Diamonds when mined are not what we perceive them to be ? glittering stones. While in the rough state a diamonds resembles broken piece of glass. To transform it into a beautiful gem it has to be cut and polished. Diamonds are the hardest substance known to occur on earth. So the big curiosity arousing question is ?How are they cut?.
Most diamond cutters prefer to stick to the primitive methods of cutting because they still are the best ways to handle diamonds.
The most ancient technique is Cleaving. Cleaving involves location of the weakest point where the chisel is placed and then using a mallet to tap it. This breaks the stone into manageable gem size to be worked at. If the diamond is hit at the wrong place or in the wrong direction it will shatter and will no longer be of use.
After cleaving the diamond was placed in an egg shaped tin cup called a Dop. The diamond was then stroked with another diamond, since only diamonds were hard enough to cut diamonds. The striking helps get rid of the imperfections and defects and attain the desired shape. This is called Bruiting.
In the fifteenth century the Scaif was invented which revolutionized the cutting process. The scaif was a polishing wheel that was lubricated with olive oil and diamond dust. The diamond was clamped in a dop with only that side of the diamond being exposed which was being worked at. The diamond protected by the dop was held against the spinning wheel to ground away the diamond to the desired angle. The scaif made possible to polish symmetrically all facets of the diamond in a way to reflect maximum light giving it more brilliance.
A relatively recent addition in the diamond cutting techniques is the Diamond Saw. Diamond saws are circular steel blades which are lubricated with oil and diamond dust continually. Special cooling holders are used to cool the diamond as the diamond saws may produce a great deal of heat. The diamond saw became the most popular method of cutting diamonds due to the relative simplicity of the process. It didn't require locating the weak point of the diamond. The diamond could be worked at from any facet.
After the cutting and polishing of the diamond is complete, the lusterless, translucent crystal is transformed into a dazzling, stunning, irresistible gem.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend, or so goes a popular adage. The diamond is the most prized among gemstones because of its inherent strength and hardness. This quality of the diamond is the reason why most engagement rings and wedding rings are adorned with the diamond – it has come to symbolize eternal and undying love. But more than its hardness, the diamond is most cherished because of its beauty, and the beauty of a diamond is largely dependent on the way it was cut.
What is a Diamond Cut?
When we speak of diamond cuts, we do not refer to the shape into which the diamond has been fashioned. The cut of a diamond refers to the proportions of the diamond – its depth, its width and its symmetry – and how they work together to bring out a diamond’s brilliance and sparkle. How the diamond has been cut dictates how the light will react to the gemstone as it enters the stone’s surface, as well as how the light will behave once it exits the stone.
The diamond cut is actually the most important gauge of the quality of a diamond. Even if a diamond has a good clarity and color, a bad cut will only spoil its beauty. A perfectly cut stone will allow light to shine through it; a badly cut stone will lose the light. Diamonds, after all, are cherished most for their shine.
What is a Good Diamond Cut?
As mentioned above, the diamond cut refers to the proportions of the diamond and how they work together to allow light to bring out the gemstone’s brilliance. A diamond with a good cut has a balanced width and depth, and whose facets are aligned with each other.
It is important for a diamond to have just the right width and depth. The width of a diamond is measured through its girdle, the widest part of the diamond where the top and bottom halves of the stone meet. The top of the diamond is called the crown while the bottom is called the pavilion. On the other hand, the depth of the diamond is the measure from its table through its culet. The table is the largest facet of the diamond, located on top of the crown, while the culet is the smallest facet right at the bottom of the pavilion.
When the width and depth of the diamond is just right, it will have a lovely sparkle when it is brought to the light. If the diamond’s cut is too shallow, meaning that the stone is too wide at the girdle and too short at the pavilion, the light will just travel through and away from the bottom of the diamond. The light will not bounce back up, making the stone appear dull and lifeless.
If the cut of the diamond is too deep, meaning the girdle is too slim and the pavilion too long, the light entering the diamond will bounce off to the side, making the diamond appear dark.
The diamond whose width and depth is just right will make the light entering it bounce from once side to another, and then back up to the table to make the whole stone shine.
The Symmetry and Polish of the Diamond
Aside from the width and depth of the diamond, the symmetry of its facets is also important in determining if it has a good cut or not. A diamond is considered to be symmetrical if its facets are aligned with each other. It the facets of the diamond are correctly aligned with each other, the light will bounce off from facet to facet and bring out the full brilliance of the diamond. If the facets of the diamond are misaligned, the light will bounce off somewhere else and become lost along the way.
The polish of the diamond should never be brushed aside as well. A diamond must have a good polish for the light to be able to through the stone. Without the light going through the diamond, there would be no brilliance to speak of in the first place.
The Different Diamond Cuts
There are two basic kinds of diamond cuts – the brilliant and the step.
Brilliant diamond cuts are meant to play up the diamond’s ability to shine and sparkle, as suggested by the name. A diamond done in the brilliant cut has small triangular facets along the crown. More facets mean more surfaces for the light to bounce off from, and this means that the diamond will shine more brightly. Common brilliants are the round cut and the princess cut.
The step diamond cut, on the other hand, focuses more on the clarity of the diamond rather than its ability to shine. The shape is either rectangular or triangular, with its sides cut away to make them slope and appear like the steps on a staircase. A common step cut is the baguette cut, which is square in shape. Another common step cut is the emerald cut; a diamond cut that is rectangular but has its corners cut away.
There are other kinds of diamond cuts, created by and named after some prominent diamond jewelry designers, and these cuts are patented.
The diamond cut is the most important aspect to look at when judging the quality of a diamond. The diamond is a gemstone that is highly prized for its ability to sparkle brightly when it catches light. The diamond cut must be done correctly to bring forth this ability of the diamond.
Both Chris & Susan Banks Sr are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Chris has sinced written about articles on various topics from Business Intelligence, Jewelry and Fitness. I am Chris Columbus, expertise in jewelry and diamonds. Check out My favorite from www.b2cjewels.com. You can find more precise loose diam. Chris's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.
Susan Banks Sr has sinced written about articles on various topics from Vegetarian Diet, Modelling and Home Security. Susan is a weekly contributing writer to Fuzing.com where you will find thousands of for. Susan Banks Sr's top article generates over 550000 views. to your Favourites.