Single Cut Diamonds are everywhere and are used in all types of modern jewelry, like Rings, Bracelets, Pendants, Earrings and even Watches.
In fact, if I were to guess, I’d say that there are more Single Cut Diamonds today, than there are Full Cut Diamonds (that’s because of the abundance of small stones).
That’s a lot of Single Cuts. Single Cuts are also referred to as Melee Diamonds, 8/8, Eight Cut or even Accent Stones and Side Stones.
If you’re wondering what a Single Cut Diamond is, you’re not alone. Most people have never heard of them and have no clue. But if you compare a Single Cut Diamond (usually small Carat Weights of 10 Points or less), to a Full Cut Diamond (Standard Brilliant Cut), you’d quickly see the difference.
So let’s dive in and see for yourself…
What are Single Cut Diamonds?
Single Cut Diamonds are small Diamond usually under 10 Points (.10 Carat) that are cut differently than a normal standard cut Diamond. The Facets are smaller and fewer, which is great, because the price gets cheaper! :)
Single Cut Diamonds sound like they’d have just one single Cut to them, but this isn’t the case.
Single Cuts began in the early 1600′s with just a few Facets on them to catch the light and to make it easier for Jewelers to set them and secure them in mountings.
Before Single Cuts, Diamonds were either pointy objects, lopped off Diamonds, smoothed off rough rock, or even just jagged chunks of Chipped Diamonds (called Diamond Chips, which is not used today, but people still refer to small Diamonds as Chips).
Single Cuts were a vast improvement in arena of Diamond Cutting.
The Facets actually gave a Diamond Brilliance. It also paved the way for the modern Brilliant Cut Diamond that we see today.
To understand more about Single Cuts, let’s take a look at the actual Facets that make up a Single Cut Diamond…
Single Cut Diamond Facets
Single Cut Diamonds usually have anywhere from 16-18 Facets on them (16 is the more common). That’s 8 Facets on the top, 8 Facets on the bottom and maybe a Culet at the tip, or an additional Facet on the Crown.
The 8 Facets on the Crown (top portion of the Diamond) are:
8 Bezel Facets
1 Table
1 Girdle
The 8 Facets on the Pavilion (bottom portion of the Diamond) are:
8 Pavilion Facets
1 Culet (maybe)
These simple Facets began the journey into cutting Diamonds to maximize Brilliance and Sparkle, which evolved into the 58 Faceted Brilliant Cut Diamond shown below.
What are Single Cuts used for?
Single Cuts are used as side stones, accent stones, or just small Diamonds that are set in Jewelry to give it some Pizzazz and Sparkle.
When you have a Diamond that’s 10 points or smaller, putting the normal 58 Facets on them aren’t really necessary. 16 Facets will do.
Plus, you probably wouldn’t see any more Sparkle in the Diamond even if you did.
Most Watches have Single Cuts set around the Bezel of the face. Tennis Bracelets (small Carat Weights) often utilize Single Cuts as well.
Gemstone Rings, Earrings, Pave Mountings, Cheap Diamond Jewelry… They all use Single Cuts.
Take a look at the image below to see some examples of Single Cuts used in modern Jewelry today.
As you can see, Single Cuts are everywhere and they look pretty good!
Why use Single Cuts versus Full Cuts?
There are 2 main reasons why Single Cuts are used over Full Cut Diamonds. They are:
1) The Diamonds are Cheaper
Single Cuts help cut down on the labor involved with Cutting the Diamonds. 16 Facets is easier and quicker than Cutting 58. Diamonds that size are hard to Facet anyway, so keeping things to a bare minimum helps keep the price of the stone down… Which is a great thing! Think about it, who would want to pay 3x the money for a Diamond that size with a couple more Facets on it that don’t make a big difference? Not I!
I don’t mind putting money into a Larger Diamond, but a Diamond that’s the size of a dot… No way!
Cheap is good!
2) You won’t see much of a Difference
Unless you grab a microscope or 10x Jeweler’s Loupe, you probably won’t even notice a difference in the Cuts or Brilliance.
