Which carat size is best for fire and brilliance sparkle?

[diamond86guy]

This question is a loaded one, i understand that so many factors can determine the size of a carat from budget to what looks good on the finger and the type of setting it sits on.

My question is about the round brilliant shaped diamond and the fire and brilliance it has to offer.

Which carat size is the better carat size and dare i say 'Value' for money? Is there a popular size that shines better than another size? Regardless of the 4/5/6C's and the HCA tool is there a particular size that has a higher demand than others?

Is there such a thing called 'premium carat sizes'? When it comes to engagement rings be they sit on a solitaire or halo setting which carat size has more brilliance - or is there no such thing so as long the HCA score is below 2?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Which carat size is best for fire and brilliance sparkle

Cut is what makes a diamond beautiful. There are other factors such as bad clarity that might detract from that. But carat weight and size have zero to do with the fire, brilliance, and sparkle. An ideal cut stone looks fabulous in a halo, solitaire, or other setting.

What determines the best size to buy? Number one is your budget. Number two is what is worn in her social circle and family and the size she'd be most comfortable with. There's a big difference between living in Beverly Hills versus small town in the south or midwest, for example.

As far as better value goes, going just under a carat mark is usually the best way to get greater size while avoiding the mark-up of the next carat mark. So .90 is going to be less than 1 ct (of equal cut and specs), 1.8-1.9x will be less than 2 cts, etc. However, sometimes people value being able to say that my ring is 1 ct or 2 cts, so it depends on what she, particularly, values for her ring. Some girls want more elaborate settings with smaller diamonds, and others want the biggest possible diamond in a simple solitaire setting. So knowing what she loves is THE biggest factor aside from your budget.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Which carat size is best for fire and brilliance sparkle

I personally recommend going with top cut diamonds such as Whiteflash ACA, Good Old Gold Ascendancy, High Performance Diamonds, or Victor Canera. But if looking at GIA Excellent cut, rather than the HCA, I usually stick to these measurements which are very close to the specs most of the vendors above use for their top cut stones.

These are measurements to help you stay in ideal cut territory with a GIA excellent cut stone.

table: 54-58

depth: 60-62.3

crown angle: 34-35.0 (up to 35.5 crown angle can sometimes work with a 40.6 pav angle)

pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (sometimes 41.0 if the crown angle is close to 34)

 

[rubybeth]

Re: Which carat size is best for fire and brilliance sparkle

This question is a loaded one, i understand that so many factors can determine the size of a carat from budget to what looks good on the finger and the type of setting it sits on.

My question is about the round brilliant shaped diamond and the fire and brilliance it has to offer.

Which carat size is the better carat size and dare i say 'Value' for money? Is there a popular size that shines better than another size? Regardless of the 4/5/6C's and the HCA tool is there a particular size that has a higher demand than others?

Is there such a thing called 'premium carat sizes'? When it comes to engagement rings be they sit on a solitaire or halo setting which carat size has more brilliance - or is there no such thing so as long the HCA score is below 2?

It's not really a "loaded" question, it just doesn't make much sense. You can get a very well cut diamond under a carat and it will have far more sparkle/fire/brilliance than a poorly cut 2 carat diamond. Size really has nothing to do with it. Just get a very well cut diamond and it will likely blow people away. I'd recommend Whiteflash ACA, Brian Gavin Signature, etc. Setting will also not affect the brilliance of the stone very much--a halo or a solitaire will be equally beautiful, it just matters what the intended wearer prefers. I love halos but prefer a solitaire for my engagement ring, but other women prefer halos for their main ring. To each her own!

 

[ChristineRose]

Re: Which carat size is best for fire and brilliance sparkle

Small diamonds sparkle more.

Large diamonds shine more.

Fire and brilliance are a function of cut.

The most brilliant cuts have less fire. The most fiery cuts have less brilliance. It makes sense as brilliance is light white, and fire is colored light.

Very well cut modern round brilliants are generally the most bang (light return) for the buck, but if you want a different look you can sacrifice brilliance for fire, or fire for brilliance, or get a cut with extra facets to maximize sparkle.

