The Cut Group will establish a Master Stone Set that includes diamonds that display a wide variety of contrast pattern sizes, intensity and distribution resulting from variations in proportions and symmetry. These Master Stones will be shown to experts from different parts of the trade, and from different countries and cultures, to establish the effect of proportions and symmetry on the Basic Light Response (BLR) for “contrast”. The diamonds will be viewed stereoscopically in a controlled environment. Scans of these diamonds will produce 3 Dimensional models that will be analysed with predictive software. Using fuzzy logic technology, the software’s ability to predict human BLR’s for contrast will be refined.

By comparison a survey conducted by the GIA focused mainly on finding the proportions or ‘parameters’ for the most beautiful to least beautiful round brilliant cut diamonds in different lighting; this ‘parametric’ approach was restricted to round brilliants. The Cut Group method is easily extended to any shaped stone and most importantly can be employed in the planning and design for manufacture of rough diamonds into polished of any preferred shape (including free form styles).

One criticism made in this review of the GIA Foundation study is that trade experts tend to perpetuate existing norms; expert conditioning and experience leads them to judge diamond beauty with ‘my baby is beautiful’ thinking. For example diamonds with very small, or very large tables, were more likely to be downgraded in the GIA survey which asked participants to grade overall beauty in different lighting conditions. The Cut Group will ask trade experts to describe many separate features (BLR’s) of diamonds. Surveying experts for many separate BLR factors means there is less chance that proportion factors, like table size, will subconsciously influence their observations.

In addition to contrast, several other BLR’s, such as light return, fire, scintillation, fisheye and nail head type effects etc will be surveyed until the software can consistently gauge each diamonds BLR response from the 3D scanned model. The software will then be capable of predicting diamond appearance and desirability in human psycho-physiology terms.