Diamond Cuts and Shapes
The Quality of Diamond Cut and Shape Determines its
Value
In their most natural form, diamonds are – well – quite ugly. They have no luster
or shine, and in fact, look like nothing more than broken glass. A diamond must be cut, and then polished before it
actually becomes a thing of beauty.
Various Diamond
Cuts
Diamonds are cut with saws, into round shapes. From
the rounded shape, other shapes may be cut, such as heart shapes – but the shape is less important than the quality
of the cutting that is being done. If the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose light, and it will not sparkle and
shine very well.
Each facet of the diamond must be carefully cut into
the geometrical shapes that allow the diamond to sparkle and shine, then the entire diamond is cut into a specific
shape, such as an emerald cut or a princess cut diamond.
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Diamonds are shaped into different cuts, depending on
the diamond's
natural shape, which often determines its price and
value. |
Different or fancy diamond cuts are:
- Asscher cut
- Cushion cut
- Emerald cut
- Heart cut
- Marquise cut
- Pear cut
- Princess cut
- Radiant cut
- Oval cut
Emerald Cut
Diamond
Originally designed for cutting emeralds, the emerald cut was soon proven to be
effective in cutting other precious stones, including diamonds. Emerald cut is known for its stunning beauty and
elegance. Being one of less known diamond cuts, emerald cut also tends to be less expensive than other better known
diamond shapes.
Princess Cut
Diamond
The princess cut diamond is a square cut, with pointed corners. These 4 corners
are usually shaped to be rectangular, to avoid them chipping. While other square or rectangular shape diamonds
don't sparkle as much, princess cut diamonds give best sparkle brilliance. This makes princess cut diamond one of
the best known and most trendy diamond cuts.
Once the cut is done, the diamond is put into a dop, which resembles a cup with
another diamond – only a diamond is strong enough to smooth the edges of another diamond. Once the diamond has been
cut and shaped, and had the edges smoothed in the dop, it is polished on a scaif or a diamond polishing
wheel.
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