Diamond Polish

[IceExplorer]

I read something elsewhere on the internet. I've searched the forum archive but haven't found a clear response.

Would you agree or disagree with the following statement? Please state why you answered the way you did.

Bottom Line Recommendation:

"Polish: Do NOT spend any extra money to upgrade polish to anything higher than “Good.”
It’s a complete waste of money.
Never, ever, ever pay more for “Triple Excellent” Diamonds"

 

[bgray]

Date: 1/5/2010 3:33:47 PM
Author:IceExplorer
I read something elsewhere on the internet. I''ve searched the forum archive but haven''t found a clear response.


Would you agree or disagree with the following statement? Please state why you answered the way you did.


Bottom Line Recommendation:


''Polish: Do NOT spend any extra money to upgrade polish to anything higher than “Good.”

It’s a complete waste of money.

Never, ever, ever pay more for “Triple Excellent” Diamonds''

Polish: I think Good is is just as likely to make for a superb diamond as Vg or Ex most of the time. Polish is one of those issues that as much in the mind as anything. Triple Excellent possibly the same thing. They are marketing tools as much as anything but I would never say they are a complete waste of money. I bought an Emerald cut years ago with VG symmetry and Ex polish. Its was a dog............so poorly cut! dull as dishwater. Now I have a good/good and its a showstopper. Seriously! Its cut superbly........So I dunno.........lets hear from everyone else!

 

[jet2ks]

I can guess where you found that quote.

My feelings--most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference between good and excellent polish on most diamonds. However, VG or EX polish by itself adds very little to the price of a diamond, and unless there is just something in the makeup of the rough that it won't take a better polish, a craftsman who is proud of their work will give it the best finish possible. I think you'll find that the vast majority of well cut diamonds have at least VG on polish (yes, you can find a few that don't, but they are a small percentage) If the cutter is going to take the time to cut the stone to exacting proportions for performance, they will take the little bit of time to polish it to a higher standard, as well. There are well cut diamonds out there rated Good for polish or symmetry, and I have recommended some to posters, but by and large, the best cut diamonds are going to have a grade of VG or EX. The little bit you'd save on the diamond might very well be wasted searching for that diamond with great proportions and only Good polish--if you can find one, great, but I'm not going to waste time looking for it.

Have you read the PS tutorial page on polish? http://diamonds.pricescope.com/polish.asp If having only good polish makes me feel the need to clean a stone frequently, I'd rather have something better.

 

[IceExplorer]

I didn''t want to say where I got it from but if you can guess...

I read the tutorial quite some time ago but didn''t think to look there regarding this topic.

Thank you for your input. I am looking to qualify if reducing the level on polish is of a benefit or hinderance to performance vs. pricing.
Your comments certainly helped.

Thanks!

PS (post script not Pricescope): I enjoy your Ben Franklin quote!

 

[jet2ks]

I did a search for a post I remember from a few months ago, but haven''t found it yet. One of the true experts on the forum looked up a bunch of diamonds available at the time and what level of polish they had. Those with Good or lower were only like ~20%, if I recall correctly, so in actuality a diamond with a polish grade of Good is well below average. With cutting technology improving so much, it is just easier to obtain a better finish that it was not that many years ago. I definitely wouldn''t reject a well cut stone based on Good polish if I could see it in person or had a good return policy from the vendor, but it is just not something that is important enough to focus on.

Date: 1/5/2010 4:23:23 PM
Author: IceExplorer
I didn''t want to say where I got it from but if you can guess...

I checked and was correct, I just don''t want to open that can of worms again . . . .

 

[yssie]

Date: 1/5/2010 4:35:45 PM
Author: jet2ks
I did a search for a post I remember from a few months ago, but haven't found it yet. One of the true experts on the forum looked up a bunch of diamonds available at the time and what level of polish they had. Those with Good or lower were only like ~20%, if I recall correctly, so in actuality a diamond with a polish grade of Good is well below average. With cutting technology improving so much, it is just easier to obtain a better finish that it was not that many years ago. I definitely wouldn't reject a well cut stone based on Good polish if I could see it in person or had a good return policy from the vendor, but it is just not something that is important enough to focus on.

Date: 1/5/2010 4:23:23 PM
Author: IceExplorer
I didn't want to say where I got it from but if you can guess...

I checked and was correct, I just don't want to open that can of worms again . . . .

..


I would not buy a diamond with "good" polish unless it had every single other aspect that had to be just so. There are so many well-cut stones with VG or EX, and the price difference must be negligible for this particular aspect - it's not like the 4cs, where there's an appreciable difference between grades.

 

[elle_chris]

I really, reaaaaally doubt i'd ever be able to tell a good polish from an excellent one but- I haven't seen a stone that only has good for polish, have excellent for symmetry and cut.. they might be out there, but i'm betting not many. And I've never settle for just a "good" cut.

 

[BobR]

Date: 1/5/2010 5:28:29 PM
Author: elle_chris
I really, reaaaaally doubt i'd ever be able to tell a good polish from an excellent one but- I haven't seen a stone that only has good for polish, have excellent for symmetry and cut.. they might be out there, but i'm betting not many. And I've never settle for just a 'good' cut.

Neither GIA or AGS will give a cut grade for a stone with 'good (GIA) ' or its AGS equiv (VG) polish (or symmetry) higher than VG (GIA) or Ex(AGS), even if it has Ex(GIA) / Ideal(AGS) proportions. In short the awarded cut grade cannot be more than 1 grade higher than the lower of its assigned polish and symmetry grade.

 

[elle_chris]

I guess that''s why I haven''t seen any.

It seems kind of sllly not to if they proportions fall into GIA''s excellent cut category tho.

 

[BobR]

Forgot to add that my wife has some stones with proportions that fit GIA Ex AND AGS ideal but as they only have good polish are GIA graded VG. We can''t tell the diff between good and vg or ex polish/symmetry and the stones perform as well in most environments as her triple 0 AGS stones.

 

[Rockdiamond]

My take:
It''s important to distinguish round versus any other cut.
Today, it''s seen as a necessity to achieve at least VG.VG on round diamonds.
I would not automatically assume a round graded G/G is going to be a bad looking diamond- however there''s so many VG/VG or EX round stones out there today, it seems almost silly not to go that way.
Still there are many gorgeous GIA graded VG cut grade stones out there.

I agree with those who have said a lot of the distinction is perceived value. Especially in the category of polish- in almost every case, it''s not possible to see the reasons a stone was downgraded to "good" naked eye.


In fancy shapes the situation is more reality based ( how the stone actually looks)
There''s many cases where the cutter will get a more beautiful stone by leaving a natural- or faceting one side slightly different than the other. Therefore you''ll find a lot of really well cut fancy shapes with "Good" polish or symmetry.

Since diamonds are such a personal issue, I believe it''s wrong to tell people that triple EX is a waste of money.
Any more than Internally Flawless is.
It all depends on what the individual sees as desirable in a diamond.

 

[jet2ks]

David, excellent point. I was referring to rounds in my posts, but did not make that clear. Yes, most definitely with fancy shapes (other than princess, which are popular enough to find VG polish easily) polish is just not as important as the overall look.

David, am I correct in assuming it would be the same with fancy colors?