Facts and History

• Diamonds were first mined in India more than 2800 years ago.
• The very word ‘diamond’ comes from the Greek term ‘Adamas’ meaning unconquerable.
• The youngest diamond is 900 million years old, and the oldest is 3.2 billion years old.
• On an average a stone loses, almost half  its original weight during cutting and polishing

The 4 C’s of Diamonds are :

1. CUT
2. COLOUR
3. CLARITY
4. CARAT WEIGHT

About the 4 C’s

• The 4 C’s are the most inevitable parameters when grading and valuing diamonds.
• All the 4 parameters command an equal importance in assessing the quality of the diamonds.
• Very often the importance of the 4 C’s is overlooked in comparison to the 5^th C – Cost!

The first C – CUT

• “Cut” refers to the way the diamond is cut keeping very specific measurements and   proportions that bring out the maximum brilliance in the final stone.
• Cut is not the same as Cutting style or Shape.
• Importance of Cut is often overlooked when judging the quality of diamonds.

Cutting Process and Techniques

• Cutting diamonds is a tedious multistage process.
• Diamonds are separated from the mines according to the shape of the rough crystals.
• Rough diamonds are first planned and marked. This involves deciding on what best quality diamond can be cut from the rough crystals that are found. This is a very important stage and eventually decides the cost of the diamond.
• The Planned diamonds are then sawed and Bruted by either of the two techniques :-
  1. Manual sawing
  2. Laser Sawing

Some Ideal Cut & Proportions

• Crown Angle = 34`
• Pavilion Angle = 40.5`
• Table Size = 56%
• Total facets including table = 57

Bruted diamonds are then polished and faceted according to very specific proportions and physical shape.

The Cut Grading Pyramid

 

Popular Cuts Today