Ideal or Excellent: Which is better?

[lazybum9]

For grading of the cut, polish and symmetry, which means better, Ideal or Excellent?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/19/2008 10:46:39 AM
Author:lazybum9
For grading of the cut, polish and symmetry, which means better, Ideal or Excellent?

It depends on who is awarding the grades. AGS0 cut grade is highly desirable, the highest grade they give polish and symmetry is ideal. GIA's highest cut grade is Excellent - the GIA Excellent cut grade is considered by some to be broader than AGS, so you have to evaluate each diamond on its own proportions and performance to find the best out of the GIA Excellent cut grade. A vendor who uses the terms Ideal Cut, Premium Cut, Excellent Cut etc, can sometimes loosely apply these adjectives to his better cut diamonds, but they in no way guarantee you a well cut stone.

Best when using these terms is to consider the source, then go from there.

 

[Allison D.]

As usual, Miss Smart-as-a-whip Lorelei is right on the money.

Excellent is GIA''s top grade, but it''s considerably broader in scope than AGS''s top grade of Ideal.

In AGS grading, Excellent is their second-tier grade, just below Ideal.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/19/2008 2:00:56 PM
Author: Allison D.
As usual, Miss Smart-as-a-whip Lorelei is right on the money.

Excellent is GIA''s top grade, but it''s considerably broader in scope than AGS''s top grade of Ideal.

In AGS grading, Excellent is their second-tier grade, just below Ideal.

You are so kind!!! Thanks Alj! I have learned so much from YOU and I am honoured to pass it on

 

[lazybum9]

Date: 5/19/2008 10:56:37 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 5/19/2008 10:46:39 AM
Author:lazybum9
For grading of the cut, polish and symmetry, which means better, Ideal or Excellent?

It depends on who is awarding the grades. AGS0 cut grade is highly desirable, the highest grade they give polish and symmetry is ideal. GIA''s highest cut grade is Excellent - the GIA Excellent cut grade is considered by some to be broader than AGS, so you have to evaluate each diamond on its own proportions and performance to find the best out of the GIA Excellent cut grade. A vendor who uses the terms Ideal Cut, Premium Cut, Excellent Cut etc, can sometimes loosely apply these adjectives to his better cut diamonds, but they in no way guarantee you a well cut stone.

Best when using these terms is to consider the source, then go from there.

Considering the source means looking at the lab report being done by AGS or GIA right?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/20/2008 10:52:34 AM
Author: lazybum9

Date: 5/19/2008 10:56:37 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 5/19/2008 10:46:39 AM
Author:lazybum9
For grading of the cut, polish and symmetry, which means better, Ideal or Excellent?

It depends on who is awarding the grades. AGS0 cut grade is highly desirable, the highest grade they give polish and symmetry is ideal. GIA's highest cut grade is Excellent - the GIA Excellent cut grade is considered by some to be broader than AGS, so you have to evaluate each diamond on its own proportions and performance to find the best out of the GIA Excellent cut grade. A vendor who uses the terms Ideal Cut, Premium Cut, Excellent Cut etc, can sometimes loosely apply these adjectives to his better cut diamonds, but they in no way guarantee you a well cut stone.

Best when using these terms is to consider the source, then go from there.

Considering the source means looking at the lab report being done by AGS or GIA right?

Yes, and also don't take it too literally should you see a diamond being touted as an Ideal Cut, Excellent Cut etc as I said before, sometimes some vendors or jewellers can use these terms rather loosely, and this does not automatically mean a diamond is well cut. AGS0 cut grade are usually great performers. GIA Excellent encompasses a broader range of cut and proportions, so you need to check each one to find the best of the GIA Excellents. With vendor applied labels such as Ideal Cut, Excellent Cut, Premium Cut etc, you need to evaluate each diamond very carefully on proportions and performance to find the better cut candidates.

 

[niceice]

Assuming you are referring to diamonds graded by either the GIA or AGS, consumers are often confused into thinking that AGS Ideal is better than GIA Excellent when in fact they are essentially synonymous... Excellent is the highest rating available from the GIA for Overall Cut Grade, polish and symmetry. Ideal is the highest rating available from the AGS for their Overall Cut Grade which includes polish, symmetry, proportions and visual performance.

There is a difference between AGS Ideal and AGS Excellent, in this scenario, AGS Ideal is better than AGS Excellent - some would say that GIA Very Good is comparable to AGS Excellent.

Regardless of whether you are considering a diamond graded by the GIA as Excellent or the AGS as Ideal, it is important to look past the blanket cut grade statement and consider the overall proportions of the diamond and the individual measurements stated for each section of the diamond. What is the total depth? What is the table diameter? The crown angle? The pavilion angle? The girdle thickness and culet size? These are the pieces of the puzzle that will provide you with insight into the potential visual performance that the diamond has to offer.

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 5/20/2008 2:00:26 PM
Author: niceice

Regardless of whether you are considering a diamond graded by the GIA as Excellent or the AGS as Ideal, it is important to look past the blanket cut grade statement and consider the overall proportions of the diamond and the individual measurements stated for each section of the diamond. What is the total depth? What is the table diameter? The crown angle? The pavilion angle? The girdle thickness and culet size? These are the pieces of the puzzle that will provide you with insight into the potential visual performance that the diamond has to offer.

Todd,

Unless you're doing some sort of visual examination comparison...whether live, or via assorted reflector images, I would have thought AGS has effectively improved on the otherwise "back of the envelope" improvements you might prefer to have in terms of any sort of measurements, such that zero is just that.

Not that there's anything wrong with also having other preferences...