Thursday, February 9, 2012

Classic White Diamond & Contemporary Pink Sapphires and Diamond Eternity Bands

By Jaime Campbell


Diamond Shape Diamonds come in a wonderful array of shapes. No one shape is better than another, so choose the shape that you like best.

Round cut Round diamonds are the most popular of all the shapes, perhaps because their circular proportions display the most "fire" and reflect more light back to the observer than any other shape. Round diamonds require that more rough be removed during cutting and polishing than with other shapes. The combined popularity of round diamonds and the significant weight loss during cutting are the two main contributing factors to the relatively higher price of these stones.

Sawing Diamond sawing is a twentieth century innovation. Although cleaving may be efficient, it limits the cutter to shaping the stone according to its natural lines of cleavage. Sometimes, diamonds have to be cut against a cleavage plane (against the grain). The diamond saw, a lubricated circular steel blade allows cutters to go against the grain of the diamond without shattering it.

Moreover, the diamond saw allows diamonds to be salvaged from misshaped diamond rough. Sawing is a more expensive process than cleaving, as it requires about one-tenth of a carat of diamond dust (applied to the saw with oil) for every carat of sawed diamond. It is also a much slower process than the single-stroke process of cleaving. It may take days to saw through a two-carat diamond. Extant methods include the use of lasers to saw through diamonds.

Oval cut The Oval cut is elliptical in shape and is a variation of the round brilliant cut diamond. The oval shaped diamond gives a flattering illusion of length to the finger and hand, and is popular among women with small hands or short fingers. It can also accentuate long, slender fingers. Length to width ratio Length to width ratio An oval cut with a length to width ratio of approximately 1.40 - 1.60 (the average of 1.50 is shown in blue) is the preference of most diamond buyers. For those who prefer a rounder look, choose a ratio closer to 1.15:1. For those who prefer a more elongated shape, look for a ratio of 1.70:1




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