We explore the allure of Lazare Diamonds’ dazzling gems, and why its ideal cut leaves other jewels in the dust.
Diamonds, as the popular saying goes, are a girl’s best friend. The sparkling gems have become so embedded in human social consciousness that entire songs have been dedicated to them, and nearly every marital engagement is sealed with a brilliant diamond ring. But what exactly makes a diamond valuable? Is it its weight, calculated by the carat? Is it its clarity—anything less than flawless is a bust? Perhaps, it is a diamond’s colour that justifies its price tag—the infamous Hope Diamond is certainly famous for its deep blue hue. Or is it a diamond’s cut that determines its fate?
According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), which is recognised around the world as the premier resource of gem and jewellery information, that is indeed the case. “Cut quality is the factor that fuels a diamond’s fire, sparkle and brilliance,” advises the GIA, and “the allure and beauty of a particular diamond depends more on cut quality than anything else”.
We speak to Charles Rosario, the senior vice president of Lazare Diamonds, on why he considers the Lazare ideal cut diamond superior to every other diamond cut on the market. Rosario has worked in almost every job available at Lazare, from stock room diamond sorter to diamond grader and polisher, and now as senior vice president, so there is likely no better evangelist for Lazare's diamonds.
What makes the ideal cut ideal?
Well, how do you measure light reflection in a diamond? It has an internal reflection, so if you cut it at certain angles, you can direct the light, like in a prism. The theory is if you cut a diamond to specific angles and proportions, you can control the way the light reflects within the stone, and make it such that the light bounces up through the top of the stone. That reflection is what gives a diamond its brilliance, because you always look at a diamond from the top. The more sparkle and brilliance from the top, the brighter and more beautiful the diamond. In 1919, our company’s founder, Mr Lazare Kaplan, came across this theory of internal reflection and decided to test it. He cut the diamond and he found it to be correct—it was a more beautiful diamond than anyone had ever cut in the history of mankind. What’s really cool is that with today’s technology and the way that we can measure reflection and refraction, it’s been scientifically proven that his original concept of the ideal cut was correct.
Other companies have “ideal cuts”. How are these different from the Lazare ideal cut?
If ideal is a target, the Lazare ideal cut is the bullseye. It’s important to know that it’s not just the ideal cut, it’s the original ideal cut. It’s the best way to get the maximum brilliance and beauty from any diamond. Of course, the more beautiful the diamond, the more people would pay for it. When other companies realised this, that’s when “ideal cut” started becoming a more popular term. But in terms of consistency, always getting the maximum brilliance, and getting every single diamond the same, it’s Lazare. That’s what makes us special.
If it is a mathematically proven cut, why are more companies not cutting diamonds this way?
Technically, anybody can do it if they have the right skills. It all depends on whether they have the right desire. Because when you cut diamonds to the original Lazare ideal cut, you wind up with a smaller diamond, which not everybody likes. However, if you cut it according to the Lazare ideal, you can get the maximum brilliance from that diamond, and it’ll be more beautiful than a diamond that isn’t cut that way, even if that other diamond is larger. In the four Cs of diamond grading—colour, carat, clarity and cut—Mother Nature covers three of them. Only man controls cut, and that’s the only way for man to add value to a diamond. That’s what we do at Lazare.
