Diamonds • Precious Gemstones • Jewelry • Gemology

The phrase that caught my attention was:

"Solasphera™ .. the world's highest diamond cut quality standard of a natural, non-conflict diamond."

I had just run across Solasphera™ while reading up on what's news in the diamond industry .. and found the "news" to be two years old. Shame on me!

Some of the newer diamond cuts have apparently been able to achieve greater brilliance by optimizing cutting geometry.

Some enhanced cut diamonds

Solasphera claims that their patented 91 facet round is "certified as the world's most brilliant diamond in terms of brilliance, fire and sparkles."

More than one new cut utilizes the ten-mains approach for round brilliant. Both Solasphera and the 71 facet Forever Ten™ claim BrillianceScope™ ratings for brilliance, fire, and scintillation much higher than traditionally cut eight-mains diamonds.

Part of this increased brilliance may be due to extra attention to optical symmetry.

But before running over to grab a few of these sparklers, consider the tarrif. The new breed of diamond cuts that enhance brilliance come with a pretty steep price premium attached.

Beauty Factors
Some gemological institutions are also getting on the high brilliance bandwagon by adding supplemental information to their reports. This new category regards a diamond's light return geometry, contrast brilliance, light leakage, and optical symmetry, known as beauty factors.

But about that:

"Solasphera™ .. the world's highest diamond cut quality standard of a natural, non-conflict diamond."

It leaves me wondering whether conflict diamonds might be cut more brilliantly than diamonds from other regions.

C'mon, guys! Surely there must be a blood diamond out there somewhere that can be tested purely for research purposes. Maybe not PC enough?