Diamond Glossary

The knowledge and more information you have the better diamond purchase you will make. Here are a number of diamond terms that are used by jewelers to describe diamonds and which appear on diamond grading reports.

P:

Pave:
A style of jewelry setting in which numerous small diamonds are mounted close together to create a glistening diamond crust that covers the whole piece of jewelry and obscures the metal under it.

Pavilion:
The lower portion of the diamond, below the girdle.

Pavilion Angle:
The angle measured between the girdle and the pavilion main facet.

Pear Cut:
A type of fancy shape diamond that resembles a teardrop.

Point:
A unit of measurement used to describe the weight of diamonds. One point is equivalent to one-hundredth of a carat.

Polish:
Refers to any blemishes on the surface of the diamond which are not significant enough to affect the clarity grade of the diamond. Examples of blemishes that might be considered as 'polish' characteristics are faint polishing lines and small surface nicks or scratches. Polish is regarded as an indicator of the quality of as diamond's cut; it is graded as either Ideal, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair or Poor.

Princess Cut:
A type of brilliant cut fancy shape that can be either square or rectangular.

Pinpoint:
A pinpoint is a small dot, which is an inclusion within a diamond. A gathering of pinpoints is called a "cluster" or "cloud." A cloud or cluster can appear as a hazy area in the diamond. Click here to learn more about pinpoints and how they affect clarity.

Poor cut:
Cut refers to the angles and proportions a skilled craftsman creates in transforming a rough diamond into a finished diamond. A poorly cut diamond can be either cut too deep or too shallow. A deep or shallow cut diamond will lose or leak light through the side or bottom. This results in less brilliance and value. Click here to learn more about cut.

Prong or claw setting:
It consists of four or six claws that cradle the diamond. Because this setting allows the maximum amount of light to enter a stone from all angles, it sometimes can make a diamond appear larger and more brilliant than its actual weight. This setting can also hold larger diamonds more securely. Click here to learn more about jewelry settings.

Proportion:
The proportions of a diamond are very important, so that the maximum amount of light be reflected off and out of a stone. Proportion is the relationship between the angles of the facets of the crown and pavillion. Click here to learn more about what constitutes the proper proportions in relationship to cut.

Pit:
A tiny opening, often looking like a white dot.

Polish Mark:
Surface clouding caused by excessive heat (also called burn mark, or burned facet), or uneven polished surface resulting from structural irregularities.

Perfect:
The Federal Trade Commission considers it an unfair trade practice to use the word “perfect,” or any other word, expression or representation of similar import, as descriptive of any diamond that discloses flaws, cracks, carbon spots, clouds or other blemishes or imperfections of any kind, including inferior color and make, when examined by a trained eye under a corrected diamond eye loupe or other equal magnifier of not less than ten power. Because of flagrant misuse of this term in the sale of diamonds that do not fit this description, many jewelers avoid it use. The American Gem Society also prohibits its use by its members.

Pink Diamond:
A term often used loosely in the trade to describe any diamond of pale reddish, purplish-red, purplish or violetish hue. Diamonds of colors other than pale reddish are sometimes described as rose pink, rose colored, peach blossom, heliotrope and similar terms. Such a diamond is called a fancy.

Pipe:
The common name for a vertical, columnar mass of rock that cooled and solidified in the neck of a volcano. When these rock masses consist of kimberlite, they often contain diamonds. They occur in Africa, India, Russia, Arkansas and elsewhere.

Polished Girdle:
A girdle that has been lapped to yield either a lustrous, curved surface or a series of flat, polished surfaces (facets).

Polishing:
The reduction of a rough or irregular surface to a smooth flatness or curvature. In diamond fashioning, it is used to include both lapping, or blocking, and brillianteering, as well as the production of any facet; the final operation in fashioning a diamond, usually done with diamond powder on a horizontal disc, or lap, against which the diamond is held in a dop.

Proportionscope:
The Proportion Scope combines lenses and movable mirrors to project the silhouette of a diamond on a screen. Diagrams and scales on the screen, as well as a zoom range, enable the instrument to analyze the proportions of round brilliant-cut diamonds, as well as fancy-cut diamonds.

Polish Lines:
Tiny parallel lines left by polishing. Fine parallel ridges confined to a single facet, caused by crystal structure irregularities, or tiny

P.C.:
Abbreviation for "Per Carat"

Parcel Paper:
Folded sheets of paper used to contain polished or rough diamonds.

Pavilion Facet:
Eight, four sided facets meet at the centre to form the culet (syn. 'Lower main facet')

Pinpoint Inclusion:
Very small inclusion which may be black or white in colour, yet is not distinguishable as a crystal. When clustered together, they are called a group of pinpoints.

Pointer:
Term used to describe polished stones under a carat.

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