A small Diamond can only shine so much.
Keep in mind, when I’m talking about Ten Points or smaller, I’m talking about a stone with a mm size of only 3mm or less. That’s small!
And speaking of small… what about the Flaws?
Single Cut Diamond Clarity
When it comes to Single Cut Diamonds, Clarity doesn’t matter much unless there are huge visible Black Spots in the stone, or the Diamond is really milky, cloudy and looks like a piece of frozen spit (some really do).
Flaws are hard enough to see in larger stones, let alone a Diamond you’d have to squint to see.
Now under a scope, sure, you’ll probably see the debris. But to the naked eye, you probably wouldn’t… Unless you had bionic eyes.
In some Jewelry the Single Cuts can get really bad though. REALLY REALLY BAD!!! You’ll know these when you see these. They are Cloudy. Have no Sparkle. And have huge Black Spots or Cracks, Chips, Fractures and Breaks in the stone.
Take a look below at some examples of Low Quality Single Cut Diamonds…
Those Diamonds are crappy and obvious. Single Cuts should at least give off some Sparkle and Shine. If they just look foggy with no Sparkle, why bother? Pass them up!
Single Cut Diamond Color
Color is pretty much the same way as Clarity. Color in a Diamond that size is very difficult to see or judge. So unless the Diamond is strong Yellow, or Brown, I wouldn’t worry about it much.
Single Cut Diamond Prices
Single Cuts are Cheap! This is great because if you lose one out of your Jewelry, it won’t cost much to replace it.
And when I’m talking about cost, I’m talking a few bucks, like $25-$200 depending on the actual Carat Weight, Color and Clarity of the stone. Often you’ll find that the greatest expense is the actual labor involved with setting a new stone in the mounting.
No matter what, $50-$100 is probably a nice average price for a stone that size.
The Bottom Line
Single Cuts help keep the cost of the merchandise down.
Jewelers use them more often in Cheaper Jewelry and 10k Mountings, but you can also find them in finer Jewelry and Mountings like high Fashion Watches, Designer Rings and Pave Settings.
Just make sure you take a second and scope them out first. Check to see if the Diamonds are greatly Flawed, full of Inclusions, or even Cracked or Chipped (this is pretty common thing).
If they look Damaged, or half-Hazardously slapped into the Mounting, see if the Jeweler can replace them with better looking Single Cuts (I’ve actually seen a Single Cut Diamond set into a Mounting UPSIDE DOWN! No joke!).
Jewelers will normally not have problems picking out better stones. They usually have hundreds of Melle Diamonds in the shop and it doesn’t take long to switch them out.
I’ve seen it done time and time again. Not a big deal!
Single Cuts give Jewelry that extra little Brilliance and Pop it needs. They help show off your Center Diamonds or Gemstones. They add Life and Light to Mountings. And they’re Cheap. You couldn’t ask for a better Cut than that. :)
Nice article on diamonds. Thanks for sharing the information.
Thanks for reading.
very informative
A very informative site, especially for people new to diamonds and researching.
I wonder when the pricing information was gathered on single cuts, however? Especially since the substantial price increase in 2011 for melee.
High quality single cuts are actually much higher in cost than full cut melee.
When sourcing E/F color single cuts with VS clarity or higher, you are looking at around $400/cttw higher (retail) than full cuts. Even eye clean, lower colors, in quality single cut melee carry a higher premium than full cuts of equal quality.
Also, there is quite a noticeable visual difference between single cuts and full cut melee. Full cuts deliver more brilliant pinfire, single cuts have broader flashes of white light.
Some people may not notice or have have preference, some people have a very strong preference, especially in custom work that entails more delicate prong work than the examples you have posted.
Minimal metal means more focus on the melee, quality and facet structure comes more into play.
Hi Naomi.
Good info on the costs of higher quality Single Cuts. It’s something rarely seen or experienced in my area. I wonder why people would spend more for a higher Clarity Single Cut, than they would a Full Cut? Why not just buy a Full Cut? It doesn’t make much sense to me… Unless they are matching up a pair in a ring or something.
