When It Comes
To Diamonds,
It's All About The Cut
By: Gregg Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Diamonds are loved the world over for their fiery
brilliance. For centuries they have been symbols of love
and prosperity. Many young girls eagerly await having a
diamond ring on their hands. They have adorned the
crowns of Kings and Queens. They come in many shapes and
sizes and are very costly to buy. Despite the high price
they come with, people still vie to own them.
One of the things that differentiate one diamond from
another is the cut of the stone. Diamonds are cut into
different shapes from raw crystals. Facets are cut into
the top and they are then polished, so that their
brilliance can be seen. There are many cuts of diamonds,
some more expensive than others. The art of cutting them
has graduated from people with simple tools to state of
the art techniques. As time went on, unique cuts began
to emerge. Some of them even patented. Two such diamonds
are the Asscher and the Princess diamonds. They both
have a square cut, but their facets are completely
different.
How the diamond will be cut depends on the crystal
formation that they come from. A round brilliant diamond
comes from a formation that has an octahedron shape.
Marquis and oval diamonds are derived from formations
that have a macle shape.
A common misconception is that diamonds don't chip or
become scratched. This is not the case; so many jewelers
take that into consideration. Square cut diamonds can
have rounded edges that help protect the stones from
chipping. The Princess cut diamond has pointed corners,
so if you are fortunate enough to own one, be very
careful with it.
The number of facets can also influence the price of the
diamonds. The facets allow the brilliance of the diamond
to shine through. Light reflects off of them, giving the
diamond their sparkling appearance. There are 58 facets
in the round cut brilliant stone. If the culet or bottom
facet is left out, it will have 57 facets.
There are other shapes of diamond, such as the emerald
cut. If it is cut from a clear stone, it makes an
exceptional polished gem. Much like its name suggests,
the stone is cut in a rectangular shape and its facets
are long and flat.
A unique diamond is the Asscher. It's a patented stone
that appears to have a spider web in the top. It is
similar to the emerald shape, but it is square.
The shapes don't stop there. There is the oval shaped
diamond that comes in the shape that its name describes.
The marquis is a highly faceted diamond, with a long
flat cut. This type of cut will allow the maximum carat
weight to be retained.
There is also the pear or tear shaped diamond.
There are many other shapes of diamonds, many of them
are custom. You get see them in the shapes of
butterflies, or hearts or just about anything you can
imagine. Whatever the shape, everybody wants one.
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