Whether your diamond sparkles or just looks flat isn’t necessarily an indicator of the quality of the diamond itself, but more about the quality and style of the cut. The wow factor of diamond jewelry is also defined by the setting, which plays a large part in the beauty of any piece, as the setting and cut work together to bring out the shine, sparkle and exquisiteness of these gemstones.

Unfortunately, for those that haven’t studied jewelry or gemology, picking the right stone can be not only difficult, but really intimidating. If you are purchasing through a reputable jeweler, you will likely be very surprised at the knowledge they are willing to share.

In fact, this is often an excellent way to tell the quality of a store. If they are willing to help and to explain the quality of the diamonds that they are selling, even if you are looking at the lower end of the price bracket (or look like you might be), then they generally care more about the quality of their product than their profit margin.

Of course, when you are looking to spend under $500 on a nice piece or an engagement ring, going into a store with pieces that sell for more than $50,000 can be very intimating – no matter how nice the staff are. So, going in a little armed about what questions you should be asking and what you should be looking for will often help.

This is often one of the first things that are talked about when you are looking at different settings, and one of the more confusing areas for a new shopper – but it doesn’t need to be.

The cut of a stone really refers to the proportions of the round and princess cut stones and is a technical term used in the industry.

While the shape of the stone describes how it looks, whether it is a pear shape, a heart shape, maybe round or oval and so on.

One thing to be aware of is that carat size does not necessarily reflect the quality of the cut, and it has been seen that because people have been convinced that a larger carat is worth more you will often see poorly cut stones that have been cut so that the overall size of the diamond has been maintained.

You may wonder why you can see a beautiful sparkle and fire in one stone, but it is priced lower than similar one, often this is because the more expensive item does have a higher caret. The reason they may look very similar in size is because the smaller or less expensive diamond is of a far superior cut, with perfectly proportioned facets, which may actually increase the appearance of size to the naked eye – more so when combined with an excellent setting made by a master goldsmith.

There are a lot of different cutting grades, but you should be looking at something that has been certified by the Gemological Institute of America (see “GIA” here) or the American Gem Society (“ AGS”) as these are the most accurate and consistent quality of certifications.  The best grades are a GIA Excellent or an AGS Ideal / AGS 0.

Generally, you wouldn’t want to purchase lower than a something the GIA as certified as “Very Good”. A Very Good will still reflect light well and look beautiful but may have a slight dullness. Whereas a “Good” has little fire and looks dull and skipping down to a “poor” you will be moving into more an industrial grade diamond with little value.

If you cannot afford to invest in a Very Good cut of diamond, you may well be best looking at a different stone all together in order to maintain value for money. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_(gemstone)#Quality

Ask to see the diamonds under magnification so that you can see for yourself the difference in reflection. Even between top end cuts you will see differences in the number and angle of facets in a cut, and this is what is responsible for bringing out the inner shine. The “fire” is the inner rainbow that brings the beauty to the piece.