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Cut Tips

Some content on this page are contributed by Good Old Gold, with thanks.

Most Jewellery Stores Know Little About Cut Quality

Just read up the tutorial on Cut Quality before you talk to the local jewellers. You will be amazed at how little they actually know.

Be very wary when these sales people tell you that the diamonds are 'ideal cut', or 'perfect'. Even the experts in the industry do not have a concensus on what exactly is ideal. Just keep this in mind when you shop. Use the knowledge you have learned from this website to your advantage. Analyse the cut measurements and use your LightScope/IdealScope to find a performing diamond. It is a rare sales person that knows the truth about cut quality.

If you cannot depend on them, you will just have to do the analysis yourself.

What if the Jeweller Cannot Give You the Required Information?

If your jeweller cannot give you the information you need, chances are, he did not select the diamonds with the correct information himself. If you really like doing business with him, make sure that he has a good refund policy. You should then take the diamond to an independent appraiser who can measure the diamond and get the information you need. If you are not happy with the measurements or LightScope/IdealScope images, return the diamond. Yes, you will have to pay for the appraisal, but it is a small price to pay compared to the potential mistake.

A Guarantee for a Full Cash Refund?

A good diamond retailer should give you a full money back guarantee within a limited time frame, from 10 to 30 days. Of course, it is only valid if you do not damage the diamond in any way during the guarantee period.

Why should they not give you a guarantee? You are spending a few thousand dollars. The least they can do is to give you some time to take it to your appraiser, or simply to see how it looks under various lighting conditions.

Unfortunately, we have not found a vendor in Singapore who will provide such a guarantee. We would advice you not to buy from a vendor without a guarantee, but that would leave you with very few choices.

If you buy from the internet, a reputable internet vendor will typically have such a guarantee because that is the usual practice in the USA. However, you must take note that you will be liable to pay the shipping and insurance to and from the vendor as well as the import duty (7% GST) if you do not like the diamond. That would amount to about USD200 + 7% of the diamond's cost.

Consider Buying from a Jeweller/Vendor Who Can Give You Detailed Information on Cut.

If the jeweller you are dealing with can provide you with this kind of information on a diamond, STRONGLY CONSIDER BUYING IT FROM HIM. If a jeweller knows the importance of cut in a diamond, they will use their expertise to hunt down finer cut stones, because these are more stunning and are thus easier to sell. If they can show you these information, it means that most of their stock diamonds are hand picked with care, and they have nothing to hide.

These diamonds will cost more to the jeweller, so they should be more expensive compared to their poorer cut counterparts. However, this does not mean that you will be paying more from them because the jeweller who does not give you information may be over-charging you for a poorer quality diamond. Remember, the difference in cost between a superbly cut diamond and a poorly cut one is easily 40%.

Also, we need these information as they translate to a visual difference. Your proposal ring can be the pride of your fiancé. On the other hand, if you were to buy a poorly cut diamond for her, it would be embarrassing if she were to hold it up next to well cut ones belonging to her friends.

Consider an Ideal Cut Diamond and Go the Extra Mile

We, at Proposal Ring Singapore, strongly believe that you should get an ideal cut diamond for your fiancé. We think that it is only right that you spend the time figuring out what the ideal cut is, and find that diamond that will blow her away! It is a once in a lifetime event, so please do it right.

When shops in Singapore refer to 'Ideal Cut', they usually mean the AGS Ideal grade or GIA Excellent cut grade. That is a good starting point, but as we have explained, both their cut grading systems have limitations which you must be aware of. What AGS or GIA deem as ideal may not be so ideal to you. So, you must go the extra mile to ensure that the diamond you get is indeed the ideal one for your proposal. To do that, you need to check out the following:

1. Check for Girdle Painting (and decide if you like the effect).
2. Check if the diamond is a steep/deep GIA Excellent.
3. Check if the diamond is a AGS Ideal with shallow crown/pavilion.
4. Check if the diamond for its optical symmetry (and decide if you like the pattern).

Read up the pages on AGS Ideal and GIA Excellent for details of the above. Make sure that the vendor you deal with can provide answers to the checklist in detail. Do not take their word for it because from my experience, they do not know any better. If they cannot provide the answers, it is wise to walk away.

When the sales person tell you that the diamond is ideal without giving you the cut measurements, you can be sure the the diamond is far from ideal. They use the term 'ideal' or 'perfect' in their sales pitch all the time. Do not believe them.

Consider Hearts & Arrows (H&A) Diamond

For your proposal ring, you should consider a Hearts & Arrows diamond because these diamonds are cut to a high level of optical symmetry. Some experts argue that the premium for a Hearts and Arrows diamond is too high. However, I opine that the super symmetry, and the excellent fire and scintillation that most H&A diamonds display are well worth the premium, especially when these diamonds sparkle with a pattern, and not in any random fashion.

But do ensure that you get a performing H&A though. Not all H&As are cut alike. Analyse the diamond under a H&A Scope and ensure that all the arrows and hearts are clearly visible and consistent in size. Also, the shape and size of the arrows do make a difference to the scintillation. So choose the one you like.

It would be very useful if the vendor you work with can provide you with information on the optical symmetry (or patterning) of the diamonds.

Symmetry & Polish

After you have determined that the proportion of the diamond is acceptable to you, find out about it's symmetry and polish. While it is nice to have the AGS 'Ideal' or the GIA 'Excellent' for Symmetry and Polish, they are less crucial. It is perfectly acceptable to have diamonds that are graded 'Very Good' for these two factors because the difference can only be seen under the microscope. A diamond can still qualify for the GIA Excellent cut grade if the symmetry and polish are graded 'Very Good'.

Most good diamonds nowadays are graded at least 'Very Good' for these two factors because of the state of diamond cutting technology. However, do be aware that the market price of the diamond is affected by the grading, and you should be paying less with each fall in grade for these factors.