Internally Flawless (IF) Diamond Ring

Majority of the diamonds sold through most jewellers, boutiques or even online lack the lustre or sparkle a QUALITY diamond should have. Buying poor quality diamonds is an alarmingly common pattern today since the market is only flooded with poor quality diamonds.

1. Why does a diamond cutter cut diamonds poorly?

   A reason for poorly cut diamonds is due to diamond cutters wanting/needing to preserve as much stone weight as possible for the maximum final diamond weight.

   A particular diamond might weigh .90 carats if it was cut ideally. Diamonds weighing 1 carat or more fetch a more premium price. The cutter might be tempted / or told to, facet the diamond a bit differently to preserve the extra weight, making it a more expensive diamond by weight.

2. Reflection, Refraction, Dispersion – Know what’s what.

   Light bouncing off the surface of a diamond is called reflection. Light entering the stone and bouncing off an interior wall is called refraction. And the light exiting the diamond is called dispersion.

So how does it matter to you, you might ask?

It’s simple. The more the light refracting from inside the diamond and dispersing from the table, the better. Good diamonds refract and disperse lots of light. Bad diamonds don’t. They just reflect light, which any piece of a clean piece of glass can do.

You need to look beyond mere reflection. The reason good refraction and dispersion are so important in your chosen diamond is because when you wear your diamond every day it will get dirty.

When you look at a diamond, rock it back and forth to see the light dispersion. The most important light dispersion is what you can see looking down into the table. You’ll also see the dispersion of light from those top crown facets.

Once you can tell the difference between light reflection and light refraction, you will be ahead of most first-time diamond shoppers.

Poorer quality diamonds can be/are made to look better than they are by showing them under the mega-wattage overhead lights of some jewellery stores. A diamond of poor quality will not look as good at your office or in your kitchen as it did at the store where you bought it.

For this reason, it is recommended that you examine diamonds in natural light, away from the bright lights in the showroom.

The final cut

Diamond Ring (IF)

Does different diamonds seems to have just a little more sparkle? If it does, chances are it’s a better cut stone. Sparkle is one of the most important qualities in a diamond. The rock you own should be like a little ball of blazing sunlight not a dull lump of beach glass.

A good diamond, will sparkle, shine, glitter and glow. A poorly cut, or bad diamond will break your heart. And your wallet.