Every woman wants the diamond sitting on her engagement finger to sparkle and shine and the brilliant cut diamond has an especial brilliance when cut competently because of the numerous facets. A brilliant cut diamond resembles the shape of a cone which has been intentionally done in order to maximise the amount of light return at the top of the diamond, this is what causes the sparks you see shooting out of a diamond in every direction.
A brilliant cut diamond consists of 58 facets. There are 33 facets cut on the crown, or the top half of the middle girdle of diamond, and 25 facets cut on the pavilion, or the lower half below the girdle of the diamond.
Grading the cut
The relationship between how the crown angle and the pavilion angle has been cut affects the look of the diamond. If the pavilion has been cut slightly too steep it can be complemented by a shallower crown angle, and visa versa.
Cuts are graded as Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor.
The distance the diamond is from the viewer is important and are based on a distance of 25 cm, so too is the the polish and the symmetry of the diamond. The polish is graded by describing the smoothness of its facets while the symmetry grading speaks of how the facets are aligned. If the polish is poor, facets will be dulled and will impede the diamonds sparkle. Poor symmetry will result on light being misdirected as it enters and exists the stone.
