Diamond

A cut diamond (brilliant) is a gem-quality diamond that has been cut and polished, the hardest natural material and at the same time the most desired precious stone, working with which is a distinct summit of the jeweller's craft. The art of cutting turns an unremarkable natural crystal into a radiant jewel: the master calculates dozens of facets so that light enters the stone, reflects fully within and returns as dazzling brilliance, while dispersion splits it into flashes of colour ('fire'). A diamond's quality is graded by the '4Cs' — carat (weight), cut, clarity, colour. The classic round brilliant cut with 57 facets is the benchmark, calculated mathematically for maximum brilliance. The diamond has for centuries symbolised eternity, purity and permanence, and so became the stone of engagement and the most ceremonial ornaments. It is the quintessence of the precious, in which nature and the precise mastery of man are fused into one.