Shape

 

 

Diamonds are cut into many different shapes after evaluating the available rough diamond carefully with a view to maximize its yield. Each of the shapes has its very own appeal and character. Generally speaking, the shape describes the outline contour of the diamond, such as round, oval, rectangle, square, etc. Then the specific cut defines the shape further. There are three different cut categories for diamond cuts:

Brilliant Cut

Brilliant cut diamonds have 58 facets, 33 on top and 24 at the bottom and the culet. In this cut, all 58 facets appear to radiate from the center through the top of the diamond. This is the most common diamond cut.

 

The round brilliant cut diamond is the most popular diamond shape, but there are also modified brilliant cuts, such as oval and pear brilliant cut diamonds, that are appreciated for their lesser common shapes.

Step Cut

Stones with outlines that are either square or rectangular and whose facets are rectilinear and arranged parallel to the girdle, are known as step- or trap-cut stones. These stones often have their corners truncated, creating an emerald cut with an octagonal outline. This corner-cutting is done, because sharp corners are points of weakness where a diamond may cleave or fracture. Instead of a culet, step-cut stones have a keel running the length of the pavilion terminus. A step cut resembles stair steps due to the three concentric rows of facets arranged around the table, culet and pavilion.

 

Typical representatives are the
• Emerald Cut
• The Baguette Cut
• The Asscher Cut

Mixed Cut

Mixed cut diamonds combine the facet arrangements of the step cut and brilliant cut. For instance, the crown of the diamond is cut as a brilliant cut and the pavilion as the step cut
Typical examples for mixed cuts are the
1. The Princess Cut
2. The Cushion Cut

 

 

It is quite important to understand the anatomy of a diamond – or how a diamond is build. Since the proportions of the facets and their alignment in perfect symmetry are responsible for the desired effects of brightness, fire and scintillation, it is important to know, what attributes to look for in the selection of a diamond. The evaluation of the anatomy of the diamond is essentially examining all aspects of the execution of its cut.

A diamond’s structure is composed of eleven main elements: Crown, table, girdle, pavilion, culet, star facets, bezel facets, upper girdle facets, lower pavilion facets, pavilion facets:

 

 

Fancy Colour Diamonds

In the evaluation of diamonds, rarity equals value. With diamonds in the regular range, value is based on the absence of colour, because colourless diamonds are the most valued. Fancy colour diamonds are those diamonds that are outside the normal colour range. These represent the most rare and most valuable diamonds. Fancy colour diamonds are found in a number of colours ranging from pink, red, yellow and blues to greens. In the value evaluation of fancy colour diamonds, even very slight colour differences can have a big impact on the price that they can command.

 

Compared to fancy yellows and browns, diamonds that feature a noticeable hint of any other hue are considerably more rare. Even in light tones and weak saturation, as long as they show colour in the face-up position, they qualify as fancy colours. Green, red, and blue diamonds with medium to dark tones and moderate saturation are very rare.

 

Grading fancy colour diamonds is complex and specialized. It takes highly trained laboratory expert to finalize the process precisely.

 

The fancy colour grading system is designed to account for the fact that not all coloured diamonds have the same depth of colour. For example, yellow diamonds occur in a wide range of saturations, while blue diamonds do not.

 

Diamonds with red or reddish colours are immensely rare and command a high price. Pure pink diamonds are more popular than diamonds that are purplish, orangy, brownish, or grayish. Diamond marketing experts advertise some very attractive diamonds in this category as “rose-coloured,” and some stones with purplish tints as “mauve” diamonds.

 

Blue diamonds are very rare. They mostly have a slight hint of gray, so they’re rarely as highly saturated as blue sapphires. Their colour is caused by the presence of boron impurities. The higher the concentration of boron, the deeper the blue colour will be.

 

Fancy green diamonds are mostly light in tone and low in saturation. Their colour often appears sedate, with a grayish or brownish overcast. The hue is often in the yellowish green category. In most green diamonds, the hue is limited to the surface area and hardly ever reaches through the entire diamond. That is the reason why cutters try to leave as much of the natural rough around the girdle as possible as this allows more colour to appear in the diamond.

 

Green diamonds receive their colour when radiation removes carbon atoms from their regular positions in the crystal structure. Radiation can occur naturally when diamond deposits are near radioactive rocks, or induced as a result of man-made irradiation treatment.

