Girdles can be graded with 7 different thicknesses: 1) Extremely Thin. 2) Very Thin. 3) Thin. 4) Medium. 5) Slightly Thick. 6) Thick. 7) Very Thick. 8) Extremely Thick.
The best thickness for your Girdle is either a Thin or Medium Sized Girdle. Not too thick or too thin.
Just like Goldilocks finding the right bed, it's there, you just have to hunt for it.
Thin-Medium
With a thin-medium sized Girdle, if it's consistent all the way around, it will help protect the Diamond from chipping, not interfere with the overall beauty of the Diamond and aid in the correct proportions of the cut.
In fact, you can look at the Girdle of the Diamond and pretty much know if the Diamond is cut well or not!
What about the Girdle's Finish?
Diamond Girdles can have three different types of finishes:
• Rough
• Faceted
• Polished
Rough Girdles
When the Girdle is a Rough Girdle, it will look like a rough white chalk line drawn around the edge. What you're really seeing is what a REAL DIAMOND looks like. It's the true rough un-cut stone. That type of Girdle isn't Faceted or Polished! It's basically never been touched by man or machine. It's the real deal.
The reason why some Girdles are rough is to preserve Carat Weight, and literally by removing that little roughness it could drop your stone to a lower Carat weight. The other reason is to create a better grip for your prongs. The prongs are what hold your Diamond into the mounting and if your Girdle is rough, they will hold the Diamond better and keep it from loosening! But no matter, if the Jeweler sets the Diamond right, that won't even be an issue.
Polished Girdles
A Polished Girdle is just a smooth consistent clean look and feel. It adds to the beauty of the Diamond.
Faceted Girdles
A Faceted Girdle actually has Cut, Polished Facets all the way around it's edge. When the Girdle is polished and faceted, just like the rest of the Diamond, the Diamond's edge blends well and doesn't stand out.
It gives your Diamond more polish, flow, symmetry and sparkle!
What do I Prefer?
I prefer a Polished Girdle or Faceted Girdle over a Rough Girdle any day. To me, Polished and Faceted Girdles look cleaner and brighter. And if your Diamond isn't cut perfect (which most aren't), a high-polished or faceted Girdle can carefully mask those flaws so you won't notice them as much.
It can actually make your Diamond look better.
So keep an eye on your Girdle and you'll always be seeing 100%!
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