A 60/60 Diamond is generally a round brilliant diamond with a table percentage and total depth percentage both at or near 60%. The term describes a proportion style, not an independent laboratory cut grade. Its appearance depends on the complete interaction of table size, crown angle, pavilion angle, girdle, symmetry, polish, and facet arrangement.
A 60/60 Diamond describes the relationship between the table and total depth of a round brilliant cut diamond. To have a 60/60 Diamond proportion, the table should be approximately 60% of the average diameter of the diamond, and the total depth should be approximately 60% of the average diameter of the diamond. These proportions and others like them are used to describe round diamonds that have a cut that is pleasing to the eye.
Traditionally, gemstone professionals relied on their experience and eye to evaluate diamonds. These days, modern technology enables evaluators to measure many other facts of a cut diamond and provide valuable information not only on the cut of the diamond, but many other factors that can be quantified, measured, and rated. These include, but are not limited to, the crown angle, pavilion angle, girdle thickness, star length, the lower-half facets, polish, symmetry, and the distribution of the weight of the diamond.
These factors play a big role in defining the interaction of a diamond with light and, ultimately, how attractive a diamond appears to the eye. For these reasons, two diamonds with a 60/60 proportion can look drastically different. One may have an excellent, high cut, with a bright sparkle and a high level of fire, while the other may look dull with a contrast of light and light leakage.
For diamond manufacturers and professional diamond cutters, a 60/60 Diamond is a good starting point. However, this shorthand should not be used to quantify true optical quality.
What Is a 60/60 Diamond?
Table percentage is the width of the table relative to the average girdle diameter of the diamond. Total depth percentage is measured from the table to the culet and is also relative to the average girdle diameter.
This terminology was developed to describe diamond proportions in an understandable way. While convenient, table and depth percentages do not provide enough information to accurately describe a diamond when a more sophisticated diamond cut evaluation system is being used.
A 60/60 Diamond is not a diamond shape. It is used to describe the proportions of a round brilliant diamond. A 60/60 Diamond is not a cut grade, either. The first 60 is a reference to the table percentage, and the second 60 is a reference to total depth percentage.
A table percentage of 60 means that the table is about 60% of the average girdle diameter of the diamond. A total depth percentage of 60 means that the depth from the table to the culet is about 60% of the average girdle diameter of the diamond.
This explains only a small part of a diamond’s geometry. To understand the behavior of diamonds that share the same table and total depth measurements, one would need to know and understand the placement of crown diamond facets.
Therefore, evaluating diamonds based solely on “60 and 60” would be incorrect.
Why Is the 60/60 Proportion Style Popular?
Because it provided a simple proportional shorthand, the concept of 60/60 was quickly adopted. Literature on historic trade discussions suggests that 60/60 referred to a round brilliant cut diamond with a diameter of approximately 60% of the table and a depth of approximately 60% of the table.
It was convenient and memorable and, compared to carat weight, it provided more information.
However, considering the nature of the concept, two numbers created an illusion of a complete assessment of a diamond cut.
An accurate analysis would be to recognize that a combination of a number of elements, their relationships, and their interactions in a round brilliant cut provide the best assessment.
Modern assessment recognizes that, compared to a 60/60 shortcut, a combination of a number of relationships of elements and their interactions in a round brilliant cut result in an attractive stone. This is the reason today’s buyers need to understand a 60/60 shortcut separately from a complete assessment of a diamond cut.
How a 60/60 Diamond Looks
60/60 Diamonds, when well proportioned, have a bright face-up appearance. A large table creates a more open diamond and a modest total depth makes a useful face-up diameter.
A round brilliant cut diamond with a smaller table and a fuller crown creates a more closed appearance.
This does not necessarily make a stone brilliant. Careful consideration and execution of the facets on a diamond can also determine how brilliant it is. Buyers who want to understand that visual effect in more detail can review diamond brilliance as a separate light-performance concept.
Fire
Flashes of spectral color are referred to as fire.
According to the other dimensions, a bigger table may be related to a smaller crown-facet area. The shape of the crown affects the dispersion, and some 60/60 diamonds may bring out more white brightness than color fire. This trait is not necessarily a flaw.
