Choosing The Cut of A Diamond

There are many different cuts of diamonds 
to choose from. The cut essentially refers to 
the shape that the diamond is cut into – 
unless you are in the diamond or jewelry 
business, but this shape has a great impact 
on the much the diamond sparkles. 

The most popular cuts are heart, marquise, 
oval, pear, princess, round, trillion, and 
emerald cuts. The shape has an impact on 
how much the diamond sparkles, but the 
actual cutting itself – when the diamond 
cutter actually cuts the diamond into a 
particular shape – also matters a great 
deal. If the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose 
its sparkle. 

However, in the diamond industry, the cut of 
a diamond doesn’t refer to its shape at all. 
Instead, this is a reference to the stone’s 
depth, width, brilliance, durability, clarity, and 
other aspects of the diamond. Common 
cutting problems include a missing or off 
center culet, misalignment, a diamond that 
is too thick or too thin, cracks, or broken 
culets. 

When shopping for a diamond, you should 
of course choose the shape that you like the 
best, but then look at several different 
diamonds of that shape to find the one with 
the best cut – the one that sparkles the most, 
in all types of lighting. 

(word count 210)

PPPPP
