What's up with the Girdle? You hear Jewelers babbling on about the Girdle and whether it's
Polished or Rough, Thick or Thin, but
does it really matter?
Most people don't really know anything about the Girdle. A Diamond's Girdle is the outside band that runs around the entire outer edge of your Diamond. (See picture!) Almost like a belt!
The Girdle literally is the widest part of the Diamond.
The Girdle's width is what the rest of the Diamond is measured by. The Girdle separates the top part of the Diamond, which is called the Crown, from the bottom part of the Diamond, which is called the Pavilion. Look at your Diamond from a side view and you'll see the edge splitting your stone. That's the Girdle! Observe the images below!
The Girdle is always measured length-wise as 100%, just because it's the widest part of the Diamond. And just so you know, when they talk about the cut of the Diamond and the table measurements being percentages, that table (the top flat part of your Diamond) is compared to the width of the Girdle. So if your table is 56% for example, it's just over half the width of the entire Diamond. Make sense? Everything is relative to the Girdle's width!
The craziest thing about the Girdle is that it does make a BIG difference! It makes a difference in a lot of areas. For example, if the Girdle is very thin and almost comes to a point at the edge, it can be very brittle and chip easily. You want to stay away from those.
If the Girdle is alternating, thin to thick, that's another sign of a bad cut. When the Crown Facets and Girdle don't line up well, chances are your Diamond will not have good proportions and will actually lose life and light! If your Girdle is very thick all the way around, your Diamond is probably cut too deep and losing light. The Diamond Cutter was probably more interested in preserving Carat Weight and maximizing his profit, vs cutting the Diamond correctly for ultimate brilliance and sparkle.
So what is the best type of Girdle to have? Read on...
