Baguette:

Used to describe a rectangular-cut gemstone or diamond where the facets are step cut. These are long thin diamonds.

 

Bar setting:

This setting is very similar to the channel setting, where the diamonds are held in place by thin bars, which are set perpendicular to the ring band.

 

Bezel setting:

This setting involves a metal rim surrounding the diamond from all sides. It is the same as a “tube setting”.

 

Brilliance:

Brilliance refers to the liveliness, or sparkle in a stone. This is determined by how much light is reflected from the surface and from the total internal reflection of light.

 

Brilliant-cut:

Brilliant-cut refers to a stone that is cut in a certain way to include numerous facets so that it has exceptional brilliance. A round brilliant-cut diamond has 58 facets.

 

Carat:

The weight or size of a diamond is measured in carats. A carat is 0.2gms and there are 100 points per carat.

 

Certification (or Diamond Grading Reports):

There are a number of reputable gemological laboratories that can certify and grade your stones. The most well known is the GIA, Gemological Institute of America.

 

Channel setting:

A channel setting involves setting the stones or diamonds right next to each other without any metal separating them.

 

Clarity:

A diamond’s clarity refers to the diamonds purity. It is determined by the number of natural imperfections or inclusions found within the diamond. Most cannot be seen by the human eye, and can only be seen with 10X magnification.

 

Cluster setting:

The cluster setting technique is used when a ring is fashioned in such a way that there is a group of diamonds or stones set close together. Often a larger center stone is surrounded with several smaller stones.

 

Colour:

White or clear diamonds are graded on a colour scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), where they are all graded from D-Z. Natural, fancy coloured stones (in colours like pink and yellow) are not featured on this scale.  

 

Crown:

The Crown is the upper section of the top of a diamond, the portion between the diamonds girdle and table.

 

Culet:

The culet is the facet at the bottom tip of a gemstone or diamond.

 

Cushion cut:

A cushion cut has a rectangular or square cross-section, with rounded corners

 

Cut:

A diamond’s cut is all about maximizing the optical light effects that determine the ultimate beauty of the diamond, i.e. it’s brilliance. The cut refers to the angles and proportions a skilled diamond polisher creates in transforming a rough diamond into a polished diamond.

 

Deep cut:

This occurs when a diamond has been cut too deeply which means it will lose light either through the side or bottom, resulting in less brilliance and therefore decreased value.

 

Diamond:

Diamonds are made of highly-compressed carbon and are one of the hardest materials known. They are mined in their rough form and then, cut and polished to reveal their brilliance.

 

Diamond Grading Reports (or Certification):

There are a number of reputable gemological laboratories that can certify and grade your stones. The most well known is the GIA, Gemological Institute of America.

 

Dispersion:

As light enters a diamond it reflects off the angles and facets in the stone. This distribution of light is known as dispersion.

 

Emerald shape:

An emerald cut stone is used for large transparent stones (such as emeralds and diamonds). It is a rectangular or square-shaped cut where the sides are step-cut.

 

Facet:

A facet is any flat polished surface on a diamond or gemstone.
The facets are carefully planned to highlight the stones inherent beauty and brilliance.

 

Fancy Cut:

A Fancy cut diamond is any diamond cut other than round cut. These include cuts like baguette, emerald, pear, marquise, square, oval, heart, etc.

 

Feather:

This is a type of inclusion or flaw within a diamond.

 

Finish:

The finish refers to the overall quality of the piece or the surface texturing on a piece of jewellery such as “matte finish”.

 

Fire:

Fire refers to the variety and intensity of rainbow colours seen when light is reflected from a diamond.

 

Fluorescence:

If you expose a diamond to UV or ultraviolet light, it may have a more whitish, yellowish or bluish tint, which might imply that the diamond has a property called fluorescence. It is rarely noticeable to the untrained eye but is a factor that is mentioned on a diamonds certification or grading report.

 

Girdle:

The girdle refers to the middle portion of a diamond stone, its widest part.

 

Inclusion:

Inclusions are imperfections such as bubbles, feathers, clouds, cracks or other impurities etc that aren’t apparent to the untrained eye, but can be seen by a professional eye at 10x magnification.

 

Marquise:

This refers to a long, thin stone that has a double-pointed boat-shape with gently curved sides.

 

Pave:

This is a type of setting where a number of small stones are set together. Pave means “paved”.

 

Pavilion:

The pavilion refers to the bottom section of the stone, under the girdle down to the culet.

 

Pear shape:

Pear shape refers to a stone that resembles a pear shape.

 

Pinpoint:

A pinpoint is an inclusion found within a diamond, which appears as a doy. A group of pinpoints is called a "cluster" or "cloud” and they appear hazy or cloudy.

 

Point:

A point refers to one-hundredth of a carat (about the same size as one-half a grain of sand). There are 100 points in a carat.

 

Poor cut:

A diamond that is cut too deeply or too shallow has a poor cut. If a diamond is cut too deeply or too shallow, it loses light through the side or bottom which results in less brilliance.

 

Princess cut:

A princess-cut is a square-cut stone. It is also known as a quadrillion or squarillion cut.

 

Prong or claw setting:

The prong or claw setting involves claws or prongs (usually 4 or 6) holding the stone securely in place.

 

Radiant cut:

This refers to a rectangular or square shaped diamond which is faceted. This cut was designed for getting maximum brilliance.

 

Refraction:

Refraction refers to the bending of light rays as they pass through a diamond or gemstone.

 

Rough:

Rough diamonds or gemstones are uncut or unpolished stones.

 

Shallow cut:

This occurs when a diamond has been cut too shallow which means it will lose light either through the side or bottom, resulting in less brilliance and therefore decreased value.

 

Shape:

This refers to the appearance of a diamond e.g. round, square, pear, oval or heart-shaped etc.

 

Solitaire:

This refers to a setting where a single diamond or stone is set by itself in mounting (often using the claw/prong setting technique).

 

Step cut:

Step cut refers to facets that resemble the steps of a staircase. Both the emerald cut and the baguette are examples of the step cut.

 

Symmetry:

Symmetry refers to the arrangement of the facets and finished angles created by the diamond polisher. If a stone has excellent symmetry, this will contribute to it’s brilliance.

 

Table:

The table is the top surface of a cut diamond or gemstone.

 

Tension setting:

This is a type of setting where the diamond is held in place by the pressure of two strips of metal.

 

Trillion shape:

A trillion shape diamond is a triangular-shaped diamond with 50 facets.