Face-Up Spread
A 60/60 Diamond is still under a couple of other constraints. A 60/60 Diamond can be in headline proportions that a buyer is expecting and still have a completely different crown and pavilion combination from a stone that has the same description.
What concerns a pavilion the most is the angle. If the pavilion geometry is such that it causes light to escape rather than come back through the crown, then negative effects of the optical loss may not be compensated by the numbers of the table and depth.
The crown angle is of equal importance. Because there are so many elements that affect the way light reflects from the crown and the pavilion, when comparing diamonds, cutting is of greatest importance.
60/60 Diamond Proportions vs Ideal Cut Proportions
The terms 60/60 Diamond and ideal-style round brilliant should not be used interchangeably.
An ideal-style diamond places more importance on how the table size relates to the geometry of the crowns and pavilions and the overall facet structure to achieve a good balance and integration of various optical effects such as brightness, fire, scintillation, contrast, and spread.
The 60/60 label only gives an approximate idea of the table and total depth proportions. Readers seeking stricter proportioning methods can study ideal cut diamonds for a related comparison.
| Evaluation Factor | 60/60 Style | Ideal-Style |
|---|---|---|
| Table | Around 60% | Evaluated with complete proportion set |
| Total depth | Around 60% | Evaluated with other proportions |
| Crown angle | Not defined by the term | Important |
| Pavilion angle | Not defined by the term | Important |
| Light performance | Must be evaluated | Of utmost importance |
| Cut grade | Not defined by the label | Depends on grading criteria |
| Visual character | May favor brightness and spread | Important |
How to Assess a 60/60 Diamond
A 60/60 Diamond should not be automatically accepted or rejected because of the label. The complete stone should be reviewed.
1. Review the Table and Depth Together
A larger table coupled with incorrect crown and pavilion geometry can give completely different optical results from a 60/60 arrangement.
2. Review Crown and Pavilion Geometry
Table and depth measurements should be assessed together with crown and pavilion relationships because the proportions work as a system.
3. Consider the Complete Cut Grade
The 60/60 label does not define a laboratory cut grade. A complete diamond cut grade considers more information than these two percentages.
4. Polish and Symmetry
Just because a stone has good proportions, it does not mean that symmetry and polish are correct. These finishing characteristics still need to be considered when assessing a 60/60 Diamond.
5. Check Out the Actual Diamond
Actual imaging is the best indicator of quality, and performance evaluations should take precedence over proportion numbers when considering a purchase.
A grading report is an abstract representation of measurements of physical properties of a stone. It is not a substitute for evaluating the stone itself.
6. Compare Diameter to Carat Weight
A 60/60 Diamond can provide a useful face-up spread; however, actual minimum and maximum dimensions should be used to confirm this.
7. Consider the Report in Its Entirety
When selecting stones based on table and depth measurements, the complete report should be considered. For buyers sourcing certified diamonds, the report should be reviewed as a complete set of measurements rather than reduced to the 60/60 shorthand.
Misconceptions About 60/60 Diamonds
All 60/60 Diamonds Are Ideal
Not all 60/60 diamonds are ideal. Being a 60/60 Diamond only provides an approximation of the table and depth measurements.
All 60/60 Diamonds Look the Same
Results from variations in different aspects of a diamond can yield different results.
All 60/60 Diamonds Are Poor Cut
Not all 60/60 diamonds are poor cut. A 60/60 Diamond can be attractive when artistry and proportions are complementary.
More Table Means More Sparkle? Not Necessarily
There are many factors that determine how a diamond will interact with light.
The Two Percentages Don’t Replace a Cut Grade
Laboratories evaluate infinitely more data in a cut grade than what is represented by the two percentages.
60/60 Diamonds in Wholesale Evaluation
When a purchaser is considering diamonds for resale, there is a focus on how closely diamonds conform to the ideal.
When diamonds have a 60/60 measurement, it does not mean the diamonds in the parcel are the same. 60/60 just means that the measurement of the table and the depth of the diamonds are the same.
