Interesting Trivia: A Round Brilliant Cut diamond has 57 facets. If the culet of a diamond is also faceted, then the diamond would have 58 facets. Anything more or less means the diamond is not cut ideally.

1. Table: The table is the flat plane that sits on top of every Round Brilliant cut diamond. It is also the biggest single facet of the finished diamond. When defined and cut precisely, it helps bring out the most beautiful aspects of the diamond.

2. Crown: As the name suggests, it is the top part of the diamond. It starts from the outer edge of the table and ends at the upper end of the girdle. There are several facets cut into the crown, each perfectly balanced and identical to its neighbors.

3. Crown Angle: The angle formed by facets on the crown of the diamond with the imaginary plane of the girdle. The crown angle and the size of the table determine the amount of light that enters, reflects and refracts inside a diamond which directly affects the fire and brilliance of a polished diamond.

4. The Girdle: The outer edge or diameter of the diamond. It is the girdle that separates the top part of the diamond from the bottom. Since the girdle represent the highest diameter of a diamond, a slight variation in girdle thickness can greatly affect the carat weight of a diamond. Typically, all solitaires have faceted girdle while smaller diamonds may sometime have unpolished girdle.

5. Pavilion: This is the bottom part of the diamond – starting from the bottom edge of the girdle and reaching down to the very tip of the polished diamond. The pavilion angle can greatly affect the light performance of a diamond. If the pavilion is too deep or too shallow the diamond may look grayish.

6. Culet: It is a special minuscule facet added at the bottom of the pavilion to keep the tip of the diamond from getting damaged. In an Ideal cut diamond, the culet would be almost non-existent and undetectable by the naked, untrained eye.

7. Total Depth: In the simplest of terms, this is the height of the diamond as measured from the table to the culet.The above aspects give a diamond its shape and its allure. In addition to these, there are certain other important aspects that also need to be taken into consideration.

a. Symmetry: A diamond that is cut with perfect symmetry would yield the best light performance, brilliance and fire. It takes a highly skilled craftsman to cut and polish a perfectly symmetrical diamond as all the relevant facets must be identical and fully aligned

b. Polish: The smoothness of the diamond facets, small flat panels that are etched all over the surface of the diamond, greatly affects the amount of that enters inside a diamond.  When a diamond is cut with perfect symmetry and polish, all the facets bring out the best fire, brilliance and scintillation.

Interesting Trivia: Most people, outside the diamond industry, believe that the Cut of a diamond refers to the shape of a diamond. However, a trained gemologist refers to specific cutting parameters that bring a particular shape to life with highest fire, brilliance and scintillation.

Based on classifications and nomenclatures followed by the diamond industry around the world, the Cut of a diamond is divided into five categories.

1. Excellent Cut:The design of this cut is such that it ensures every shard of light entering the diamond is reflected multiple times and in all directions, thereby literally setting the stone afire from within. Achieving the Excellent Cut requires exceptional expertise and craftsmanship.Excellent cut diamonds show equal dark and light shades, creating an impression of play of shadows and light.

2. Very Good Cut:Very Good Cut diamonds have slightly more flexible cutting parameters than Excellent Cut. When skilled craftsmen attempt to retain higher carat weight by slightlycompromising onthe light performance, the Cut becomes Very Good. Diamonds with Very Good Cut still show good deal of sparkle, brilliance and fire, but their price per carat is much lower than that of an Excellent Cut diamond.

3. Good Cut:Just like the Very Good Cut, Good Cut diamonds are created by sacrificing quality of the cut over carat weight of a diamond. Most of the size proportions of diamonds in this cut are quite broader than those of the Excellent or Very Good Cut as the target is to get maximum stone size rather than focusing on the light performance. Such diamonds are ideal for the more budget conscious buyers who want to have a pretty stone that is larger in size.

4. Fair Cut: A cut that is almost at the bottom of the grading spectrum in terms of quality and preference. The only aim of those working with this cut is to get the maximum possible carat weight out of the rough diamond. There is very little consideration given to the color or clarity of the stone. The value of Fair Cut diamonds is based largely on their carat weight.

5. Poor Cut: The lowest of cuts in diamonds. These diamonds perform very poorly when it comes to the light performance inside the diamond based on internal reflection and refraction. They are just stones that have been processed to look big. As the cut is not optimized, there can be multiple inner impurities as well as outer surface defects. For those only looking to own a gem that is called a diamond without any other specific considerations, these are the diamonds to buy.