Brilliance is how we perceive the diamond’s brightness. Normally, brilliance is not just the simple return of the light to the eyes of the beholder coming from the stone’s external and internal facets.

Brilliance is also more than just the scintillation, the availabilities of light sources and the contrasts. Included here would be the fluctuating variables of an imperfect human perception. For some, brilliance is the most important feature to consider a diamond’s beauty. This is because once brilliance is compromised, the diamond’s fire and scintillation are both reduced, too.

Steep diamonds should be set in such a way that the light can enter in the pavilion and is reflected back out to the table . Leakages are when a “window effect” is produced and the diamond can be seen through like plain glass.