Ideal Cut Diamonds

I find that most people who walk into the store know that when grading diamonds there some-thing called the 4 C’s. Color, Clarity, Carat, and the fourth is Cut.
What they don’t know is that Cut goes beyond the shape of the diamond. After all, if it was the shape we were concerned about, they’d be called the 3 C’s and an S.
In 1919 a mathematician by the name of Marcel Tolkowsky, wrote a Masters thesis on the facet proportions for round brilliant cut diamonds. His findings were the basis for what we now call the “Ideal Cut" diamond.

In stories passed down, it’s said that he asked people in the streets of London to select the most appealing diamond from a small group. From these casual opinions, and together with those of the diamond cutters in his family's Belgian business, he confirmed the proportions of the best looking diamonds. He then had to use his math and physics skills to prove why this was.

The proportions he chose produced a masterpiece diamond. However, it’s taken more than eighty years for the rest of the diamond industry to realize that his theories predicted a range of proportions, not just the single set of parameters. Tolkowsky was aware of a trade-off between the maximum brilliance and maximum fire that results from the many varying combinations of crown and pavilion angles possible.
It wasn’t until 1996 when AGS (American Gem Society) began proportion based Cut grading based on Marcel’s proportions.

Only one in twenty diamonds are ever cut to ideal proportions. The reason behind this being, diamond cutters want the maximum amount of carat weight out of the rough diamond.

When you start to look your first diamond, comparing color and clarity is not enough. You must also be comparing the perfection of the cut. Any-thing cut too deep or too shallow will lose the brilliant fire that it could have.
Here at Belliston’s, we specialize in only Ideal Cut or Near-Ideal Cut diamonds. Each stone is hand-picked by Dean Belliston and must meet certain standards. You can be sure when buying your diamond that you will be getting the absolute best stone for your money.