There's also a trade off between lots of little flashes and fewer but bigger flashes.

That said, there's a reason the modern round brilliant dominates the diamond world.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Re: Which carat size is best for fire and brilliance sparkle

If I understand the question correctly, I think I have to correct part of all the statements above.

What I agree with most, is diamondseeker's reply about diamonds just under a magic weight giving the best value.

For the aspects of brightness (brilliance), fire and scintillation, I would like to go a bit more into basics:

1. Brightness (brilliance)

- Please note that brightness is most studied, and that most lab-analysis and assessment-tools are brightness-centric.
- Diamondseeker is right that size of the diamond will not affect brightness. The same exact cut-quality in a different size will produce the same brightness.
- But contrast-brightness is another issue. A very big stone (let's take the theoretical 30 Ct-size) may end up looking a lot more boring with an identical cut to a 1Ct., especially in a light-environment that is geared towards brightness.

2. Fire

- Please note that there is distinction between dispersion (rainbows exiting the diamond) and fire (color being observed).
- When considering dispersion, one might be correct that more brightness means less dispersion. In that theory, size of the diamond makes no difference.
- In Fire however, there is a huge difference. With equal cut-quality, a bigger diamond has bigger 'virtual facets', and as a result, broader rainbows of dispersion exiting the diamond. The likelihood of one observing fire with a broader dispersion-fan increases a lot.
- As a result, with the same exact cut-quality, a bigger diamond will show more Fire than a smaller diamond.
- The latter observation has been shared regularly by our retailers, as our consistent cut-quality allows such comparison to make sense.

3. Scintillation

- Please note that there is a distinction between the number of flashes and the intensity of these flashes.
- With equal cut-quality and increasing size, the number of flashes does not really change, so different size is not a factor.
- When considering the intensity of these flashes though, the size and the color of that flash do influence observation.
- Again, I would say, that with exactly equal cut-quality, a bigger diamond will show more dramatic scintillation.

In summary, bigger size in exactly equal cut-quality positively influences Fire and Scintillation. The bigger the diamond, the more energy should go into choosing the highest Cut-quality, even on a higher level than most popular assessment-tools (mostly studying brightness).

Live long,

 

[gretag]

It is unfortunate, the title was excellent but the first post did not ask clearly enough the question. There are observable and not observable virtual facets obviously if a VF is too small to be discerned by the eye there will be no flashes colored or otherwise perceived.

The "ideal" cut for a larger diamond can be different than for a 1ct diamond. I doubt this is often discussed except in the theoretical as the economics of larger diamond cutting tend to limit cut creativity. However I believe somewhere it must be written that larger or much larger diamonds can be cut with more physical facets as the VFs are on average larger and more observable and more large to medium sized flashes are preferred to fewer very large flashes. Does anyone really want to wear a foglight 10ct diamond?

 

[Austina]

If you're happy to post your budget, the kind people on here will be able to find you a great diamond.

 

[bmfang]

... Does anyone really want to wear a foglight 10ct diamond?

Maybe one of the Kardashians?

 

[cmd2014]

Does diamond size influence color perception? Does the tint show more in larger stones? Are inclusions more visible in larger stones? I'm just curious now that I'm thinking about it.

 

[bmfang]

Does diamond size influence color perception? Does the tint show more in larger stones? Are inclusions more visible in larger stones? I'm just curious now that I'm thinking about it.

The larger the stone, the more body colour can be visible. That can be mitigated to some extent by having a stone cut to ideal/super-ideal proportions so that it returns as much light to the viewer as possible. If the stone has blue fluorescence (and that fluor doesn't negatively impact the transparency of the stone), that can also help to mask tint as well.

What is a SI inclusion in a smaller stone will likely be larger if you have a SI inclusion in a larger stone. So in a larger stone, inclusions may be more visible to the naked eye at SI grading levels. Potentially also at VS2 levels (especially if the stone is a borderline VS2/SI1 stone). I think the general rule is that if you want to be as certain as possible about clarity in larger stones is that you look at VS2 and above clarity levels in your search.