DIAMOND'S CUT

A diamond's cut is considered to be the most important of the four Cs. Below is a depiction of the behavior of light entering a diamond. It is important to understand how a diamond's proportions and the relationship betweer them affects its briliance, fire and scintilation.

A diamond with Idealcut grade proportions will return the maximum amount of light to the viewer's eye, the diamond will appear more brilliant and beautiful as a result.

Shallow: When a diamond is cut too shallow, light leaks out of the bottom, brilliance is lost and the diamond appears watery, glassy and dark. Deep: When a diamond is cut too deep, light leaks out of the sides, brilliance is lost and the center of the diamond will appear to be dark.

Understanding Brilliance, Dispersion & Scintillation
Well-proportioned diamonds exhibit three different properties: brilliance, dispersion and scintillation. As light strikes a diamond's surface, it will either reflect off the table of a polished stone or enter into the diamond. The light that reflects is considered a diamond's brilliance. Brilliance is the flash of white light one will see when looking at a stone. As light travels into a stone, some of rays are divided into flashes of color, which is called dispersion. Fire is the result of dispersion, which is the separation of white light into its spectral colors. As an observer moves a diamond back and forth, the flashes of color are called scintillation.

DIAMOND PROPORTIONS

The following illustrations show the various parts of a diamond and the measurements used in the analysis of a diamond's cut.

	Girdle Diameter:	The width of the diamond as measured through the girdle.
	Table:	The largest facet of a gemstone.
	Crown:	The top portion of a diamond extending from the girdle to the table.
	Girdle:	The intersection of the crown and pavilion which defines the perimeter of the diamond.
	Pavilion:	The bottom portion of a diamond, extending from the girdle to the culet.
	Culet:	The facet at the tip of a gemstone. The preferred culet is not visible with the unaided eye (graded "none" or "small").
	Depth:	The height of a gemstone measured from the culet to the table.

CLARITY

Clarity information is also presented with numeric and verbal descriptors. The numeric system is the same as for cut from zero to ten. The verbal descriptors are trade terms originally developed to describe diamonds for diamond manufacturers and retailers. Over time, these terms have become recognized at the consumer level as well.

The diamond clarity terms are:
Flawless/Internally Flawless (F/IF)
Very,very slightly included (VVS1 and VVS2)
Very slightly included (VS1 and VS2)
Slightly included (SI1 and SI2)
Included (I1, I2, and I3)