DIAMONDS Art

Whatever the shape of your diamond you will find the surface covered with small flats, which are called facets. The proportions of the basic shape and the way the facets have been cut on its surface are extremely important to the amount of “life and fire” that the stone exhibits.

Why are these so important ? We will use the round / brilliant cut diamond as an example.

On the top of the diamond (the crown) there are 33 facets and on the underside (the pavilion) there are 25 facets If the proportions of the stone are correct then you have the ideal “make”.

As light passes through the crown of the diamond its path is bent and it is reflected from one facet to another inside the diamond, then reflected back through the crown to the viewer, giving it its “sparkle”. At the same time the optical properties of the stone break up the light into the colours of the spectrum, creating the “fire”. To make the most of the diamond's natural properties the angles have to be exactly right; too steep or too shallow and light will escape through the pavilion. The same principles apply to all the cuts, but some are more successful at exploiting the diamond's natural properties than others.

There is one other property worthy of mention that you will see on a diamond certificate, which is fluorescence . This is caused by trace elements of boron found in the diamond and is activated by ultra violet light. You will find it on the certificate rated as :