Fire on the other hand refers to the rainbow colors that can be seen by the viewer as a result of light dispersion. The brilliance of a diamond refers to the reflections of white light being returned to the viewer’s eyes. This tradeoff can vary depending on the exact measurements of crown and pavilion angles. This is also due to the fact that there is always a tradeoff between brilliance and fire within a diamond. However, very reputable grading laboratories such as GIA and AGS conducted a ton of research and found out that there is a specific range of many different proportions that a diamond with an excellent light performance can have! He was a renowned gemmologist and mathematician and published the so-called Tolkowsky Ideal cut in his thesis with the title “ Diamond Design, A Study of the Reflection and Refraction of Light in a Diamond!”Ī diamond that has the exact proportions of the Tolkowsky Ideal Cut will invariably be a beautiful diamond and this even applies nearly 100 years after the discovery of the Tolkowsky Ideal Cut. One of the first pioneers to come up with a reasonable idea of what kind of exact proportions a diamond would need to have for an excellent light performance was Marcel Tolkowsky in 1919. The same applies to the crucial parameters such as the table size and the depth.
A seemingly minute change in the pavilion or crown angle can make a big difference to the sparkle, fire and scintillation of a diamond. So, if for instance the pavilion angle is not within the proposed 40.6° – 41.0° but instead is 42.0° it surely would not make any big difference?Ī perfect cut diamond is proportioned in such a way that nearly all the light that enters the diamond gets returned to the viewer’s eye. A diamond’s diameter is measured from one point of the girdle to the opposing point of the girdle. Length measurements such as table size, pavilion depth and crown height are measured in % relative to a diamond’s overall diameter. What exactly are diamond proportions?ĭiamond proportions refer to specific parameters within a diamond such as the angles to which it is cut and the exact length of different facets. In this post I will lay out to you why the exact proportions of a diamond have such a huge impact on the beauty of a diamond and why the above proportions will make sure that your diamond will exhibit an excellent light performance! I will be referring specifically to round cut diamonds as these are the ones that are most commonly bought. They are also referred to as super ideal cut diamonds: To put it upfront, out of my own experience and research I think that these are the perfect diamond proportions for round cut diamonds.
However, if the proportions of a diamond are poor, all the other 4C parameters can be as good as they like: The diamond will still look dull and lifeless! So, what are the perfect diamond proportions? This is exactly what you are looking for in a beautiful diamond! It will therefore exhibit a lot of sparkle, brilliance and scintillation. If you have a stone with perfect diamond proportions, the diamond will refract the light in an excellent way. You might have heard about the fact that the exact diamond proportions determine the cut of a diamond.