Cut - The 4Cs of a Diamond

Why Cut is King for Your Bespoke Engagement Ring

Welcome to the Griffin & Co. blog series on creating your perfect bespoke engagement ring! This journey is one of the most personal and exciting you'll ever take, and we are here to guide you. To start, we're diving into the 4Cs: Cut, Colour, Clarity, and Carat.

Many people mistake "Cut" for a diamond's shape (like round, oval, or emerald). But in reality, Cut is the most crucial "C" for a diamond's beauty. It refers to the technical craftsmanship—the angles, proportions, and symmetry—that determines how a diamond interacts with light.

A large, colourless diamond can appear dull and lifeless if it has a poor cut. Conversely, a masterfully cut diamond can look bigger, brighter, and hide other imperfections, giving you that breathtaking, head-turning sparkle.

What is Diamond Cut?

Think of a diamond as a complex system of tiny mirrors. The Cut grade, established by institutes like the GIA (Gemological Institute of America), evaluates three key factors:

• Brilliance: The bright white light reflected from the diamond.

• Fire: The scattering of light into all the colours of the rainbow (dispersion).

• Scintillation: The flashes of light and dark (sparkle) you see as the diamond moves.

The GIA scale for Cut (for round brilliant diamonds) ranges from Excellent down to Poor.

The Griffin & Co. Philosophy on Cut

As your partners in bespoke design, we have a clear philosophy: never compromise on Cut.

This is the one "C" that is almost entirely influenced by human artistry. It’s the difference between a simple stone and a dazzling gem. In our workshop, we almost exclusively source diamonds in the "Excellent" and "Very Good" ranges.

Why? Because an Excellent cut ensures that the light entering the diamond is reflected back to your eye, not "leaking" out the sides or bottom. This craftsmanship is the engine of your ring's beauty.

How Cut Impacts Your Bespoke Ring

When we design a custom engagement ring, the Cut is our true north.

• Maximising Sparkle: A bespoke setting, like a delicate platinum basket or a minimalist claw, is designed to let the maximum amount of light into a well-cut diamond.

• Balancing Budgets: Prioritising an "Excellent" cut allows you to be more flexible on other Cs, like Colour or Clarity. A superior cut can make a G-colour diamond look just as brilliant as a D-colour one.

• Shape & Style: While the GIA cut grade technically only applies to round diamonds, the same principles of light performance guide our selection of all other shapes (known as "fancy cuts"), from ovals to emeralds.

Start with Sparkle

Your love story deserves to dazzle. When you sit down with our designers, we don't just show you diamonds; we show you light. We’ll help you see the difference a superior cut makes and build your dream ring around a stone that truly performs.