There are many other factors that can be considered, like the diameter of the facets, the angles of the crown and pavilion, the polish and symmetry of the facets, and color, clarity, and other tolerances.
When considering manufacturing, there is a need for consistency and an ability for repeatable visual matching. That makes diamond cut precision particularly relevant when several stones need to appear consistent within a parcel or finished jewelry program.
Lepdo Diamonds is a B2B manufacturer and wholesaler of lab grown diamonds, based in Surat, India. In business, using the term “60/60” along with a complete specification is more useful than using only broad descriptions such as standard rounds, fancy shapes, or unique cuts.
When considering different proportions in different diamonds, those diamonds would require different evaluation logics. Likewise, saturation in fancy color diamonds would be evaluated using different logics than those in a round shape diamond.
The same principle applies when comparing fancy shape diamonds and unique cut diamonds, where different facet structures require different evaluation approaches.
For B2B buyers comparing individual stones before parcel assembly, the loose diamonds category is also relevant because the stone can be assessed before it is incorporated into finished jewelry.
How Light Performance Completes the 60/60 Evaluation
A 60/60 Diamond should never be evaluated just by table and depth percentage, because the total performance of a diamond is influenced by many other factors. An interaction of the crown and pavilion facets, alignment and geometry of facets with adjacent facets, and the presence of light collectively determine the performance of a diamond.
Brilliance, fire, and scintillation are performance measures of a diamond and impact how light dances on a diamond. For a deeper discussion, the concepts of diamond scintillation and diamond light performance explain why proportion numbers alone cannot predict the complete face-up appearance.
For a thorough discussion of performance measures of a diamond, visit this external explanation of diamond brilliance, fire, and scintillation.
As such, in-person inspection of diamonds is a must because often diamonds that appear similar based on certain parameters may perform completely differently from a face-up perspective.
Common Questions
1. What Is a 60/60 Diamond?
A 60/60 Diamond is a round brilliant diamond in which the table and total depth approximate 60% of the average diameter of the girdle. The 60/60 expression is a shorthand expression of a diamond’s proportion and is not an independent cut-grade laboratory report.
2. Is a 60/60 Diamond a Good Diamond?
It can be. To fully assess quality, other factors like crown and pavilion angles, symmetry, and polish should be taken into account, in addition to table and depth percentage.
3. Does a 60/60 Diamond Look Bigger?
It can. Buyers should check the actual millimeter measurement of the diamond because a 60/60 Diamond can still be in the range of small to average diamonds.
4. Does a 60/60 Diamond Have Less Fire?
The supplied text states that it can, but it also contains two different descriptions of the brightness and fire relationship. Earlier, it says that some 60/60 diamonds may bring out more white brightness than color fire, while this FAQ wording says a larger table results in more colored fire and less white brightness.
Because those statements conflict, the final appearance should be treated as dependent on the complete combination of table size, crown geometry, pavilion geometry, and the rest of the facet structure rather than on the 60/60 label alone.
5. Is 60/60 the Same as an Ideal Cut?
No. Ideal cut is a term that describes an optimal balance of the many elements of shape and light performance of the diamond.
6. Can a 60/60 Diamond Receive a High Cut Grade?
Yes. Having a table with a 60% proportion will not automatically result in a diamond being a poor cut. Other factors will cause the outcome.
7. Should Wholesale Buyers Use 60/60 as a Buying Specification?
Incomplete specifications may include only two measurements. However, for a complete commercial definition, tolerances applicable to production, visual matching and grading, and finished jewelry must be provided.
What Buyers Should Know
A 60/60 Diamond is not a judgment of quality.
A 60/60 Diamond means that the diamond approximately is 60% table and 60% depth. However, the cut of a diamond is affected and evaluated by other factors as well, such as, but not limited to, the crown and pavilion geometry and faceting, polish and symmetry, as well as the face-up appearance of the diamond.
For individual purchases, buyers should take into consideration the complete grading report and the actual diamond. For repeated purchases, buyers should set repeatable tolerances beyond table and depth. The real question should be if the diamond, in its entirety, meets the requirements for the end purpose.
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