Did you know, in earlier centuries the diamond did not have any table? Strange but imagine a diamond with a pointed surface as it looked until the middle of 14th century. In fact till the 11th century diamond was used in its uncut form in jewelry. However with the introduction of the polishing wheel the face of the diamond literally began to change. As diamond cutters began to experiment, table cut became the first major faceted diamond cut. The previously pointed tip was cut to get a flat table like facet though much importance was still not given to fire and brilliance. The changing times lead to the evolution of different cuts as brilliance too started getting its due importance. Today table is an important-inseparable aspect of a diamond as people are more aware about its importance. Diamond lovers want both brilliance and fire so the demand for ideal cut diamond has gone up.

Table percentage is derived by comparing the maximum table width with the total width of the diamond. In order to derive the table percentage of a round diamond, the largest diameter is used whereas for other fancy cuts smallest diameters can be used.
It is interesting to know that till few years back people preferred diamonds with a larger table as the stone looked bigger. However, in recent times there has been a reversal in trends. Nowadays more and more people prefer diamonds with smaller tables.

For a round brilliant cut diamond, table percentage is calculated as follows:

    Table (%) =  longest table measurement (in mm)
                             average girdle diameter (in mm)

Ideal Table Proportions of Different Round Diamonds