Webster defines sparkle as; “giving or reflecting bright moving points of light, and the ability to glitter and shine.” But what is it that makes a diamond sparkle? It’s not the shape, the weight or even the color of the diamond. Diamonds in the rough have a dull and unremarkable appearance- even those with top color and clarity. Nature created this miraculous crystal of pure carbon, but it’s up to the skill and expertise of man (or woman) to unlock the amazing sparkle locked inside. The secret is all in the CUT. An
ideal cut diamond will gather light from even the dimmest sources and return that light back to the eye in flashes of white and colored light. The round ideal cut requires 57 or 58 accurately aligned facets polished to a mirror finish. The precision of each facet is what will determine the amount of sparkle in the diamond. Those amazing flashes of light you see coming from the diamond ring far across the room is an effect called diamond scintillation. This happens when the diamond, the surrounding light, or the person viewing the diamond moves. Diamonds that are not well cut will allow light to escape and very little sparkle or scintillation will occur.