gopherblue
Straight Flush
Cut is far and away the most important. It is all about ideal angles and proportions, so the light coming in is bounced back out the top, rather than leaking out the sides/bottom. Color is almost impossible to detect until you get pretty far down the alphabet, and clarity is only relevant if you can see the inclusion with the naked eye. Shoot for VS2 or better, but an SI1 or SI2 can be an incredible bargain if the inclusion is hidden by a prong. Pricescope is a great resource for learning what cut ranges are acceptable/ideal.Respectfully disagree, cut has the largest affect on the sparkle. Once you get past a certain point with clarity, the naked eye can't tell the difference.
You could buy a diamond with perfect clarity, but if the cut is average, it will appear dull.
On the other hand if you buy a diamond with a very good or ideal cut, but vs clarity, that's things going to sparkle hard.
Sorry for the threadjack