Balancing size and brilliance can be tricky, especially when navagating between shallow-cut vs spread diamonds, but understanding the key differences can make all the difference in finding the perfect diamond.

Navigate This Guide:

• Introduction
• 11 Tips to Finding the Perfect Spready Diamond: Striking the Balance Between Size and Brilliance 
• Understanding Shallow Cut Diamonds
• Spready Diamonds Explained
• Cost Considerations
• Conclusion
• 9 FAQs

Introduction

It’s easy enough learning the diamond shapes. Ovals, Rounds, and Pears – even Emeralds – are self-explanatory, while Cushions, Princesses, and Radiants are all striking enough to engrain themselves on your memory pretty quickly.

It’s also a pretty straightforward process getting your head around carat weight – the fourth of the Four Cs. Relating only to the size of the diamond – a major selling point for any shopper – this is likely to remain front and center in your mind throughout the entire process of finding and purchasing a diamond for your engagement ring.

What can be a little tougher to get your head round, however, is the subject of cut. Unlike ‘shape’ and ‘carat’, a diamond’s cut quality is predicated on a number of factors, such as symmetry, polish and, of course, proportion.

A diamond’s proportion impacts how large it appears, and how much it will sparkle – inarguably the two most important aspects for any diamond, and a compelling reason to do your research on shallow cut diamonds.

Before we dive deeper into the specifics, here are some practical tips to help guide your decision-making process:

11 Tips to Finding the Perfect Spready Diamond: Striking the Balance Between Size and Brilliance 

• Tip 1: Understanding Spready vs. Shallow: First, it’s crucial to understand the difference. Spready diamonds are cut to maximize their face-up area, giving the appearance of a larger stone for their carat weight. Shallow cut diamonds, on the other hand, have a reduced depth that often compromises brilliance and fire. 
• Tip 2: Look at Depth and Table Percentages: To ensure a spready diamond is not too shallow, examine its depth and table percentages. Ideal depth percentages typically range between 57% and 63% for round brilliants. A spready diamond may lean towards the lower end of this range but shouldn’t fall below it. 
• Tip 3: Inspect the Diamond’s Brilliance: A spready diamond should still exhibit strong brilliance. Observe the diamond under various lighting conditions. It should display an impressive light return and sparkle uniformly across its surface. 
• Tip 4: Check for Light Leakage: Use tools like the ASET (Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool) if available. This can help identify any light leakage, which is a common problem in overly shallow diamonds. 
• Tip 5: Consult the Certification: Rely on reputable grading reports from organizations like GIA or AGS. These reports will give you a detailed analysis of the diamond’s proportions and cut quality. 
• Tip 6: Balance with Other Quality Factors: Remember that cut is just one aspect. Ensure the diamond also ranks well in color, clarity, and carat to maintain its overall beauty and value. 
• Tip 7: Visual Comparison: If possible, compare the spready diamond side by side with one of ideal proportions. This can give you a practical sense of how the spread impacts its appearance and if it crosses into being too shallow. 
• Tip 8: Seek a Second Opinion: While avoiding seeking professional guidance as per your request, getting a second opinion from a trusted, knowledgeable friend or family member who has experience with diamonds can be beneficial. 
• Tip 9: Trust Your Instincts: Ultimately, choose a diamond that appeals to you visually. Even if it’s slightly spready, if it captures your eye and sparkles to your satisfaction, it may be the right choice for you. 
• Tip 10: Consider the Setting: Some settings can enhance the perceived size of a spready diamond without compromising on its appearance, allowing you to maximize the visual impact of the stone.
• Tip 11: Balancing Spready and Shallow Diamonds: In seeking the perfect spread diamond, finding the fine line between maximizing the face-up area, which gives the stone its impressive size, and avoiding cuts so shallow that they compromise the diamond’s intrinsic sparkle and brilliance is crucial. This balance combines aesthetic size with optimal light performance.

Now that you’ve got these practical tips, use Jeweler AI below to find the perfect engagement ring that suits your style and budget:

Understanding Shallow Cut Diamonds

A shallow cut or ‘spready’ diamond is one that has been cut with incorrect proportions that make it wider and shallower than it should be. From the side, the pavilion will look significantly shorter and ‘squatter’ than you would expect it to. From above, however, the diamond will look a lot larger than other diamonds of the same carat weight.

