0.5 of a degree – that’s not a lot on a 2mm round cut, when you think about it. Actually, it’s a microscopic adjustment, but it makes a huge difference in the final appearance of the gemstone.

There are infinite possibilities for adjusting the cut on a stone with 57 facets. The angles, the distances, the area percentages. So most stones on the market are cut “close enough to good enough”.
But these sapphires go beyond.

Let’s backtrack a little to why the cut is the most important parameter of the stone.

The way we see color is all about physics. When a ray of light meets a surface, some of the spectrum is bounced back, some of it absorbed. Whatever color bounces back is what we see as the object’s color.
In gemstones, different trace elements absorb and reflect different wavelengths of the light spectrum.
For example, all sapphires are corundum mineral with different trace elements like titanium or iron. Because they absorb light differently, titanium causes sapphire to be blue, while iron can cause it to be yellow. But that’s not all – the way the color presents itself is affected by the angle at which light hits the gem. 
And these angles are created with the cut.

You can have a perfectly glear gem with intense color, but if these angles are wrong, the light will just go through it. Both the color and the shine (or brilliance) will be lost.

What’s more, undesirable effects will occure like “windows”, where you can see right through the stone to whatever is underneath, or shadows which darken the stone or create unpleasant dark patches.

Arranging the stone’s facets and cutting them at the exact angles and proportions is extremely difficult. I know, I’ve tried cutting a gem. 
It takes experience and patience, and most importantly a keen eye for microscopic detail. A single facet on a 3mm stone is just a fraction of a milimeter – imagine cutting that with the accuracy of 0.5 degree.

But that’s exactly what experienced gem cutters do in Nilanthi and Svend’s facility. And when it comes to cut precision, Svend takes no prisoners. He will spend a year and thousands of stones perfecting the cut and adjusting the parameters to eliminate one tiny shadow that appears when looking at a gem at a specific angle. Trial and error, computer analysis, cutting again and again, nearly obssesive dedication is what it takes.
But finding the right cut is half the battle. Keeping it consistent in production is another challenge. That’s why you need experience, quality control, passion and taking pride in the work you do. 

To appreciate the significance of it, you need to know that many commercial cutting facilities aim at the lowest price per stone at highest yield, meaning a fast acceptable cut, rather than a precise one. 
Misaligned facets and out of whack proportions are common, especially in the lower grades of gems, diminishing their beauty for the sake of lower price.

But how would you know the difference, if the perfect natural unheated gems are only 1% of the market and you won’t find them in your neighborhood chain store.
Well, you will find them at Wonder. Visit the showroom and see the difference for yourself.