Besco Custom Design

GIA | On Diamond Cut

Common Terms used in grading a Diamonds Cut

With GIA's new system, the diamond industry as well as the public can now use cut along with color, clarity, and carat weight to help them make informed and balanced decisions when assessing and purchasing round brilliant diamonds

GIA has calculated the cut results for 38.5 million proportion sets based on the assessment of seven components.
The first three — Brightness, Fire, and Scintillation — are appearance-based aspects. The remaining four — Weight Ratio, Durability, Polish, and Symmetry — are related to a diamond's design and craftsmanship.
In the GIA Diamond Cut Grading System, each component was assessed individually, taking into account the relative importance of that component in the overall cut quality of a round brilliant diamond, and the ability of an average, experienced observer to consistently see the differences in cut quality based on these components.

To locate the proportions that influence the face-up appearance of a round brilliant diamond and to learn more about how GIA measures them, click on the proportions listed below.



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size

Diameter
Distance measured between two opposing points along the girdle's outline. The minimum and maximum girdle diameters are determined by taking a number of diameter measurements. Diameter is reported to the nearest hundredth of a millimeter (0.01 mm).

Average diameter is used in calculating certain percentages such as table size, total depth, crown height, and pavilion depth.

Average diameter = (min diameter + max diameter) ÷ 2



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size

Total Depth %
Total depth (measured from table plain to culet) relative to the average diameter reported to the nearest tenth of a percentage point (0.1%).

Total depth % = (total depth ÷ avg diameter) x 100



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size

Table Size %
Avg table size relative to the avg diameter, reported to the nearest whole percentage point (1%). Table size is measured from bezel point to bezel point; the average of four measurements is used.

Table % = (avg table size ÷ avg diameter) x 100



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size


	Crown Angle Average of all eight crown angles, reported to the nearest half of a degree (0.5°). A crown angle is the angle of the bezel facet plane relative to the table plane.



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size

Crown Height %
Average crown height relative to the average diameter, reported to the nearest half of a percentage point (0.5%). Crown height is measured from the table plane to the intersection of the bezel facet with the girdle.

Crown height % = (avg crown height ÷ avg diameter) x 100



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size


	Pavilion Angle Average of all eight pavilion angles, reported to the nearest multiple of 0.2° (e.g., 41.0°, 41.4°). A pavilion angle is the angle of the main facet plane relative to the table plane.



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size

Pavilion Depth %
Average pavilion depth relative to the average diameter, reported to the nearest half of a percentage point (0.5%). Pavilion depth is measured from the culet to the intersection of the pavilion main facet with the girdle.

Pavilion depth % = (avg pavilion depth ÷ avg diameter) x 100



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size


	Star Length % The horizontally projected distance from the point of the star facet to the edge of the table, relative to the distance between the table edge and the girdle edge. This is averaged for all 8 star facets and reported to the nearest five percent (5%).



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size


	Lower-Half Length % The horizontally projected distance from the point where two pavilion mains meet to the closest edge of the girdle, relative to the distance between the girdle edge and the center of the culet. This is averaged for all 8 lower-half facets and reported to the nearest five percent (5%).



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size


	Girdle Thickness (verbal description) Described and reported by the GIA Laboratory as a range from the thinnest to the thickest "valley" areas (i.e., "thin places" located between the bezel-main intersection and where the upper and lower halves meet). Descriptions include extremely thin, very thin, thin, medium, slightly thick, thick, very thick, and extremely thick. "Extremely thin" appears as a knife-edge; that is, the crown meets the pavilion with no girdle in between.



	Diameter
	Total Depth
	Table Size
	Crown Angle
	Crown Height
	Pavilion Angle
	Pavilion Depth
	Star Length
	Lower-Half Length
	Girdle Thickness
	Culet Size


	Culet Size (verbal description) Described and reported by the GIA Laboratory as the average width of the culet relative to the average diameter of the girdle. Descriptions include none, very small, small, medium, slightly large, large, very large, and extremely large. "None" is used when there is no culet facet, which is sometimes referred to by the trade as a pointed culet.

Source GIA