Ideal Cut vs Excellent Cut. All You Need to Know About Your Diamond’s Cut Grade

‘Diamonds are a woman’s best friend!’ Then why compromise on something that you love? So, it is better to first learn all about diamond quality. And then go for the one you think will suit you the best. Getting the top diamond cut under budget is always the primary concern. How do you understand the diamond cut quality? What is the difference between an ideal cut vs excellent cut? To put it simply for you- if a diamond is graded as ‘ideal cut,’ it would be from the AGS grading laboratory. Whereas, if your diamond is graded as ‘excellent cut,’ it would be from the GIA diamond grading system. How does this information help you get closer to your ideal diamond? Let us find out.

What is a Diamond Cut?

Diamonds are known for their brilliance! They sparkle whenever the light is transmitted through them. Diamond cut affects two primary qualities of a diamond, brilliance, and fire. We will find out about these qualities as we move ahead.

The ideal vs excellent cut difference does make things more difficult for buyers. A diamond cut is not the shape of it. Whether it is a Pear Shape or a Hear Shape, does not specify what a diamond cut is. In actuality, it shows how polished and proportionate a diamond is. A proportionate diamond must have good symmetry and optimal length.

An exact level of artistry and expertise is required to obtain such a crisp outcome. A diamond cut quality is a big deal. Since it affects a diamond’s brilliance and fire.

What does fire mean?

It refers to a diamond’s ability to disperse and refract white light. The way it forms a spectrum or a rainbow denotes the diamond’s cut quality.

What does brilliance mean?

It refers to the diamond’s ability to reflect white light onto our eyes. This affects a diamond’s quality to sparkle intensely.

What is scintillation?

It refers to the pattern and intensity of sparkle that a diamond cut produces. These refer to the areas of light and dark that are caused by the reflections of a diamond.

This is a way that helps us distinguish between a poorly cut and a good quality cut of a diamond. The greater the intensity of a diamond to sparkle back at our eyes, the better the cut quality.

Learning About The Diamond Grading Systems

Ideal Cut- According to the AGS Diamond Grading Laboratory

An ideal cut diamond has impeccable brilliance. One which is cut to ideal proportions. And has the perfect angles and has excellent polish and symmetry quality. An ideal cut diamond should reflect almost all the light entering it. The ideal cut diamond is taken as the standardized benchmark for all the other kinds of diamonds. For example, in America, ideal cut quality is most often determined by the American Gem Society (AGS) diamond grading laboratory. However, different countries and companies have different parameters for deciding their ideal diamond cut grades.

Diamonds with ideal cut are optimally proportioned to refract and reflect light that falls upon them. This produces the fire and brilliance that makes a diamond of top-notch quality.

Characteristics of diamonds with ideal cut-

An ideal cut is officially the diamond cut grade.
Diamonds with ideal cuts appear to have proper symmetry, regular angles, and optimal intensity of light reflection.
All proportions, the shine, the fire, and brilliance are as perfect as you can imagine.
It is also important to acknowledge that diamonds with ideal cut are scarce. This is what makes them so precious
Such diamonds come in two ideal cuts- princess cut and round cut.
Princess cut and round cut are the only two kinds that match the ‘ideal’ proportions and specifications.

Let us Brush Through a Bit of History of Ideal Cut Diamonds

In the 1900s, a Belgian man working as a diamond cutter, Marcel Tolkowsky, invented the term- Ideal Cut. After a thorough analysis of the round perfect cut diamond, he took both brilliance (the amount of white light reflected by the diamond) and fire (the separation of white light into all the spectral colors) into contention. His calculations became the serving guide for the present. Those are considered to be global standards of ‘ideal cut.’ However, several countries have made their specifications.

Tolkowsky’s ideal cut might not be entirely perfect. But it nevertheless functions as a fundamental standard for ideal cut diamonds. In today’s time, we also use the guidelines of Bruce Harding, a gemstone cutter. He developed another ideal cut model in the 1970s. He also contributed to the other computer models and technical scopes.

