You're probably familiar with the so-called "4Cs": Carat Weight, Color, Clarity and Cut. Each of the 4Cs affects the overall value of a diamond. Carat Weight, Color and Clarity come from nature. Cut is entirely influenced by man and is by far the most important of the 4Cs. Not to be confused with a diamond's shape, cut refers to the level of craftsmanship that goes into a diamond.

Diamond cutters know that a lively diamond is the result of achieving certain critical angles and proportions. But because of overriding economic considerations, diamond cutting is seldom so straightforward. Diamond manufacturers want their cutters to do everything possible to preserve the weight of the original rough crystal. For centuries, diamond cutters have employed a variety of techniques for preserving weight while still producing diamonds with an acceptable appearance. Among cutters this is known as "swindling" a diamond.

For the diamond-buying public, the odds of detecting subtle swindling techniques are nearly impossible. The high-intensity lighting found in most jewelry stores is enough to foil any serious attempt to scrutinize the cut of a diamond. Additionally, not many truly ideal cut diamonds exist for comparison's sake. So it becomes the experience of most people that all diamonds look and "perform" pretty much the same.

Throughout history there have been a few notable achievements toward the creation of an ideal diamond. The most important ones were made by men such as Henry Morse and Marcel Tolkowsky in the late 1800s and early 1900s, respectively. But it was not until the 1980s in Japan that a new approach to diamond cutting emerged, which sparked intense consumer demand and established a new, exciting segment of diamond manufacturing. The diamonds produced by this new approach were so dramatically different, that they soon became known as "super ideals" because of their unmatched display of brilliance, fire and scintillation in perfect balance. Also, their unsurpassed symmetry and precision gave rise to a distinctive pattern when viewed under certain lighting conditions, which became known as "hearts & arrows."

As demand for diamonds with the hearts & arrows pattern grew, manufacturers began to find ways to manipulate certain main facets to produce a reasonably symmetrical hearts & arrows pattern while still preserving weight. As a result, the vast majority of hearts & arrows diamonds sold today fall short of their true potential. But multimillion dollar marketing campaigns combined with an intentionally vague cut grading regime adopted by the world's largest diamond grading lab have created sufficient confusion among consumers that finding a true ideal diamond remains a daunting task.

For those interested in locating one of the most precisely cut diamonds on the planet, there are basically two approaches. The first approach gets you pretty close and the second approach puts you right on the money.  First Approach: Only consider diamonds that are accompanied by a grading report from the AGS (American Gem Society Lab). And only consider diamonds that have received a "Light Performance" grade of AGS-0. Using this approach there are still some potential pitfalls so the assistance of a trusted jeweler or trained gemologist is highly recommended. Second Approach: Dispense with all of the guesswork and purchase a "branded" diamond.

The problem is there are dozens of diamond brand names to choose from. Each claims to be the best. A few years ago I decided to find out for myself. I scoured the annual diamond shows and had diamonds shipped to my office for closer scrutiny. What did I find? Close to what I had expected – that the diamonds offered by most brands differ little from "unbranded" diamonds. This comes as no surprise because many brands outsource their diamond cutting to any number of overseas manufacturers with the promise of cheap labor costs, but also a lack of proper quality controls. The lack of oversight during the cutting process results in most branded diamonds falling short of the claims made by expensive advertising campaigns.