart, pear, round, emerald, marquise. Each of these can have cuts that are too shallow, too deep, or perfect.
The bottom line is that a cut should maximize the light so it reflects through the stone rather than escape it; a well-cut stone will sparkle. When assessing budget and compromising, it’s better to get a smaller stone with a better cut than a larger, dull stone with a poor one. The Gemological Institute of America grades cuts at five levels from Excellent to Poor. Round cut diamonds have the best chance of being graded excellent.
The quality of cut, of course, affects price and more money should be afforded to cut than clarity (which we discussed last week) or color. Spending more on a diamond’s Cut rather than its Color or Clarity will significantly impact the beauty of your diamond. Always get the best cut you can afford, over anything else, and look for GIA Excellent or American Gem Society Ideal cut if you can. How does it look to YOU?