While all of the Four Cs are important, none is more important than Cut. Cut does not refer to the shape, such as round or marquis, etc. Rather, Cut refers to those parts of a diamond that determine its reflective properties.

The Crown of the diamond includes the Table and the facets above the Girdle of the stone.

When diamonds recieve light through their Crowns, the light is reflected from side to side within the stone by the Pavilion.

After crossing the interior of the diamond, the light should be reflected back out again through the crown.

If the angles of the cuts are either too steep or too flat, some of the light that entered the stone will fail to re-emerge from the crown The result is that the potential brilliance and fire of the stone has been diminished. Both the beauty and value of the stone are effected.

The margin for error is small. The Emerald shape is most forgiving - that is, has the greatest allowable variance in angle. They can be within 1¾ degrees of optimum without losing more than 10% of their light. Round diamonds have the least margin for error at only ¾ of a single degree.

Knowing how and why certain diamonds exhibit superior brilliance is only part of our expertise as diamond brokers. We've been in the business of providing diamonds that fit our clients' specifications for over thirty years.