The Unique Beauty of Diamonds: Scintillation, Fire and Brilliance

It might sound like an episode title from Game of Thrones, but scintillation, fire and brilliance are all terms used to describe the way a diamond flashes and sparkles, giving it the beauty that has captivated us for centuries.

Scintillation

This describes the flashes of light you see when you hold or wear a diamond and move it around. The light should blink from facet to facet creating the sparkle we're all looking for. The highest quality of cut will mean that the facets of the diamond have been cut with ideal proportions, to create contrast between light and dark as the light moves and bounces around. This creates the best display of sparkle, or scintillation.

Fire

Possibly the most beautiful effect from a diamond, fire refers to the colored flashes of light you see when you move a diamond around. It is also often referred to as 'dispersion', because it is when a diamond disperses white light into its component rainbow colors, refracting light like a prism.

Brilliance

Diamond brilliance is the return of white light from a diamond, which is the foundation of its beauty. Cut well, a diamond will return the light that enters through the crown, appearing bright and beautiful. Cut badly, light disappears through the diamond and it will appear dull and lifeless.

There is an additional component to brilliance, and that is contrast - if you think of a white object on a pale table, it looks less brightly white than if you were to put it on a black table. Contrast plays tricks on our eyes, making things appear brighter. A diamond with ideal proportions creates contrast between white and dark as the light bounces around, ultimately giving brighter sparkle. Contrast also creates the beauty of scintillation - if a diamond simply reflected white light back like a mirror we wouldn't have the sparkle and flashes of light we love so much.

Shopping for Beauty

You'll notice that we've talked about cut quality a lot in this article, and paying close attention to cut quality and polish is key. Clarity and color grades certainly have an affect on scintillation, fire and brilliance, but cut is top of the list of priorities as it determines how the diamond plays with light to give us the show of beauty we're looking for. SI clarity diamonds or below may have inclusion types that will have a noticeable affect on fire, so if it's a quality you're specifically looking for, shopping in the higher clarity grades will avoid that risk.