Nearly a century ago the foremost diamond cutter Marcel Tolkowski determined the perfect proportions to showcase the brilliant (or round) diamond. The cut of a diamond is a crucial element in that the “cut” unleashes a diamond’s remarkable beauty and determines the “brilliance” of the stone. The cut dictates how light is reflected and impacted when it hits the stone and brilliance refers to the shimmering sparkle that emanates from a diamond when it encounters light.

The ideal cut will see light enter the stone through each side of the crown before being  accentuated by the “perfect mirror” namely the pavilion before exiting in an amplified blaze through the diamond’s face (table).    

Tolkowski defined the perfect parameters for a “brilliant” diamond cut as 58 flat surfaces or “facets.” 33 on the crown and 25 in the pavilion. This complex process is as much about art as science, requiring the steady hand of the master craftsman and the imagination of the “artiste.”

These panels are placed at very specific angles to accentuate the reflection of light and maximise the visual symphony. This explosion of cascading light is the “brilliance” that mesmerizes people the world over, making the diamond the most highly prized of all gems.

The geometric accuracy and precision of the cuts are crucial as misshaped facets will severely compromise the brilliance, integrity and value of the finished stone. A diamond with a quality “cut” will reflect almost 90% of the light that caresses it from above whilst a badly cut stone can reflect less
than 40%.

The cut of a diamond is graded with consideration to the stone in its entirety. The scale ranges from poor, through to medium, good and very good. Rosendorff conduct all manner of meticulous measurements to ensure the diamond’s proportions are in perfect harmony.

The cutter’s skill is striking the right balance between carat weight and brilliance. The more the stone is cut and crafted to optimise the effect, the smaller the stone becomes but if a stone is sculpted less to preserve size, the brilliance is sacrificed. A happy “gleaming” medium must be achieved.
Big is not necessarily best whilst cutting excessive facets will also mitigate
a stone’s allure. 

This is the ethereal “star quality” that Craig Rosendorff demands of all his diamonds. It goes beyond the rudimentary protocols of the 4C’s, moving away from clinical technical measures, veering toward the magic, the mystical and the wonderful. It is completely subjective and cannot be quantified but this sublime quality is ever-present in truly great diamonds.

When considered along with the following more traditional interpretations of the ‘4 C’s’ this unique ‘fifth C’ (Charisma) in fact becomes your assurance of purchasing a diamond of unsurpassed brilliance, character, quality and value. A “Rosendorff Diamond” – with it’s heritage and origin proudly engraved on the girdle, along with it’s own individual serial number.

Light cascades and dances across a diamond like no other precious stone, its charisma lights up the room and its glittering presence commands centre stage. Craig Rosendorff and his specialist diamond team traverse the world searching for diamonds that exhibit this intangible romantic quality and it is in every sense a true labour of love.

The clarity of a diamond refers to its state or quality in terms of being clear, transparent and clean. Clarity is a measure of purity. The level of imperfection and volume of flaws will have a significant bearing on the brilliance of the stone. The industry utilises a clarity scale that measures the imperfections, which may take the form of blemishes or inclusions.         
Absolutely flawless diamonds are very rare indeed and if you magnify any stone to an unnatural extremity some form of “inclusion” will be revealed.  

Diamond Clarity Chart:

F-IF	VVS1	VVS2	VS1	VS2	SI1	SI2	I1	I2	I3

Diamond Clarity Grading Scale:

The perfect colouring for a traditional brilliant white diamond is no colour whatsoever, in that a flawless stone is essentially colourless and clear. (The criteria by which coloured diamonds are judged are slightly different) A less than perfect “clear” diamond will have a yellow tinting that is often unnoticeable to the human eye. The prevalence of tinting in a given stone will determine a diamond’s colour grading, which is measured on an alphabetical scale.       

The colouring of clear diamonds is judged with reference to a master scale that goes from D to Z. A crystal clear stone of absolute quality would be judged a D and a good quality clear diamond would be classified between D and J. Stones that have a white tint would fall between K and L and any stone that has a yellow tint would be rated between M and P.

The weight of any given diamond is measured in carats and carat weight is a vital element in determining a diamond’s value. By increasing the carat weight a stone’s value rises substantially but carat weight is but one of the components used to ascertain the true value of a diamond.

The word carat is derived from the Greek word “keration” which means “fruit of the carob.”  Carob seeds were once used on scales because of their uniform size / weight and after the linguistic influence of both the Italians and Arabs we were left with an accepted gemstone measure known as “carat.” A single carat equals .2 of a gram or 200 milligrams.                 

A smaller stone may radiate more “brilliance” than a larger stone if the latter suffers from an ordinary cut or inferior clarity or colour. The relative value of two stones of identical carat weight may also vary when judged against the other standard criteria.

Although carat is not the sole measure, its importance should not be understated and as a general rule if you are presented with two diamonds of equivalent quality the bigger stone will always be more valuable. Carat weight adds value to any stone but true beauty and brilliance is only achieved through the alchemy of cut, clarity, colour, carat and that elusive quality known as “charisma.”           

Rosendorff always endeavour to optimise the “charisma” of their diamonds which often involves cutting the diamond further and therefore losing carat weight. Some unscrupulous jewellers often sacrifice quality for carat weight by minimizing cutting, so one must never judge a diamond solely on weight otherwise the value may be substantially overstated.