If you’ve been educating yourself about diamonds, you’ll already know about the four Cs. Of course, that’s Carat, Colour, Cut and Clarity. But there are other indicators diamond wholesalers and valuers look at when assessing a stone’s value. One of those is the diamond table.
What on earth is the diamond table?
Every fine cut diamond is crafted to a ‘pattern’. This characterises the particular category to which the stone belongs. Round brilliant, Princess, Baguette, Asscher and so on are all styles to which diamonds are cut.
In essence the diamond table is the large facet right on the top of the stone, as the illustration above shows.
OK, so what does the table do?
As the largest facet of the cut, the diamond table has a big impact on the gemstone’s appearance and degree of reflected light. The larger a diamond, the greater its table effect. So when it comes to stones of .5 carat and above, diamond wholesalers generally look for a table within certain proportions.
What proportions do diamond wholesalers look for?
The most attractive diamonds tend to have a table that measures around 55-60% of its diameter.
Many diamond cutters try and preserve the diamond weight by cutting a larger table, but this isn’t ideal. Larger table diamonds can reflect more light and appear more brilliant, but they have less fire, so don’t tend to burst with a rainbow of colour.
The science here depends on a diamond’s ability to break light. In turn this relies on the light entering or leaving at a sharp angle. If you’ve ever seen a light spectrum, you’ll understand.
Technically speaking, maximum light is dispersed as rays approaches the key angle between a diamond to air interface. The burst of colour that results emerges near parallel to the surface. That means, looking from the front of a diamond makes it more likely you’ll observe fire from a crown facet.
Smaller tables mean bigger crown facets, which gives the impression there are more of them.
How does all this affect the price?
Because diamonds with ideal proportions are more highly sought after, these stones attract premium prices. In general, table sizes over 60% are more affordable and you’ll get more stone for your money.
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