Question about GIA cut grades

[glitterbug]

Hi everyone!
Where would I find the GIA cut grade of a particular diamond? I looked on the GIA report but didn''t see anything under that header... am I missing something? I have found a few contenders on JamesAllen.com but I''m not sure what they base their "ideal, premium, good, fair" grading on. Are these arbitrary or are they based on GIA''s grading?

Thanks so much!

 

[denverappraiser]

Great question.

GIA didn’t assign a cut grade before 2006 and they still only assign one to modern round brilliant cuts. Dealers use terms like ‘ideal’, ‘premium’ and the like very differently and although it’s a bit of a stretch to call them all arbitrary, it’s certainly appropriate to call them up and ask them what scale they are using, how it applies to the subject stone and how this ranking is supposed to be used in comparing it to others. It may or may not be useful. It usually has nothing to do with the GIA scale but it is sometimes calculated using data found on the GIA report.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver

 

[glitterbug]

Thanks, Denverappraiser! That is super helpful! I didn''t quite understand what JA bases their ideal vs premium grading on, because I saw that some premium cuts were similarly priced or more expensive than ideal ones with similar color and clarity. I keep hearing that cut is king, so I definitely don''t want to compromise on that!

Btw, the stones I found are cushions, so it makes sense now why there''s no cut grade.

Thanks so much!!