All About Cut Grades

Welcome to the Clear Cut Classroom where we take deep dives into all things diamonds and jewelry! This week we're diving deep into all things cut grades. As we all know, the four C’s are cut, color, clarity, and carat. Now what is a cut grade and what types of diamonds have a cut grade? Learn more below!

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Round brilliant diamonds are the only diamond shape with an actual cut grade. All other diamonds only have a polish and symmetry grade. Round brilliant diamonds are the quintessential round diamond shape and have the most standardized proportions. Round brilliants have cut grades based on how well proportioned they are: excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor.

At The Clear Cut, we want to optimize their ideal proportions and aim to stay in the excellent cut grade. Many people also refer to it as triple X which stands for excellent cut grade, excellent polish, and excellent symmetry. These are things that we definitely want to look for and strive for with the round brilliant diamonds.

What about other shapes? All others are considered fancy shape. There’s a lot more subjectivity when it comes to a fancy shaped diamond. Some people prefer longer, skinnier ovals or a chubbier oval. There’s no standardized cut grade for these stones. However, they do have polish and symmetry grades that fall on the same scale: excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor. Since there’s a variety of proportions and preferences, these grades are relatively more lenient in comparison to the standards of the round brilliant.

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