Diamonds have long been a source of fascination and are universally associated with love, romance and glamour.
The name is derived from the ancient Greek adámas, meaning proper, unalterable, unbreakable, untamed. The hardest substance known, each diamond is unique and has a range of factors that affect its price: colour, cut, clarity and carat.
Cut is one of the most important features of a diamond. It is what gives the stone its wonderful brilliance, its fire, the number of facets, proportion, desired weight and final shape.
People usually confuse a diamond’s shape with its cut, very often as a result of the jewellery industry’s synonymous use of the words ‘cut’ and ‘shape’ to describe a diamond’s shape – as in the case of diamonds that are princess-cut or heart-shaped.
The cut and shape affect mostly the beauty of the stone and its price. A fancy-cut diamond is much cheaper than a round stone.
That amazing sparkle produced by diamonds is the result of a combination of triple excellent features. This indicates that a diamond has excellent symmetry, polish and finish. It is this combination of perfect features that produces the glittering sparkle which distinguishes a diamond. Its cut determines how well a diamond reflects and refracts light, thus leading to brilliance and sparkle.
Poorly-cut proportions will impair a diamond’s brilliance, while precision will bring out an explosion of light. Technically, the latter is broken down into three categories: fire, brilliance and scintillation.
Fire appears as flashes of rainbow colours that are usually better seen in darker environments or flickering light. Brilliance is an essential element in a diamond and is formed by two components: brightness and contrast.
Scintillation refers to the intense white sparkle in a diamond when moved. The better the cut, the more fire, brilliance and scintillation a diamond will have. This is why the cut is so important.
The stone is cut to mathematically exact proportions
The stone is cut to mathematically exact proportions to enable as much light as possible to reflect from each of its facets onto the diamond’s top. The diameter and depth of the stone affect how light travels within it.
When a cut is too shallow, light escapes out the sides, causing the diamond to lose its brilliance. This also occurs if the cut is too deep, as light is lost out from the bottom and the diamond will appear dark or dull.
When grading a diamond, experts calculate its measurements and apply them to a cut grading scale that makes it easy to understand how well each grade reflects light. A diamond’s cut is graded as being excellent, ideal, very good, good, fair or poor. These grades must be listed in the certification presented to the buyer.
Diamonds International boasts a selection of certified diamonds in all shapes and sizes. All diamonds are certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and all personnel handling the sale of diamonds are certified gemologists.
The company has invested heavily in the training of its personnel to ensure that customers are given the best advice possible when purchasing diamonds. Furthermore, the full disclosure and certification help put customers’ minds at rest that they are buying genuine diamonds.
Diamonds International, which has invested in cutting-edge jewel manufacturing technology to produce exclusive pieces designed and created by master craftsmen, are at the Hilton Portomaso, Valletta and the MIA.