APlus Diamonds

Diamond Grading

To determine the prices that a jeweler charges, there are various forms of appraisal that gem stones go through. When it comes to most costly gem of all, diamond grading is a crucial aspect that helps to determine the value of a diamond through an extensive process that analyzes many of the key factors that determine a stone’s value. Diamond graders are trained to closely scrutinize all diamonds sent to them and create a diamond certificate, unless they work for the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), in which case they issue Diamond Grading Reports. The GIA is the foremost gemological laboratory in the world and they are the organization that developed the standards by which today’s diamonds are graded, although the process can vary from lab to lab. 

Unlike an appraisal of the stone’s value, those who perform diamond grading are attempting to create a comprehensive profile of the individual stone itself. The importance of this is for more than just helping to determine the diamond’s value. It is helpful to know these details so that if the stone were ever lost or stolen, the proper grading report could identify it. However, it must be said that grading plays a very important role in the appraisal process, even though it goes into greater depths than what are actually necessary for valuation.

The 4 Cs of Diamonds obviously play a very important role in the grading process and they are: cut, clarity, color and carat. Experts have found that even slight variations in any grade of these 4 Cs can affect a diamond’s price by as much as 25%, a large sum of money when one gets into the higher end of diamond price ranges in the tens of thousands of dollars. Labs all over the world offer their grading services similar to those developed by the GIA in 1953, but many in the diamond trade feel that grades can vary from one lab to the next as certain labs will grade harsher or more lenient on one aspect of a diamond’s grade than the others. Merely having a grading report or certification of some kind will often dramatically raise a diamond’s price, as well.

While diamond grading is often presented as a science, in fact, it is a subjective skill and a field that is only recently emerging from a historical standpoint. This is because the human eye has some limitations in terms of perceiving color and clarity and also because laser inscriptions and other features can be seen as positive or negative, depending upon the lab.

Beyond the 4 Cs, other aspects are included in a grade such as girdle thickness, depth percentage, plot charts and comments. Each lab grades a bit differently, but one thing can be said for certain and that is that currently a diamond graded by the GIA is going to have the highest value when compared to those gems appraised by other, lesser known, labs.

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Diamond Cut

When it comes to factors involving the value of a diamond, there are a great many that any consumer should be aware of, and chief among these is the diamond cut. Out of all the aspects of a diamond’s value, this will weigh quite heavily on what the stone ends up being worth because it has such a huge effect on the visual appearance of the gem itself. Since a diamond’s primary value, especially in terms of diamond jewelry, is going to be derived from its visual beauty, the cut is of critical importance. The more you understand about the cut of diamonds, the closer you will be to being able to appraise them based on your own eyes which makes the process of purchasing the right diamond much easier to go through because your stress will be lower.

When a diamond is mined from the earth it is not in the form that you see it in once it has been placed inside jewelry. In order to achieve the impressive visual effects that we recognize, the gem must be crafted by a highly skilled individual who is referred to as a diamond cutter. To carve the stone in the right way, the cutter makes use of a diamond cut, which is a guide that shows them precisely how the stone must be shaped to achieve the basic cuts of diamonds or other gems, such as the Round Brilliant, Rose Cut or Heart Cut. Each of these cuts is done a different way to achieve a unique effect for the stone and give it its own individual character that will vary depending upon it’s carat count, color, clarity and other factors. No two diamonds will ever be exactly alike even if they are precisely the same cut.

Since symmetry and proportions of a stone’s cut are so crucial to its value, the stone cutter must know exactly what he or she is doing. The wrong diamond cut can greatly reduce the value of an otherwise highly valuable diamond. The polish is part of the cutting process and this, too, will help give a diamond the brilliance it is known for. The cuts themselves have all been designed to take the best advantage of any given diamond’s full potential in order to create a gem of the highest possible value. When they are choosing the proper cut, the craftsmen look at the size and shape of the diamond to consider the number of facets that could be properly achieved with the stone.

While diamonds have been cut since medieval times, it would not be until fairly recent times that theory about the best possible diamond cut for each type of stone would arise. In our modern era we have access to lasers and other tools that can greatly reduce the wasted bits of diamond that plagued gems from long ago eras. Using this theory, diamond cutters can achieve the maximum from the stones they set out to carve and use mathematics to create a remarkable gem anyone would be pleased to own.

There are a great many ways to cut a diamond, but for those who want the most modern diamond cut, then there is no substitute for the world famous Round Brilliant Cut. This particular style creates the maximum number of facets and is the most difficult to properly perform, but the end result is a truly stunning diamond. Other cuts of note are:

The Trielle
A patented cut from Trillion diamonds that is designed to appear bigger than it actually is

The Quadrillion
A patented square shaped diamond that is cut in such a way that 49 facets on the stone create an effect at its center that resembles a star pattern

 The Crisscut
A patented cut by Christopher Designs that uses criss-crossing facets which improve the diamond’s brilliance.

The Rose Cut, an older cut that makes the diamond resemble its namesake flower; The Old Mine Cut, featuring a high table on a square shaped gem with rounded corners

The Asscher Cut
An emerald shaped cut that is squared to resemble an octagon’s shape; and a host of other cuts that incorporate different shapes by using facets.

There is much to learn about the intricacies of the diamond cut, so one who wishes to become an expert certainly has a long, but fulfilling road ahead of them.

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