Which of the 4C’s of Diamond Grading is most important?

In my last article, I suggested that the 4C’s of Diamond Grading be updated to include a 5th “C” for the classification of Diamond Cut Quality, because most of the retail trade seems to operate under the misconception that “Diamond Cut” refers to “Diamond Shape” which is incorrect. The 4C’s of Diamond Grading are as follows:

• Cut

• Color

• Clarity

• Carat weight

People often write to me and ask which of the Diamond 4C’s is the most important, and I’ve listed them above in the order which I prefer to consider them… From my perspective, the Cut Quality of a Diamond is the most important of the 4C’s because it dictates how bright and beautiful the diamond will be, more than any other diamond characteristic.

Why is Diamond Cut Quality important?

The overall cut quality of a diamond is important because it dictates the volume of light return, the degree of brilliance, dispersion, and scintillation, as well as how bold and bright the sparkle will be.

Diamond Cut Quality takes far more into account than the polish, symmetry, and proportions grades which are provided on the diamond grading reports issued by the GIA Laboratory and the AGS Laboratory; and thus I urge you to consider diamonds graded with an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent or AGS Ideal, to simply be a good start…

Additional factors of diamond cut quality which you should take into account when shopping for a diamond, include the optical symmetry of the diamond, which can be judged using a hearts and arrows scope; the degree to which a diamond leaks light, which can be judged using an Ideal Scope; and how the diamond makes use of the light which is available to it, which can be judged using an ASET Scope.

The insight provided by each of these “reflector scopes” which are each designed specifically to address a different factor of diamond cut grading, will enable you to select the best diamond with the highest level of diamond cut quality, which will result in selecting the brightest, most vivid diamond with the best sparkle factor possible.

The really nice thing is that you don’t need to become an expert diamond buyer or gemologist to select a diamond which is truly exceptional, because Brian Gavin has already done the work for you, our Brian Gavin Signature and Brian Gavin Blue diamonds are among the best the diamond industry has to offer! We provide all of the reflector scopes necessary to verify that claim on the diamond details page for every diamond featured in our exclusive in-house inventory of Brian Gavin Signature diamonds.

The ability to be able to judge the cut quality of a diamond beyond the basics of polish, symmetry, and proportions, is critical because the degree of optical symmetry exhibited by a diamond will have a direct impact upon the intensity of the sparkle, and the ability of the diamond to perform well in lighting environments which are less bright.

In our experience, the average consumer is able to appreciate the subtle nuances that exist between the different levels of diamond cut quality, even the differences between ideal cut diamonds of different levels of cut precision. If you are looking for the very best diamond cut quality possible, you owe it to yourself to take the time to compare the degree of optical symmetry exhibited by Brian Gavin Signature and Brian Gavin Blue fluorescent diamonds, to other brands, we are confident that you will quickly be able to appreciate the precise nature of our production.