A diamond’s cut defines its outstanding and compelling beauty. The diamond’s cut refers to its shape and polish that influence its brilliance and fire. If you’re looking for a sparkling diamond gem, only two of the diamond’s 4Cs should matter–cut and color.
The value of a diamond is determined by 4Cs: carat weight, cut, color and clarity. Out of the four attributes, the only one that humans have control over is cut. And to a slight extent, clarity, given advances in diamond technology.
The sparkliest diamond gem is the round-cut diamond with 58 facets, also dubbed the ideal cut. Diamond’s brilliance refers to its reflection of light that gives a club-light sparkle effect. Its fire is the colorful display of light after white light disperses through its facets. Having the ideal cut produces the maximum effects for its brilliance.
More diamond facets do not increase the diamond’s sparkles. However, technology can improve diamond’s sparkle, whether it’s natural or lab-created diamonds. Now, it is possible to cut diamonds into ideal proportions, perfect symmetry, and polish. Let’s discuss some of the disruptive technology that makes diamonds more sparkling.
1. Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Technology
Chemical vapor deposition is the modern low-cost technology behind high-quality lab-created diamonds. It involves using a low-pressure chamber to heat graphite seed into diamond within weeks or months. The CVD technique provides more control over the process of achieving desired properties. It gets you diamond-gem quality.
Also, it can provide specified industrial-quality diamonds, too. Although the alternative HPHT (high pressure/high temperature) also produces lab-grown diamonds, they may be too yellow with low value.
They may need improvements to achieve desired quality grade but can hardly compare to CVD diamonds. CVD diamonds thus provide diamond-gem quality capable of giving the desired brilliance and fire.
2. Sparkle Cut Technology
You can improve the low sparkle in some HPHT and natural diamonds through the new sparkle cut technology. Sparkle cut technology uses ion beams to form microscopic grooves on the diamond’s facet. The tiny grooves reflect more light on the table, creating an extra sparkle effect.
So, your average diamond can get a 50-100% brilliance improvement without messing with its carat, cut, polish, or weight. The technology uses proprietary software that determines the facet, number, and depth of grooves to achieve max sparkle.
For example, a J-I, SI2 diamond lets light escape even if it has a very good cut. The light escapes through the pavilion, the sloping facets around the cut diamond. However, with nano-grooves on the facets, more escaping light is reflected up to the table. As a result, your underperforming diamond gets more sparkle.
Sparkle-cut technology can improve the brilliance of a trade-in, street, or any other average diamond inventory. There still are different ways of enhancing your diamonds’ sparkle.
3. Laser Drilling
You can also remove imperfections in a diamond to improve its clarity. These flaws, also known as inclusions, are natural markers for the diamond. But, they determine its clarity grade and can also affect light reflection and refraction in the diamond crystal. In short, if the marks are too black and big, it reduces the diamond’s clarity and sparkle.
Laser drilling is a method that removes inclusions like black spots and embedded materials in the diamond. An extremely thin channel is drilled by laser into the inclusion from the diamond’s surface. The inclusion is burnt out, leaving a hollow space after completion. The laser drilling technology can improve the diamond by a single grade or more.
Although the hollow is too thin to be seen using the naked eye, it is visible on a microscope. However, more inclusions mean more cavities that may make the diamond too easy to break.
4. Fracture Filling
Alternatively, you can reinforce the diamond after the laser drilling. The hollow spaces left after inclusion removal are filled with transparent crystalline material. It makes the diamond look better and stronger.
However, fracture fillings are not a permanent solution. They can quickly melt if exposed to heat during jewelry repair. Also, it can break, and you shouldn’t put it in an ultrasonic cleaner.
Besides, the fracture filling, a glass-like resin, can have different light refraction and reflection than the diamond. As a result, it can change the diamond’s sparkle, including its color.
5. Diamond Recutting Using Automated Cutting and Polishing
You can achieve more sparkle by recutting your diamond. Your jeweler will take the stone, map out inclusions and plan the perfect cut with little or no imperfections. They will then cut the diamond into perfection with key three things in mind:
- Ideal Proportion. A well-defined cut diamond in perfect proportions allows the maximum light to return to the table. If the jeweler cuts the diamond too deep, it will have a dark center at the center. But, if the cut is too shallow, you’ll end up with a stone with a very dull hollow effect.
- Perfect Symmetry. The diamond points must be identical and have similar sizes and facet placement. Imperfect symmetry will increase light escaping through the diamond’s pavilion instead of returning to the table. As a result, it reduces the diamond’s brilliance.
- Perfect Polish. For max brilliance, your diamond should have an excellent surface finish. It should not have any burnt marks, spots, or unpolished lines. The diamond facets and surfaces must be even, flat and smooth.
The above three key aspects are critical to achieving the ideal diamond cut for the best sparkle. An AI-empowered cutting and polishing machine comes in handy to avoid the poor cuts due to manual cutting. Sarine technology offers a comprehensive diamond value addition across the supply chain.
Sarine technology has an instructor module that allows you to input your preferred diamond parameters. Before that, it can map and model the ideal recut with its virtual tool. Besides, you can virtually polish the recut diamond to achieve your desired grade.
Although recut removes inclusions and improves the diamond’s grade and brilliance, you will lose its carat weight. Hence, it will be smaller and cheaper. However, the recut method is only viable if inclusions are significantly closer to the surface of the diamond. If they are deep within the diamond’s center, you can not cut the flaws out.
Take Away
Leaps in diamond technology are disrupting the whole supply chain. You can now manufacture high-quality lab-created diamonds to your desired properties. You can also improve average diamonds’ sparkle and fire.
These technologies are evolving, and some have their shortcomings. However, automated cutting and polishing machines are revolutionizing the industry for perfect cutting and max sparkle in diamonds.