The brilliant round cut is a popular diamond cut that is considered the most expensive diamond cut and expensive diamond shape. But before we understand it further let's talk about the GIA cut grading system.
The most expensive diamond cut is the round brilliant because it wastes the highest amount of rough stone – around 60% on average – during the cutting process. This large quantity of discarded material means that consumers will pay for a larger stone than they end up with to help cover costs.
Round Brilliant Cut
It has retained its popularity for uncountable years despite the fact that it's also the most expensive of all other diamond cuts. Besides its unmatched beauty, several other factors contribute to the popularity of round brilliant cut diamonds as well as its price tag.
As one of the rarest diamond cuts, the uniqueness of the Asprey cut stems from the fact that it is created only from stones with color grades ranging from D to G with clarities from flawless to VS2, and can only be cut by hand and not machine cut like other popular diamond cuts.
Engineer Marcel Tolkowsky created a formula for the round brilliant cut in 1919 when writing the thesis for his PhD. It was from this formula that the round-cut brilliant diamond was created, the diamond with the greatest sparkle.
Diamond cut is a measure of how well a diamond reflects light. Poorly cut diamonds won't reflect as much light, giving the diamond less brilliance and fire. Some of the light will reflect out of the bottom of the stone, which is unseen when a diamond is set in a ring.
A diamond with an Excellent cut grade is very bright. It shows an even pattern with good contrast between light and dark areas, so the reflections appear crisp and well-balanced. This tells you that the cutter made the best possible use of the rough.
A higher diamond cut will typically increase the total cost of a diamond for several reasons. Higher cut grades, especially at higher carat weights, are rarer. They also mean that a larger percentage of the rough diamond was disposed of during the cutting process.
1. ROUND BRILLIANT DIAMOND. By far the most popular cut is the Round Brilliant, with it's fifty-seven perfectly aligned facets it's brilliance really does out-shine the others. Total internal reflection is the key here; light travels through the stone giving optimum sparkle and scintillation.
The round brilliant cut is the most popular shape of diamond. For hundreds of years, diamond cutters have been working with this cut to maximize its brilliance and fire.
Relatively affordable colored diamonds – Grey, Brown and Fancy Yellow Diamonds. Mid-range pricing – Intense and Vivid Yellow Diamonds and Orange Diamonds. High price range – Pink, Purple, Violet, Green and Blue diamond.
Radiant are square or rectangular brilliant-cut diamonds with cut corners. They are often the most affordable diamond shapes. They are similar to a princess cut but with eight sides rather than four.
Why? Diamond cutters typically use around 80% of the rough diamond when they create a princess cut diamond, which means only about 20% of the rough diamond will go to waste. However, diamond cutters lose much more of the rough diamond when they create round cut diamonds.
What's the best diamond color? Among white diamonds, D color diamonds are of the highest grade. D color diamonds are in the "colorless" range on a diamond color scale along with E color diamonds and F color diamonds. Fancy color diamonds such as yellow or pink diamonds have their own color grades.
They do NOT dull or stop sparkling, they just get dirty. Diamonds are magnets for all kinds of materials which will stick to them and make them lose their sparkle. Finger prints are a prime example. The oils on your fingers can stick to the diamond and make it lose some of its brilliance.
The Tiffany True® diamond is a mixed cut with a crown made entirely of step cuts and a brilliant-cut pavilion.
White diamonds are given a color grade of D (colorless) to Z (light yellow). Tiffany only accepts engagement diamonds in the “colorless” and “near colorless” range on a diamond color scale. For engagement diamonds, Tiffany only accepts D, E, F, G, H and I color diamonds.
VS1 is higher than the VS2 grade. The only difference between the two is a VS2 diamond's impurities can be easier to spot than those in a VS1. Imperfections in a VS2 grade diamond are similar in size and quantity to those in a VS1.
This process is part of why Tiffany diamonds are more expensive than other jewelers. It certainly costs more to purchase diamonds ethically, but it doesn't stop there. Tiffany uses its own cutting studios and polishing workshops.
When people talk about a Tiffany-style ring, they're talking about the setting - not the diamond. In a Tiffany-style setting, a single diamond is raised up and held securely on top of the band by slender prongs - usually six, but sometimes four.
Princess-Cut Diamonds
The square-shaped princess cut diamond comes second in popularity. Although square-shaped diamonds have roots going back centuries, the princess cut itself is a relative newcomer to the engagement ring market. However, the exact number of facets and their arrangement are not standardized.
Red Diamonds
Still, their rarity and their intense, crimson color make them the most expensive per carat of all the colored diamonds, and on average will cost over $1 million per carat. The largest red diamond ever sold, weighing 5.11 carats, was bought for $8 million, at $1.6 million per carat.