The William Goldberg Diamond Collection: What makes an Ashoka Diamond Different?

It might be easy to assume that every diamond is as good as the next, and that size is the only thing that really matters. After all, you hear stories every day about a celebrity wearing a huge diamond piece of jewelry and how special that piece is, strictly because of the diamond's size. Yes, size is one of the determining factors in how valuable a diamond is, but that isn't all there is to consider. The cut of a diamond is also important. The Ashoka diamond is one that is highly coveted; both for its size and it's unique, and beautiful cut.

Size Considerations
As you know, diamond size is measured by carats. Pieces of jewelry commonly have diamonds that range from small chips to one or two carats. More expensive pieces of jewelry might have larger diamonds, but an Ashoka diamond starts off with a rough that is 15 carats in size. These aren't your everyday roughs, so immediately a diamond has to be pretty large as a rough to even qualify for being cut to the Ashoka standard. In fact, only about 200 roughs are found each year that qualify to become Ashoka diamonds.

The Final Cut
Once a rough qualifies for being cut as an Ashoka, it goes into the hands of a master jeweler for the cutting process. The Ashoka diamond, when it is complete, will have 62 brilliant facets and be shaped in a broad, somewhat rectangular shape. In fact, the shape of this unique cut makes diamonds appear much larger than comparable diamonds cut to another standard. In other words, Ashoka diamonds just look bigger.

Clarity and color also figure into the totality of any diamond. Ashoka diamonds have very high standards for these two factors as well. When you see an Ashoka diamond in all its brilliance, you'll understand why discerning jewelry fans consider them to be the best in the world.