How are diamond cut types classified

Cutting is one of the most important quality characteristics of a diamond. Therefore, it is very important to know which types it is classified in order to make the best choice when buying a diamond. Let’s see what types of diamond cuts exist and what their characteristics are.

How are diamond cut types classified
People, speaking of diamonds, often use the words “cut” and “form” alternately. However, the meanings of these two terms are slightly different from each other. The term “form” refers to the general characteristic of a stone.

On the other hand, a certain cut implies a certain shape. The term “cut” technically refers to the limiting number, location, shape and proportions of the faces of the stones.
Thus, the shape of the diamond tells you how the stone looks, and its cut gives information on how this shape was achieved by processing.

Technically, two diamonds may have the same or similar shape, but their faceting will be considered different if their faces are arranged or formed differently.
Brilliant cut and mixed styles.
The edges of the brilliant cut-outs are designed to maximize the brilliance of the stone. The classic round cut is the brilliant cut.

The stepped cuts, in contrast, have faces that are parallel to each other and are located at the edge of the stone; they do not increase the brilliance and shine of the diamond. An example of stepped cut is emerald.
Mixed borders have parts that are shiny and stepped. For example, “Radiant” is a mixed cut type.

“Fantasy” cut.
Unusual cut is any diamond treatment that differs from the classic round. For example, pear, heart and oval – this is unusual diamond cut.

Evaluation of cut.
There are various ways to certify a diamond cut, but in general, the cut is classified based on how close its proportions are to conventional ones. How is a diamond cut evaluated?

The round cut assessment is the most common standard for certification, and the recommendations for its proportions are very detailed. Standards for certification of other organizations have not been established in such detail and are usually less strict.
Single and full cut: what’s the difference?
You may also have heard the terms “single” and “full cut”, and if you are interested in what they mean, read on. Let’s look at how such diamonds are compared, and how the differences between them affect their value.

How a diamond is cut depends on many factors. As a rule, the choice depends on its size, color, purity and the need to use as much raw diamond as possible.
Depending on the size and purity, for example, the visual appeal of the resulting diamond can be significantly improved or reduced by the chosen cut.

Often, cutters try to strike a balance between a number of qualitative considerations in order to come up with diamond cut, which has the greatest potential for good marketing.
What is a full cut?
It is a stone that is formed into a round brilliant cut and has 57 or 58 facets. It is considered a classic diamond shape, in contrast to the so-called “unusual cut”, which can take many different forms and have a variable number of faces.

It should be noted that a diamond may be cut into a round shape and have fewer faces than the standard 57 or 58. In this case, it will not be considered to have a full faceting.
What are single cut diamonds?
What are single-cut diamonds? Diamonds that are cut as round, but less than the standard 57 or 58 facets, are called “single-cut” diamonds. Most often, they will only have 17 or 18 faces (many have 16).

Usually, round diamonds first have a single facet, and then additional faces are added, turning the gem into a full cut diamond.
However, some of them will not be processed further and will remain single-cut stones.
Most often this happens with small diamonds, for which the presence of a smaller number of faces does not matter when it comes to appearance.

Impact on cost.
One of the factors that determine the price of diamonds is the amount of labor needed to create a stone for sale.
Not surprisingly, cutting fewer faces requires less work, so a single facet is cheaper than a full facet.
As already mentioned, small diamonds (for example, with a weight of about 1/10 of a full carat) usually have a single facet. It really does not make sense to completely cut such diamonds, since the additional edges will not be visible anyway.

Not to mention that cutting 58 small edges on a tiny diamond is much more difficult to do than on a large diamond, and this will make a small diamond unnecessarily expensive.
Such diamonds are most often used as side (also called “accent stones”) in bracelets, rings, pendants, earrings, etc.