The Shine Of A Diamond Is A Complex Thing!
There's no doubt about it; our first thought is always of diamonds when we think of fine jewellery. But why is that the case? The short answer is the way they shine, the sparkle and brilliance. But why do diamonds shine the way they do? Diamonds look so beautiful because they are cut and polished to create the sparkle and fire that we love. Diamonds, as they come from the ground, are dull, lifeless rocks. The skill of the craftsmen who cut and polish them enables them to look the way that we expect and love. This article will tell you all about the magic of diamonds and how they are transformed into the beautiful gems we use in our fine jewellery.
Where Does The Shine Of A Diamond Come From?
The brilliance of diamonds comes from three attributes: refraction reflection and dispersion. When light falls upon a cut and polished diamond, it bounces back, giving the immediate shine that catches our eye. That's the reflection. While this effect is awe-inspiring, it is just the start of how light is transformed by a diamond. Only a small part of the light falling on a diamond is reflected at once. Most of the light passes into the diamond.
Did You Know That Diamonds Are Prisms?
As light enters the diamond, it is scattered throughout the gemstone before it passes once more back out of the diamond; this creates the sparkling effect. This is refraction. Diamonds are complex prisms. In fact, a cut and polished diamond has many prisms, each carefully calculated and created by the diamond cutter. The multiple prisms create a rainbow effect as the scattered light within the diamond exits the stone through the diamond's facets, creating a rainbow effect. This is the dispersion of light. Refraction and dispersion of the light as it passes through and leaves the diamond causes light and dark areas in the refracted light. These different areas are dependent upon where the light hits the internal facets of the diamond on their way out to the viewers' eye.
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Darkness Makes More Brightness
The dark areas in a diamond are as important as the bright areas. It is the contrast between dark and light that creates the sparkle we see. The dark makes the bright areas seem even brighter. The effect is like a TV. The picture always appears brighter in a dark room than in a bright one. The light and dark areas create contrast. Without the contrast, the diamond would appear to shine much less. The contrast is caused by the quality of the cutting. A poorly cut diamond will be less contrasty and thus have less sparkle and brilliance. That's why, when you buy a diamond, you should look out for gems with a good cutting grade.
How A Diamond’s Shape Affects Its Shine
If the diamond's shape is too shallow or deep, then the light will be lost within the diamond, never reaching the viewer's eyes. The diamond cutter aims to get the light to shine out of the top and upper surfaces of the diamond. To some degree, the diamond's shape also has an effect upon the shine. That's why emerald-cut diamonds, beautiful as they are, will never have the sparkle of a round, brilliant-cut diamond with its array of facets around the upper part of the gemstone above the girdle. It is brilliant-cut (shaped) diamonds such as round, cushion, and princess cuts are the most popular because of how they shine. These shapes enhance the natural properties of diamonds. The complex angles that create the facets not only enable the most sparkle and brilliance, but they are also the most pleasing shapes.
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A Diamond’s Symmetry Is Beautiful
To maximise the brilliance of a diamond, the cutter must ensure that the diamond's shape is symmetrical. The symmetry has to be correct in both the vertical and horizontal planes. Even a very slight error in the symmetry will reduce the brilliance of the diamond as the refraction within the diamond will not work correctly.
Why Diamond Clarity Is Less Important Than You Might Think
A diamond's clarity also affects the brilliance and sparkle of a diamond, but to a lesser degree than you might expect. Inclusions (flaws) within the diamond can stop some of the light entering the diamond from leaving, as can blemishes on the external surfaces of the stone. The fewer imperfections a diamond has, the more light can travel through the diamond and out to the viewer's eyes. However, this aspect of a diamond's quality is significantly less than the quality of the cutting.
Polish And Shine
After a diamond has been carefully cut to reflect and refract light as well as possible, the diamond must be polished so that light is not scattered as it leaves the diamond. The diamond polisher removes any external blemishes as far as possible. Just like many other things, a well-polished diamond will bring out the shine and brilliance of the object.
The Skill Of The Craftsman Makes A Diamond Beautiful
Creating a finished diamond for use in fine diamond jewellery is a highly skilled task. The diamond cutter must know exactly what shape he can create from the rough diamond. How to create the best angles for the facets and conceal internal flaws that might spoil the light effect. The result of the many hours of work that go into creating the diamonds in your jewellery is the lovely display of light that we think of as sparkle, fire and colour. Without the work of the skilled artisans, who create the beautiful show of light from their efforts, we would not value diamonds as we do.
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We Love Diamonds At All Diamond
We love diamonds and are proud of the work of our diamond buyers, designers and artisans who, between them, create the fine diamond jewellery that you can see in our jewellery collections.
Whether you are looking for an engagement ring, a pair of earrings for a birthday, or a necklace for a special occasion, please take a look at our collections. We think that you will find something extraordinary that will inspire you.
If you have any questions about our jewellery, please use the chat window at the bottom right-hand corner of the web pages. Our experts will be happy to advise and guide you to make the perfect choice for your next diamond jewellery purchase.
We look forward to being of service to you!
