What Diamond Cut Sparkles the Most? | Rare Carat

There are so many diamond cuts to choose from, all of which have their strong suits. Each cut has its perks, but which cut should you choose when its brilliance is top priority? In other words, which one wins first place in the sparkly department?

What Makes a Diamond Sparkle?

As crazy as it sounds, there’s a science to sparkle. The technical term is scintillation, and it refers to the light displayed when the diamond, viewer, or light source moves. The secret of the gem’s quality of sparkle is held in its facets. The flat sides, or facets, on a diamond are strategically placed to optimize the brilliance of the stone. An ideally cut stone will use light to reflect around the inside of the stone and then reflect it back to your eye. Think of a bunch of mirrors reflecting light around a room and then back to you, same idea. By light passing through the gem, the stone acts as a prism and divides the light into spectral hues. This is what creates flashes of color. This is why the quality of the cut is just as important as the cut itself. Going with our example from before, if the mirrors are misaligned, most of the light will end up escaping and you won’t get much, if any, light returned to you. This means you could have the best shape for a normally sparkly diamond, but if the cutter did a bad job orienting the facets, it will make the stone seem dull.