I’ve never had anyone ever come into the store and ask to buy “Single Cut Diamonds”.
Thanks for your input. I appreciate it. :)
Hi Richard,
I know most people don’t know the difference between full and single cuts, it doesn’t surprise me that no one has come in and asked you for them. I do think it’s a niche in the market, not many cutters specialize in quality single cuts and the ones who do have an attentive luxury watch market where the likes of Patek Philippe and other high end watch makers will pay a premium for high quality single cuts. As such, it has raised prices on them significantly.
There are certainly cheap, poorly cut, single cuts out there, especially produced en masse from the Indian market, and I see those prolifically in low end, mass cast pieces.
But as for quality single cuts, there is certainly a market and some buyers will pay a premium, myself included, for them.
I would not want them put them in a setting alongside a round brilliant center stone, I think RBs suit the performance of full cut melee.
However, if I purchase an older style cut, for example a cushion with 4 pavillion main facets, as opposed to the 8 mains you typically see, then the bolder, larger, facet structure is really complemented by the single cuts.
Old European Cuts are becoming popular with some consumers and we know they lack the aspired “Excellent” or “Ideal” cut grades given to the mostly desired modern round brilliants, but their facet structure is very appealing to some and they have gained in popularity enough to put them on par with round brilliants lately on Rap.
I like to have my OECs set with single cut melee, to me their facet structure complements each other.
It’s not that I feel single cuts are better than full cuts, even though there’s a number of us who don’t mind paying the higher premium for them (though I wish that wasn’t so!) or that full cuts are superior to single cuts, I appreciate them both and ask for them in relation to the cut of the center stone I’m wanting set.
Again, it’s all in the eye of the beholder, what’s so nice is that we have these options to choose from…
Great site, Richard ;)
I love the information you have added to this post. Certainly something I have not experienced from any of my dealings with the corporate or independent Jewelry Stores I’ve worked at. I would have never guessed that Single Cuts could be on par with Full Cut Diamonds. That’s an eye opener! But then I don’t work with any Antique or Old European Cut Diamonds either. It’s more mainstream stuff here.
Thank you for the wonderful reply. I really do appreciate it. :)
Always great to discuss and share experiences and it’s a great site you have here, quite invaluable, nice work.
The handful of benches I know and/or have worked with that use high quality single cut melee are Leon Mege, Victor Canera, Steven Kirsch, and Diamonds by Lauren.
Johnathan at Good Old Gold in NY has been cutting new versions of old style cushions and Old European cuts and he has some great examples on his site, worth checking out the pictures and videos, they are stunning old style cuts called “August Vintage”.
Nice chatting with someone passionate about diamonds who takes the time to create such an informative blog :)
Glad I found this site-very informative. Grappling with what do about a recent custom reset I had done using my .62 carat Marquise. Had it reappraised after picking it up to learn that instead of 36 full cut brillant side stones I have about 16 with 20 singles. Upset to learn that there are some extremely poor quality-chipped, badly included, brown when I was sold SI1 G-H. My expert suggested remaking the ring as removing the bad stones would badly damage the setting. Love the design. Do not like crap diamonds. Would you opt for a remake?? Sick at heart. A present for our 36th anniversay-thus significance of the side stones. Help!
Hi Nancy. If it were me, I probably would remake the ring just because it’s significant. But, I would only do that after I took the ring to a couple other reputable jewelers to get their opinions on the quality of the setting. There are some wonderful jewelers out there that can do wonders fixing a ring/prongs, no matter what the condition. I would get some more advice from other jewelers first, and then make up your mind on what to do. If they can’t fix that ring, then I would opt for making a new one with better quality stones that matched. :) Good luck!
-Richard
Richard-did take your advise. Spoke with 2 master gold smiths/certified gemologist who recommended the ring be recast. Willbe making an appointment with the owner of the jewelry store where ring was originally made. That ought to be interesting.
Great! If you can find a way of taking before and after photos, I would post them online so other people can see the results. :) Happy New Year!