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- Abraded Culet
- A culet that has minor abrasions on it.
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- Abrasion
- Tiny nicks along facet junctions, producing white fuzzy lines instead of sharp crisp facet edges.
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- Asscher Cut
- A square diamond cut named after its inventor, Joseph Asscher.
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- Baguette
- A step cut in the shape of a small rectangular stone. May be tapered at one end.
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- Bearded Girdle
- Tiny numerous hairlike fractures extending into the diamond.
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- Bearding
- Tiny numerous hairlike fractures extending into the diamond.
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- Bezel
- A facet on the crown, or upper part of the diamond above the girdle.
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- Blemish
- Imperfection on the external surface of the diamond.
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- Bow-Tie
- An effect caused by a shadowy area visible in some fancy shapes, caused by light leaking out the bottom of the diamond.
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- Bruise
- Inclusions consisting of surface crumbling, often accompanied by tiny rootlike feathers.
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- Burned Facet
- Facet appears whitish, or burnt, as a result of the cutter polishing the facet against the grain.
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- Cavity
- An inclusion consisting of a large or deep opening in the diamond.
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- Charactistic Color
- The basic, overall color of a fancy-colored diamond.
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- Chip
- A tiny piece missing from the diamond.
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- Chipped Culet
- A culet whose point is missing.
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- Cloud
- A group of tiny white inclusions which result in a milky or cloudy appearance.
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- Coated Diamond
- A diamond colored by a surface coating which masks the true body-color; the coating may be extensive (entire pavilion, for example), but is more often limited to one or two pavilion facets or a spot on the girdle.
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- Crown
- The upper part of the diamond above the girdle. Consists of a large flat area on top called a table, and several facets below it.
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- Depth of Color
- The combination of tone and saturation that determines how noticeable a color is.
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- Emerald Cut
- The Emerald Cut is rectangular with cut corners. It is a step cut as opposed to a brilliant cut. The facets are broad with flat planes resembling the steps of a stair. That's why it is refered to as a step cut.
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- Extra Facet
- A facet placed without regard for symmetry and not required by the cutting style.
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- Facet
- Plane, polished surface of a diamond.
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- Faceted Girdle
- Sometimes cutters polish the girdle into 32 facets.
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- Feather
- A separation or break due to either cleavage or fracture, often white and feathery in appearance.
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- FL
- Flawless
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- Flaw
- An imperfection in a diamond.
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- Fracture
- A crack on the surface of the diamond.
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- Girdle
- The outer edge or the widest part of the diamond forming a band.
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- Grain Center
- A small area of concentrated crystal structure distortion, associated with pinpoints.
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- Hardness
- A mineral's resistance to scratching on a smooth surface. Mohs scale of relative hardness consists of 10 minerals, each scratching all those below it in scale and being scratched by all those above it.
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- Heart Shape Cut
- The Heart Shaped Cut is similar to the Pear Shape, except that there is a cleft at the top. In fact, often the reason cutters may choose a Heart Shape over a Pear may be that the rough diamond contained an inclusion located in the cleft. The skill of the cutter can make a great difference in the beauty of this cut. The shape appeal is especially important with Heart Cuts.
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- Hue
- Pure, spectral (prismatic) color. Hues include gradations and mixtures of red, organe, yellow, green, blue, violet and purple.
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- I1
- Included.
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- I2
- Included
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- I3
- Included
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- IF
- Internally Flawless
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- Included Crystal
- A mineral crystal contained within a diamond.
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- Inclusion
- Internal imperfection of the diamond.
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- Internal Graining
- Irregular crystal growth within the diamond. May appear milky or colored, like faint lines or streaks.
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- Irradiated Diamond
- A diamond which has been exposed to radiation.
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- Knot
- An included diamond crystal which reaches the surface of a polished diamond.
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- Laser Drill Hole
- A tiny tube made by a laser.
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- Loupe
- Magnifying glass usually of 10X.
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- Marquise Cut
- The name "Marquise" came from a legend of the Marquise of Pompadour that the Sun King wanted a diamond to be polished into the shape of the mouth of the Marquise. The typical Marquise Cut contains 56 facets.
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- Master Stones
- A set of color comparison diamonds that defines diamond color grades in the normal (D-to-Z) range.
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- Melee
- Small diamonds under .20 carat.
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- Mohs Scale
- The ten-point scale of mineral hardness, keyed arbitrarily to the minerals talc, gypsum, calcite, fluorite, apatite, orthoclase, quartz, topaz, corundum, and diamond.
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- Natural
- Part of the rough diamond remaining on the diamond itself, having survived the cutting process. This is usually the sign of a good cutter attempting to maximize the weight retention of the rough diamond.
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- Natural Culet
- This means the culet has not been polished at all and the actual rough diamond was retained. It can be a sign of a good cutter.
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- Near Colorless
- A general term for diamonds in the G-to-J color range.
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- Needle
- A long, thin rod-like crystal.
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- Nick
- A notch near the girdle of a facet edge.
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- Normal Color Range
- Range of diamond colors from colorless to light yellow and light brown.
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- Off Make
- A poorly proportioned diamond.
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- Old European Cut
- Old European Cut diamonds used to be popular before the science of diamond cutting developed the Round Brilliant Cut which is designed to return more light to the eye.
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- Oval Cut
- The Oval Cuthape is very similar to a Round except it is elliptical. It was invented by Lazare Kaplan in the early 1960's. The Oval Shape usually has 56 facets. Shape appeal is very important with Oval Cuts.
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- Pavilion
- The bottom part of the diamond, below the girdle.
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- Pear Cut
- The Pear Cut is a combination of a Round brilliant and a Marquise cut. Pendants looks very nice set with a Pear shape as do earrings, due to the teardrop shape.
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- Pinpoint
- Miniscule spots internal to a diamond. A cluster of pinpoints can form a cloud.
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- Pit
- A tiny opening, often looks like a white dot.
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- Point
- 0.01 Carat
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- Polish Lines
- Tiny parallel lines left by polishing.
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- Polish Mark
- Surface clouding caused by excessive heat (also called burn mark, or burned facet), or uneven polished surface resulting from structural irregularities.
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- Princess Cut
- The Princess Cut is relatively new. It is a very attractive cut. Some people like the Princess because it is rectangular and yet has some of the sparkle of a Round brilliant cut.
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- Rough Girdle
- A grainy or pitted girdle surface, often with nicks.
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- Round Brilliant Cut
- Rounds are the most popular shape that diamonds are cut into. It is also the most brilliant of all the cuts.
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- Saturation
- A color's position on a neutral to vivid scale.
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- Scratch
- A linear indentation normally seen as a fine white line.
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- Scratch Graining
- Surface indication of structural irregularity. May resemble faint facet junction lines, or cause a grooved or wavy surface, often cross facet junctions.
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- SI1
- Slightly Included
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- SI2
- Slightly Included
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- Spread Stone
- A diamond with a large table and a thin crown height.
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- Tone
- A color's position on a colorless-to-black scale.
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- Treated Diamond
- A diamond with a body color induced by some form of artificial irradiation, often in conjunction with controlled heating (known as annealing).
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- Twinning Wisp
- A cloudy area produced by crystal structure distortion, usually associated with twinning planes.
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- VS1
- Very Slightly Included
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- VS2
- Very Slightly Included
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- VVS1
- Very Very Slightly Included
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- VVS2
- Very Very Slightly Included
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