Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt made headlines earlier this year when they finally announced their engagement. Soon thereafter, Jolie was spotted wearing an engagement ring that featured a large, Emerald cut diamond center stone. While an Emerald cut center stone is not the traditional look for an engagement ring, non-traditional engagement rings seem to be making news more frequently.

When a diamond interacts with light, every angle and every facet affects the amount of light returned to the eye. The sparkle of a diamond, then, has everything to do with how well the cut of the diamond was planned and executed. Although a diamond’s value is based on its unique combination of color, clarity, cut, and carat weight (the 4Cs), a diamond’s cut is the most complex to assess, and it’s the only component that can be directly affected by the diamond cutter.

Most consumers don’t realize the long, complicated, precarious journey a diamond takes from its humble beginning amidst tons of rock in the Earth to its sparkling transformation in a jewelry store counter. An especially critical point in the diamond’s journey is its time with the diamond artisan, who must cut the diamond to maximize its beauty.

When you oooh and ahh over a sparkly diamond, to a large extent you’re reacting to its cut. What you want is light to enter through the crown table (the flat part at the top) and go to the pavilion (the pointy part at the bottom), where it reflects from one side to the other, and then back out of the diamond through the crown table. This ensures maximum sparkle and brilliance. Think spectacular laser show!