 

Naturally coloured green diamonds are extremely rare. Since they are so rare and it is very likely that their colour has been caused by artificial irradiation, green diamonds are always regarded with great suspicion and examined extra carefully in gemological laboratories. Despite all efforts and available evaluation technology, modern gemological testing cannot always determine colour origin in green diamonds for certain.

 

Brown is the most common fancy diamond colour and also the earliest to be used in jewellery. Second-century Romans set brown diamonds in rings. In modern times, however, they took some time to become popular. Brown diamonds were typically considered only suitable for industrial use, until the 1980s, when abundant quantities of them began to appear in the production of Australian mines. The Australians made them fashionable and set them into jewellery. Promoted by diamond marketeers, who gave them names like “cognac” and “champagne”, they became a great success with diamond jewellery buyers. Today, brown diamonds are found in many medium-priced jewellery designs. Brown diamonds range in tone from very light to very dark. Diamond buyers prefer brown diamonds in medium to dark tones with a warm, golden to reddish appearance, as these present a nice colour combination with yellow gold. Most brown diamonds often show a hint of greenish, yellowish, orangy, or reddish modifying colours.

 

Diamonds in yellow colour are the most common fancy colour. They are sometimes marketed as “canary.” This is however not a proper grading term, but it is commonly used in the trade to describe fancy yellow diamonds.

Setting Types

An engagement ring represents the style and taste of its wearer. While the selected diamond shape and size provides important attributes for the ring design, it is the setting type that defines the look and feel of the ring even further.

• When pondering the width and shape of the engagement ring, decide if you want to wear the wedding band on the same finger. If you want to wear a matched set, then the design of the engagement ring shank has to follow the shape of the wedding band.
• Consider the length of your finger joint and decide if a wider ring shank would make the diamond setting stand out more. Women with short fingers might want to consider a thinner ring style, while women with longer finger joints want to match the hand's proportions with a wider ring shank.
• Reflect if you want a simple classic solitaire, with only the gold holding the engagement diamond, or if you prefer a setting that has accent stones, which add sparkle and attention to the main diamond.

 

Following these initial ring-shape defining consideration, you can now select a setting style that meets your lifestyle and personality.

Despite the fact that diamonds look so pristine and impenetrable, they have an uncanny affinity to grease. This property of diamonds is even used during diamond mining, when ore that contains diamond will stick to a grease belt while plain ore, that doesn’t have a grease attachment is filtered out. What this property of diamonds means to the wearer of diamond jewellery is, that diamonds will attract grease over time. This grease, combined with dust and other pollutants in the air settles around and under the diamond and diminishes it shine and sparkle. To keep your diamond jewellery as beautiful and brilliant as it was on the day you bought it, it is recommended that you clean your diamond jewellery regularly. For the cleaning treatment you can prepare a small bowl of warm water with a dash of dishwashing liquid and submerse your diamond jewellery for some minutes. If you notice some dirt accumulation that is not dissolving in the warm water on its own, you can use a small brush with soft bristles and remove the residue with a few gentle strokes. After the soap bath is completed, rinse your jewellery under running water to remove the soap film completely; then dry your diamond jewellery with a soft cloth.

 

Another cleaning process that is very effective is the use of small ultrasonic cleaning units that are available for cleaning eyewear and dentures. These small home-use units are either operated by electric current, or by batteries and they produce high frequency vibrations in a water bath or cleaning solution. The agitation caused by the vibration helps to dissolve grease and dirt quickly and is a very efficient way to clean diamond jewellery.

 

If you notice that fibers or strings got caught between the diamonds and the prongs holding them, please bring this diamond jewellery piece to your Tanishq store so that our experienced staff can confirm that the diamond is still securely set and that there is no risk of the diamond coming loose or getting lost.

 

During the storage of diamond jewellery it is advisable to keep it away from other jewellery pieces. Not only can the exposed facets of your diamond jewellery scratch the metal surfaces of neighboring jewellery pieces, also other softer jewellery materials, such as gemstones and pearls, can get scratched by diamonds. Even when storing diamond jewellery pieces together and apart from other jewellery, it is important to avoid that two diamond pieces touch each other. While diamonds are very hard, they can scratch each other.