This is down to weight distribution, and the fact that the diamond cutter distributed far too much of the diamond’s weight into its table and crown, and not enough into the lower portion – the pavilion.

The upper surface of the diamond is considerably wider than it is on a well-proportioned diamond, meaning that, from the side view, its weight appears to be spread outwards rather than evenly distributed throughout the stone’s shape.

The Impact on Sparkle and Appeal

If a diamond is cut shallow, then light cannot be refracted through the center of the diamond in the way it’s supposed to, meaning that shallow cut diamonds appear significantly less sparkly than others that have been cut to ideal proportions.

The main purpose of the diamond’s pavilion is to reflect light through the center of the stone, and then direct it back through the crown. This is why it needs to be cut at a very specific angle – one which allows as much of the light that enters the diamond to leave it via the crown and table as possible. Otherwise, the light is lost through the pavilion and, as a result, wasted.

In other words, the light being converted into brilliance and fire across the surface of the diamond is significantly limited, leading to a dull stone lacking in the electrifying sparkle for which diamonds are famed.

Identifying Shallow Cuts

The diamond’s GIA report will contain detailed information on its cut proportions, and learning how to interpret these will prove invaluable to you during your search.

Then again, if you’re shopping from a reputable seller who hand-picks each diamond for its beauty and appeal, you won’t need to worry about accidentally investing in a dud. Just remember that every store and vendor is different. While, at WillYou, we ensure every single diamond we sell meets a high standard for beauty and sparkle, some sellers take a more liberal approach. This is why knowing how to read a GIA report will never go amiss. 

We would only ever recommend our readers invest in Excellent or Very Good diamonds, as Good, Fair and Poor cuts can all too easily impact the diamond’s beauty.

Beyond that grade, however, you’ll find individual grades for polish and symmetry, and a diagram featuring grades for the girdle and culet, as well as depth and table proportions.

Each diamond shape has an ideal depth proportion, usually between 60% to 62% except Princess which is between 70% to 72%. There’s no use in using measurements, since even a small increase or decrease in carat weight will mean different measurements are required. Percentage ranges, however, remain the same whatever carat weight your chosen diamond is.

Besides, a shallow diamond will just look…off. It will look like it has been stretched sideways, spread over too much surface area with not enough weight underneath the pavilion. 

Spready Diamonds Explained

So, why are some diamonds shallow cut? For the simple reason that they look bigger, and far more impressive – that is, until the light hits them. While some diamonds are specifically cut to produce the highest quality diamond possible, others are intentionally cut ‘wrong’ to preserve as much of the original stone as possible, and fetch a high price for their carat weight alone.

It’s a fact of life by this point that many, many shoppers want to get the biggest diamond possible. Going beyond the status quo and splashing out on a veritable rock of a diamond has an undeniable prestige about it. It’s a trend set by celebrities – and one that’s been encouraging us to ‘go big or go home’ for almost a hundred years.

And why not? The bigger the diamond, the easier it is to appreciate its beauty – and the harder it is to miss.

The only trouble is that larger diamonds cost considerably more than those of a more modest size. Pushing beyond 1 carat can quickly push shoppers into double figures and, for some, fitting that within their budget just isn’t possible.

This is why there will always be a market for shallow cut diamonds. At face value, a 1 carat spread diamond will appear to be much larger than the rest, and may even impress some onlookers.

The trouble is that most shoppers wind up disappointed sooner or later. While their intentions were in the right place, a diamond’s ability to make an impact lies in its sparkle and beauty just as much as it does its size – if not more.

Diamonds that don’t produce their distinctive sparkle can even look more like cheaper gemstones used to imitate diamond, like cubic zirconia. It’s one thing knowing that your diamond is real, but another thing entirely making sure it looks real – and this is a major pitfall many uninformed shoppers can fall into.

