Diamond Cut and Engagement Rings

Diamond Cut and your Engagement Ring

This section of our Engagement Rings Buyers Guide, explains what is meant by Diamond Cut. We cover the following:

What is Diamond Cut

Diamond Cut refers to how well a diamond has been cut and polished. i.e. Are all the faces, angles and dimensions symmetrical and in the appropriate proportions? Cut shouldn't be confused with Diamond Shape.

Diamond Cut is graded as follows:

What Cut Grades do 1791 use in Their Engagement Rings?

We only use Excellent and Very-Good cut diamonds in our Designer Engagement Rings. These are the very top cut grades and it is one of the things that sets our Engagement Rings apart from the those in the average jeweller's. Please read our Diamond Policy

Why is Diamond Cut Important when Choosing an Engagement Ring?

The quality of diamond cut significantly alters how much sparkle a diamond has, and therefore how beautiful your Engagement Ring is. You can sometimes compromise on Diamond Colour or Diamond Clarity but it rarely makes sense to compromise on diamond cut.

The diagram below shows why well cut diamonds sparkle so enchantingly. All the light is reflected back through the top of the diamond.

If a diamond is cut too shallowly then light will escape through the base of the diamond and if cut too deeply it will exit via the sides. However when cut just perfectly most of the light will be reflected out through the table at the person looking into the diamond. Diamonds with Excellent or Very Good cut grades are quite enchanting to look at because of how they sparkle.

In-depth Information about Diamond Cut

The sparkle in diamonds can be referred to as its 'fire and brilliance'. The 'fire' refers to the rainbow effect that you get from the white light in a diamond. The 'brilliance' refers to the white light you see when looking at a diamond.

Diamonds have been cut and used in jewellery for hundreds of years. With the progress in technology, researchers have been able to optimise the 'fire and brilliance' that they can get from the shape of the round brilliant diamond. This progression has led to a dramatic change in the physical cut of the diamond.

The modern day round brilliant diamond owes its beautiful 'fire' and 'brilliance' to Tolkowsky. He mathematically calculated the angles and percentages of a round brilliant diamond to maximise its return of light, and labelled this the 'ideal cut'.

When your diamond is graded, the quality of its cut is one of its key features to be assessed. Beautifully scintillating, well cut diamonds will have been crafted by a skilled diamond cutter. Diamonds are graded from Excellent and Ideal, through to Poor.

Excellent Cut Diamond

This cut is intended to maximise brilliance and is as near to ideal proportions as possible. The typically smaller table sizes of these diamonds have the added benefit of creating a great deal of dispersion - or 'fire' - as well.

Very Good Cut Diamond

These cuts deviate slightly from the Ideal cut proportions in order to create a larger diamond. However, diamonds in this category reflect the majority of the light that enters them, creating a good deal of brilliance.

Good Cut Diamond

Diamonds in this category will reflect much of the light that enters them. Their proportions fall outside of the preferred range because the cutter has chosen to create the largest possible diamond. Good cut diamonds offer an excellent cost-saving without sacrificing quality or beauty. We do not stock Good cut diamonds.

Fair & Poor Cut Diamonds

A diamond graded as Fair or Poor will be cut to a lower standard that reflects only a small proportion of the light that enters it, losing fire and brilliance. Typically these diamonds have been cut to maximise the carat weight over most other considerations. We do not stock diamonds graded as Fair or Poor.

Let's Go Shopping for Engagement Rings

Hopefully we have covered all the important things you need to know about engagement rings. If you still have any questions, please use the enquire button at the top of the page.

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