How AZEERA is Raising the Bar in the Gemstone Industry
Gem quality is about more than finding the best possible stone to use for your jewelry. It’s also about maximizing the stone’s existing nature to bring out its best features. At AZEERA, we source our gemstones from reliable partners, but we also employ experienced gem cutters that truly know their craft. From the 4 Cs of diamonds to how to cut gemstones, our team is at the forefront of knowledge, technology, and discovery to ensure AAAA-rated quality stones and jewelry that shines with brilliant design and workmanship.
Follow along with us as we review diamond and gemstone cutting and crafting — from the basics of gem quality to how we maximize the potential of every stone in our collection!
How A Diamond Is Cut - 5 Steps
Generally, there are five steps to how you cut gemstones, taking you from the rough stone to the completed diamond.
-
Rough Stone
You start with the rough material — a gem mined from the earth. It’s completely unshaped and often looks like a hunk of rock. Many people miss these precious gemstones because they aren’t faceted to reflect back light as sparkling brilliance — at least, not yet.
-
Pre-forming
Next, you pre-form the shape you want for the final stone. Sometimes, a gem is better suited to an oval cut, or the size of the stone will work best as an emerald cut. Some gem cutters like to let the gemstone show them what shape it wants to be, and they grind it down with coarse abrasives into the basic shape.
-
Refinement
Now we move on to the finer details of how a diamond is cut. We prep to refine the shape by attaching it to a dop stick with a little wax. Then, gem cutters shape the stone more carefully with a higher abrasive.
-
Faceting
Facets are the flat planes on a shaped stone that start to reflect the light and bounce it around to create more sparkle and shine. With the facets defined, you can start to see the gem quality emerge.
-
Polishing
The final step of how to cut a gemstone is polishing each facet with an even higher abrasive to create a smooth surface and ensure all the facets meet correctly to form proper corners. At this point, a stone is ready for setting.
The 4 Properties of Precision Cutting
The 4 Cs of diamonds are often determined by the expertise and precision of the gem cutter. You can start off with the highest quality stone, but if the cutter doesn’t take proper care, all that hard work is worthless. To guarantee our AAAA quality, we focus on consistency, symmetry, proportions, and polish.
-
Consistency
One of the 4 Cs of diamonds is the carat, which refers to the size, or weight, of the diamond. We decide on the weight for the final stone well in advance, and every gem cutter meets our standards to produce the perfect gem size. Our size listings are precise, and you get exactly what you order to the smallest decimal.
-
Symmetry
Shaping and faceting for a stone are essential to showing off its best features. The consistency of the facet angles and sizes ensures their symmetry and maximizes how much light and color flows through the stone.
-
Proportions
The right proportions for every aspect of the gem ensure quality, shine, and brilliance. We don’t plan how to cut a gemstone based on maximizing the yield from the raw stone. Instead, we focus on optimizing that sparkle.
-
Polish
We mentioned polishing in our diamond cutting overview, but it’s more than just creating a mirror-like finish. A high polish also ensures each facet has the sharpest edges possible and connects to all the other facets appropriately for better durability.
How Precision Cutting Improves Gem Quality
How a diamond is cut definitely has an effect on gem quality and visual appeal. Precision cutting the right shape ensures better results because we concentrate on sparkle, versatility, investment, matching, and replacement.
Intense Sparkle
Precision-cut gems have more sparkle because we optimize the facets for angles and symmetry to ensure the light bounces off just right. Our diamonds and gemstones sparkle even in dim lighting.
Larger Appraisal
When you get a gemstone appraised, the quality of the cutting makes a big difference in the value. Well-cut gems are priced higher, and they’re worth more, even increasing in value over time.
More Versatility
Because our gem quality is so high and our precision cutting is so good, how we cut diamonds means they’re more versatile. You can pair them with nearly any setting, including prong, channel, pave, and more.
Effortless Matching
With more uniform faceting and precise carat weights, mixing and matching gemstones for eternity bands, halos, and other clustered stones ensures everything matches seamlessly.
Easily Replaceable
Sometimes, gems are damaged or broken. These things happen — but they can be more easily replaced because of our precise cutting techniques. We have nearly identical gemstones in a variety of carat weights to ensure any piece is replaceable right away.
Cutting & Gem Quality Is Our Key To Success
In addition to the steps we’ve reviewed above, AZEERA takes our process to the next level for AAAA-quality results that our competitors just can’t match. We have our inspectors examine every single rough stone before we even think about cutting the gem. They check to ensure there’s enough material for faceting and disqualify stones with inclusions and visible imperfections.
After faceting, our inspectors step in again to check gem quality and measure the symmetry and proportions of each facet to the micro-millimeter. Our inspectors have no problem rejecting stones that don’t meet our strict standards. Once polishing is complete, our inspectors take another look to check for any marks or chips, and imperfect pieces are sent back for correction.
Finally, our workshop supervisor completes a final inspection before a stone can be considered for setting. No gem gets set in a piece of jewelry before final approval. We have two inspectors take on this last step of our quality control, examining every stone for brilliance and clarity.
Get Better Gem Quality with AZEERA
At AZEERA, we bring many elements of gem cutting and design in-house to ensure better quality control and design decisions. When you work with us, you’re cutting out many middlemen and working directly with the people who can bring your custom vision to life!
Reach out today to work with our brilliant team and enjoy the engagement rings, wedding bands, anniversary gifts, and cuff links of your dreams!
