The cut dictates how much of the light entering the diamond will reflect back out. A shawllow cut will cause light to be lost out of the bottom and have the diamond appear dull. A deep cut will let light escape out the sides and make the diamond appear dark.
| Ideal | This cut allows almost all of the light to reflect back out of the diamond. A very rare cut. |
| Very Good | This cut reflects nearly as much of the light as the ideal cut. |
| Good | A diamond with this cut is either slightly deeper or shallower than an ideal cut diamond. This diamond will reflect most of the light entering it. |
| Fair | This cut represents the largest quantity of all cuts on the market. Still reflects some light but less than a good cut. |
| Poor | These diamonds do not reflect light effectively. They lose most of it out the sides or the bottom. They have been cut either too shallow or too deep. |
These images show the different diamond shapes and their names.