Visual Differences and Buyer Perceptions

Shallow diamonds may seem like a good idea – and that’s why some people will continue to buy them. But, while they’re a good idea for the diamond cutter, who is able to get a much larger diamond out of a rough stone, and avoid cutting away too much diamond to get an ideal shape, they’re a very poor choice for engagement rings.

Sparkle is what draws us to diamonds in the first place. An eruption of fire and brilliance is the first thing your future bride will lay eyes on when you lift the lid of the box and bring that ring out into the open for the first time, but it’s not guaranteed unless you understand the importance of a properly proportioned diamond.

Cost Considerations

There are so many ways to save money on a diamond and get a little more for a little less, but sacrificing on proportions isn’t one of them. 

Diamonds cut to ideal proportions will be more expensive than diamonds that have been cut too shallow or too deep, since either extreme will have a negative impact on light performance.

You’ll notice that, for every diamond shape out there, the ‘ideal’ range for depth has a lower and upper limit. It’s more than possible to go too far in either direction, and for exactly the same reason: a pavilion that is too long will also misdirect light and diminish the amount of sparkle visible from the table and crown.

Deeper diamonds won’t be able to offer the same (supposed) benefit of making the diamond appear bigger, since the weight is distributed vertically rather than horizontally. The result will be a narrow, lifeless diamond that appears much smaller than its carat weight would suggest.

Conclusion

Cut is the most important feature in any diamond, and should never be treated as a secondary quality to look for.

Shallow diamonds may seem like a good idea – and that’s why some people will continue to buy them. But, while they’re a good idea for the diamond cutter, who is able to get a much larger diamond out of a rough stone, and avoid cutting away too much diamond to get an ideal shape, they’re a very poor choice for engagement rings.

Sparkle is what draws us to diamonds in the first place. An eruption of fire and brilliance is the first thing your future bride will lay eyes on when you lift the lid of the box and bring that ring out into the open for the first time, but it’s not guaranteed unless you understand the importance of a properly proportioned diamond.

Focus on all of the Four Cs during your search for a diamond, but remember that Cut offers the least amount of leeway. While you can afford to play around with your diamond’s clarity and color grades, the balance between a beautiful diamond and a poorly proportioned diamond is a lot more delicate, and should be treated as such.

9 FAQs

• Q: What is a Spready Diamond? 
  A: A spready diamond is cut to maximize its face-up area, giving it a larger appearance for its carat weight without significantly compromising its brilliance and fire.
• Q: How Does a Spready Diamond Differ from a Shallow Diamond? 
  A: While both types appear larger face-up, a shallow diamond has reduced depth affecting its brilliance and fire, whereas a spready diamond maintains these qualities to a greater extent.
• Q: What are the Risks of Choosing a Shallow Cut Diamond? 
  A: Shallow cut diamonds often suffer from light leakage, resulting in less sparkle and brilliance, and can appear lifeless compared to well-proportioned stones.
• Q: How Can I Identify if a Diamond is Too Shallow? 
  A: Check the depth percentage on the diamond’s certificate. A percentage lower than the ideal range (typically below 57% for round brilliants) often indicates a too shallow cut.
• Q: What is the Ideal Depth Percentage for a Spready Diamond? 
  A: Ideal depth percentages for a spready diamond are at the lower end of the standard range (about 57-63% for round diamonds), but not below it.
• Q: Can a Spready Diamond Still Have Good Brilliance? 
  A: Yes, a well-cut spready diamond can still exhibit strong brilliance and fire, similar to a diamond with ideal proportions.
• Q: How Important is the Diamond’s Table Size in Determining Spread? 
  A: The table size is crucial; a larger table can contribute to a spready appearance. However, if too large, it can affect the diamond’s light performance.
• Q: Should I Prioritize Carat Weight Over Cut? 
  A: No, a well-proportioned cut is crucial for the diamond’s overall beauty. A larger carat weight doesn’t compensate for poor light performance.
• Q: How to Balance Size and Quality in a Spready Diamond? 
  A: Look for diamonds with a slightly larger table and lower depth within the ideal range, ensuring they still have good ratings for brilliance and fire.

Explore the intricacies of shallow and spready diamonds with Jeweler AI to choose the perfect engagement ring. Find cuts, sparkle, and value in our AI guide.