How to Understand If You Should Go for a Diamond With ‘Ideal Cut’?

Choosing which kind of diamond best matches your taste can be complex. You can often be skeptical thinking what if the local jeweler near me fails to give me ideal options? Well, it all depends on your priorities and also somewhat on personal style! If a good sparkle intensity is your thing, then the ideal cut is your perfect destination. For the ideal cut, if you love the traditional, classic depiction of your ornaments. A princess-cut or a round cut is your best choice.

Excellent Cut- According to the GIA Diamond Grading Laboratory

Diamonds with an ‘Excellent’ cut showcase clarity to a large extent. The dark and bright regions are obvious to the eyes. Also, they show a very high level of brilliance and fire. This is because almost the exact amount of light that falls upon it is reflected back.

According to the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) grading laboratory, a diamond with an excellent cut is considered the top grade cut. However, this category of diamond cut classification is pretty broad. People have an assumption that any diamond with an excellent cut will be phenomenal. Well, this is quite a logical presumption. But unfortunately, this is not the case. Around 55% of the GIA diamonds have an excellent grade cut in the market today. However, only a handful have the full potential of a brilliant diamond. According to relevant statistics, 30% of these excellent grade cut diamonds will not be recommended by experts.

How To Decide If Your Diamond Has Excellent Cut Quality?

The diamond cut grade affects several factors. These include symmetry, fire, brilliance, and polish. If you want an optimum level of fire and brilliance, then go for brilliant round diamonds with an excellent cut. It is essential to ensure that the symmetry and polish of the diamonds are perfect or very good. Keep in mind certain specifications if you want to have a satisfying experience with your diamonds!

GIA has a very broad grading system. It ranges from Excellent to Poor. Diamonds across this spectrum have drastic differences. For example, differences can be observed in the light reflection performance and the overall appeal between the excellent and good-cut diamonds.

An expert gemologist reviews all diamonds thoroughly to conclude the diamond cut quality.

The GIA diamonds grade cut ranges over an extended spectrum as discussed earlier. Let us go through them in short.

Excellent Cut- It provides the diamonds with very high rates of brilliance and fire. This is because all the light that falls upon it is ultimately reflected back. The radiation experienced is grand and spectacular.
Very Good Cut- It provides the diamonds with exceptional brilliance and fire. They also permit an excellent intensity of sparkle. Also, the diamonds look beautiful. These diamonds look pretty similar to those with excellent cuts with naked eyes.
Good Cut- The brilliance and sparkle emitted by the diamonds is appeasing. These diamonds are beautiful to look at. And buyers can get them at lower prices.
Fair- Diamonds with fair cuts provide little fire and brilliance. The light that falls on it exits through the bottom and its sides. These diamonds are a satisfactory purchase for lower carats.
Poor Cut- These diamonds have little to no sparkle. Neither do they have brilliance nor fire. Nearly all the light falling upon it escapes through the bottom and sides.

Characteristics of Excellent cut diamonds-

GIA makes sure to evaluate a diamond’s cut on seven specific components. These components
are fire, brilliance, polish, symmetry, durability, and weight ratio.
Only a diamond with a high score on all the seven elements is eligible for an excellent grade cut.

The ideal vs excellent cut in diamond grading system will always be an ever-going contest. However, you have to keep in mind your preferences. Whether the grading system lives up by assessing all the components that you are cautious about. Always remember, never compromise on your diamonds!

The Best Place to Buy Ideal Cut and Excellent Cut Diamonds

The help of a jeweler is very important when it comes to distinguishing between close-cut grades or finding the right cut quality in general. However, reliable jewelers are hard to find until now. We at Jewel Hero have made shopping for diamonds easy and stress-free. All you have to do is log in to our website and fill in relevant details about your preferences. Our unique algorithm will connect you with jewelry stores near you. You have the option of connecting with these stores virtually. So what are you waiting for? Visit our website today and take a step closer to finding the perfect diamond.