Cut & Shape
ROUND & FANCY CUTS
There are a number of shapes and cuts on the market. Some are more sought after than others and sold at a premium. Here are some of the preferred cut shapes.
Round cut diamonds are the most popular and make up the majority of polished diamonds on the market and the Princess cut is the most popular within the fancy cuts.
With each shape, there are different polish finishing grades of proportion symmetry that range from ‘ideal’ ‘good’ ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ as shown in the table below which impacts on the price. Very good, excellent to xxx being ideal. The poorer the cut the less sparkle and fire the stone has as less light reflects back up through the top (crown) to the eye making the stone look dull and lifeless and therefore less valuable.
It is also important that you confirm the quality of the cut and proportion described on the laboratory certificate attached to the stone to be sure you are getting a good polishing grade for your money.
IDEAL CUT
Hearts and Arrows XXX
This is seen as the super ideal precision cut diamond showing 8 hearts from the pavilion (bottom) and 8 arrows from the crown (top) as shown below. Some clients request this and due to the extra work needed to get this perfect cut done it is sold at a premium. However, you will need a special loup like viewer called a ‘gemscope’ to see this amazing feature which is fun to see as shown below.
