Two round diamonds with the same color, clarity, and carat weight often have vastly different prices. While there are many factors, the cutting quality will carry a small premium, but yield an outsized impact on a diamond’s beauty.
Ideal or Excellent Cut diamonds
Of all of the “C’s,” a diamond’s quality of cutting will have the greatest influence on the look of your diamond. A perfectly cut diamond, often referred to as “Ideal,” reflects back almost all of the light that goes into it. These diamonds are cut to very specific proportions using exacting standards.
Ideal cut diamonds sparkle like no others. They act like a prism, throwing off exceptional amounts of white and colored light. You can see these flashes of light from a distance, even in low light, making them appear bigger than comparably sized diamonds.
Ideal or Excellent Cut diamonds cost
Ideal or excellent cut diamonds represent a tiny fraction of all diamonds. Why? Because cutting to Ideal proportions yields a smaller diamond. In fact, the same piece of diamond rough could yield a perfectly cut 1.00 carat diamond, or a poorly cut 1.50 carat diamond!
Ideal cut diamonds are cut by very skilled and experienced diamond cutters, taking an average of one day per diamond to cut. Compare this to a production cutter’s output of four diamonds a day, or 50 diamonds per day when cut by machine!
But machines hold the diamond on the girdle (the widest part of the diamond), creating an extra thick girdle. This has a large impact on the light reflection and beauty of the diamond.
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"Extremely helpful, accommodating, and kind. I had no real knowledge of rings or jewels. Fox Fine Jewelry walked me through all aspects of the ring and the diamond so I knew what I was buying. I would strongly recommend them to anyone in the market for engagement rings, wedding rings, or diamonds."
Hearts and arrows diamonds
Most Ideal or Excellent Cut diamonds, when viewed through a special viewer, display hearts from the bottom side and arrows from the top side. Therefore, they are often referred to as “Hearts and Arrows” diamonds. These diamonds sparkle incredibly.
Many diamonds are cut very well, approaching ideal cut and are still very beautiful. We recommend that you purchase a diamond that is as well cut as possible within your budget. We’re happy to show you diamonds of various cuts and discuss pricing to help you make your selection.