The price of diamonds is determined by the 4C’s that determine its quality, i.e. carat, cut, color, and clarity. Among these, the cut quality significantly impacts the cost of loose diamonds as it affects the visual appeal of the stone. So, it is important to have a good understanding of this when buying diamond engagement rings for women. This will also help you to prioritize one of the 4C’s when purchasing a diamond ring within your budget. Read on to know more about diamond cut quality and its effect on the pricing of diamonds.
The Importance Of Diamond Cut
The diamond cut quality affects the light performance of the stone. It influences the sparkle, fire, brilliance, and overall visual appeal of the stone. The process of diamond cutting and polishing adds faces and sparkle to a rough diamond that is opaque. This causes the refraction and reflection of the light that enters the stone, creating the sparkle. Due to these reasons, a diamond’s light performance is affected by the type and quality of its cut. They determine the angles, sizes, shapes, and location of facets.
Cut Grades Of Diamonds
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) assigns four cut grades for diamonds, and this affects the visual appearance and price of each diamond. Keep in mind that the most expensive diamond cut is the round brilliant cut due to its exceptional sparkle and brilliance.
Shard below are the four diamond cut grades by GIA:
Excellent: This is the highest diamond cut grade; only 3% of the world’s diamonds have this grading. They are precisely cut for giving maximum brilliance and sparkle. This is because of the least or no leakage of light through its facets.
Very Good: Diamonds that fall in this cut grade have the best sparkle and brilliance. They have minimal light leakage and capture almost all the qualities of a diamond. 15% of the world’s top diamonds have this grading.
Good: This diamond cut has a high degree of sparkle because it captures light very well. Diamonds that are cut to this specification have some amount of light leakage. More than 25% of the world’s diamonds have a good cut grade or higher.
Fair And Poor: Diamonds that have fair or poor cut grades have little brilliance because they leak noticeable amounts of light. This is because they are either cut too deeply or too shallow. It is better to avoid these types of diamonds because they are not suitable for sparkly diamond engagement rings for women.