Unattractive black shadow under the center of a round brilliant cut diamond that has too deep of a pavilion. The shadow is caused by the reflection of the table. Diamonds with a nailhead look dark, lacking brilliance and life.
Nailhead
Natural
Part of the original “skin” of a rough diamond that has been left on the polished diamond. Naturals affect the polish grade of a diamond, but do not have a significant impact if confined to the girdle area where they are usually located.
Moissanite
Near-colourless, slightly oily looking man-made material that is often used to imitate diamond – a diamond simulant.
Milky Diamond
Cloudy or hazy diamond with reduced transparency, brilliance, and overall life. A milky diamond can result from numerous factors, for example a dense cloud or extremely strong fluorescence. Click here to learn more about transparency.
Moh’s Scale
Scale from for classifying the relative hardness used for gemstones, based on the ability of harder gemstones to scratch softer ones. Moh’s scale ranges from 1 to 10, with 10 being the hardest. Diamonds are the only material on earth to rate as a 10.
Master Set
Melee
Make
Qualitative description of the overall cut quality of the diamond, taking into consideration the proportions and finish.
Marquise Cut
Diamond cut or shaped into an oval with pointed ends. Also called a ‘navette,’ which is the French word for “little boat,” as the shape is similar to that of a boat’s hull.
Loupe
Hand held magnifying lens. Diamond clarity must be graded with a 10x loupe that is corrected for spherical and chromatic aberration.