“On beauty” - how to quantify a diamond’s beauty
The diamond is the only gemstone in the world whose appearance is created by the way it interacts with light and it is a fascinating relationship.
Light is the energy that brings a diamond to life. Light ignites the fire inside, sets off the sparkle, reveals hidden symmetries and expresses a diamond’s brilliance.
As light enters, bends, and exits a stone, the visual play of light is known as ‘light performance’. As every diamond is unique, understanding its light performance is like unravelling the very essence of its character and exploring the world of facets within. At Sarine we say: “See the Light. See the diamond beauty”.
2. How was the light performance grading system developed?
Sarine’s Light™ Performance grading system is based on years of research and development, which resulted in Sarine Light™, a scanning and measurement device that analyzes 4 attributes of a diamond’s light performance – Brilliance, Fire, Sparkle and Light Symmetry – and combines them to assign a total light performance grade.
The beauty of Sarine’s light grading system is its objectivity. The diamonds are analyzed for light performance in a completely scientific, tech-based way, without relying on the subjective visual perception of a human grader.
This means that your Sarine light performance grade is the most accurate description of the diamond’s true interaction with light.
3. How important are cut and craftsmanship when determining a diamond’s light performance?
They are most important features that affect diamond light performance and they strongly connected. Cut, however, refers to the craftsmanship and accuracy of the way the diamond was polished from its rough form. Two diamonds can have the same shape, but they can have very different cut gradings.
You can offer hear a trade term “an excellent cut” or “triple X cut” referring to stone that have excellent cut, polish and symmetry and those diamonds tend to have better light performance, because they have better proportions that facilitate the way the stone interacts with rays of light.
Diamonds with higher cut have a higher grading, higher quality and higher price, but they are also more beautiful to the human eye!
4. When a layperson is searching for a diamond, the 4Cs and other technical terms are limited in their meaning – the retail customer is seeking a diamond with their preferred stone cut shape, diamond setting etc. How can the light performance enable a consumer to find the best fit according to their preferences and budget?
I have to say that consumers today are far more informed, savvy, and wary about buying diamonds. Lay consumers can access vast information about diamonds on the internet, some of which is accurate, and some of which may not be. They are no longer content to simply take the word of a sales rep about a diamond’s grading information. Consumers expect full transparency about a diamond’s gradings, source, and value, and they demand higher levels of reliability, accuracy, and transparency.
The 4Cs are not out of date; rather, Sarine is taking the entire concept of diamond grading to new levels of excellence, with AI-based Light ™ Performance technology that measures and grades the diamond light in a far more precise and statistically standardized way.
You know, male consumers tend to focus on price and diamond weight, while women focus on design/ setting, then the diamond itself and the price. Sure the budget is an influencing factor. If you ask me, personally I would a choose smaller sparkling gem, but with higher quality parameters and beauty!
5. How can a consumer best understand the different parameters when reading a light performance report? How do these influence the purchasing decision?
Let’s understand first the importance of Light performance evaluation. Light Performance influences the diamond price, for example, two diamonds with the same 4Cs grading can have a different price. In reality, if one compares the exact same 4C criteria on the same diamonds, but with different light performance grades – one can see they have different beauty, reflect light differently and there is a price differential.
When reading the report, the consumer can see 4 overall grades in Sarine’s light performance scale: Low, Classic, Premium, and Ultimate. Ultimate is reserved only for diamonds with the absolute best light performance, meaning they get top marks for all light performance parameters: Brilliance, Sparkle, Fire, and Light Symmetry.
The combination of perfect natural features and exceptional craftsmanship that combine to create a diamond with Ultimate light performance doesn’t happen very often. As expected, Ultimate diamonds are more prized and therefore more expensive. If you are lucky enough to hold an Ultimate light performance diamond in your hand and turn it in the light, you will see a highly brilliant diamond that demonstrates exceptional sparkle, depth, and perfection.
To learn more about Sarine and the role of light performance please click here.
