Unlocking the Secrets of Diamond - Shopping with Insights into Cuts Facets Brilliance and Fire

Diamonds are expensive and in generally they are bought for personal reasons, some people even buy diamonds as an investment, others buy it for the person they intend to spend the rest of their lives with and profess their love for them via a diamond engagement ring or diamond jewellery.

However, the world of diamonds is a technical one, to say the least and many that go out and buy diamonds are normally overwhelmed by the ‘sales modus-operandi’ that can be quite intimidating due to the technical words that are used by the diamond shop, reputable companies will explain these details to you, however more often than not, many don’t and buyers get the short end of the deal.


Types of Diamond Cuts

This article is the first of a series of articles that intends to clear the air about technical terms that are directly related to diamonds and even the playing field between diamond sellers and buyers. It will present two types of diamond cuts (Shallow and Deep) and it will also examine diamond facets, brilliance and fire.  

Diamond cuts play a crucial role in determining the price of a diamond simply because the cut of the diamond will ultimately determine the level of brilliance that the diamond will carry. The cut is all about ‘light play’ as how a diamond is cut will determine how light will be reflected back to the onlooker.


Shallow Cut
Shallow cut that is overly shallow will result in light hitting the pavilion of the diamond at a low angle. This would cause the light that hits the diamond to exit the sides of the diamond instead of the table which is the area that most people looking at a diamond will focus on. On the bright side, shallow diamonds do look bigger, however less brilliant due to the manner in which light travels through the stone.

Deep Cut
Similarly, if a deep cut diamond is too deep, light will strike the pavilion at a very sharp angle and be reflected to another pavilion and pass through the bottom of the diamond, dulling the diamond. The best cut therefore is a certified ‘ideal cut’ which we will visit on the next article.


Diamond Facets

Moving on we will look into ‘diamond facets’ which are in essence the tiny flat surfaces that act as mirrors on the diamond that reflect the light hitting the diamond back to the onlooker’s eyes. These facets generally circle or border diamond’s table and there are also facets lined up above and below the diamond’s girdle.

Different diamonds shapes have different number of facets, for example the round brilliant cut diamond possesses 58 facets in total and a princess cut diamond may have up to 140 facets. More facets do not mean that a diamond will be more brilliant; to many facets or two few facets will in fact dull the brilliance of a diamond.

It is all about the size of the diamond, the placement and the symmetry of facets which will ultimately determine refraction and reflection of light. The facets directly impact the brilliance of the diamond which is all about white light reflection that in turn is influenced by the cut and as well as symmetry.


Diamond Fire

Lastly, lets examines the term ‘diamond ‘fire’ which revolves around the level of coloured light that is reflected off the diamond’s table and facets (remember brilliance is about white light reflection and fire is all about coloured light reflection). In summary a well-cut diamond will possess both brilliance and fire too and these two factors go a very long way towards determining the value of a diamond.