Round brilliant diamonds are cut with 58 facets. A good cut has more scintillation, more sparkle. The shape of the diamond, however, is largely a matter of personal preference and does not affect the value.

It is the work of a master cutter that allows the diamond to be cut in such a way as to permit the maximum amount of light to be reflected through the diamond.

The facets of a round brilliant cut diamond. It is the cut that enables a diamond to make best use of the light.

1. When a diamond is cut with good proportions (an ideal cut), light is reflected from one facet to another and then dispersed through the top of the stone.

2. If the cut of the diamond is too deep, some light escapes through the opposite side of the pavilion.

3. If the cut is too shallow, light can escape from the pavilion before the reflection.

The cuts

	round brilliant		marquise
	princess		heart
	pear		emerald
	oval		asscher

Ideal Cut Diamonds
Formerly, an ideal cut was called a Tolkowski cut. Tolkowski was a jeweller who had been assigned by the diamond company he worked for to find out what the "ideal cut" was. He started his thesis by setting out hundreds of diamonds on the sidewalk in London in 1919 and asking passers by which diamond they preferred.