I am posting this to hopefully warn other shoppers who may be considering Shane Classic cuts in the future. I had shopped there during my search and have since made it a goal to figure out what the requirements are for a stone to be called shane classic. After several chats with reps there, I wasn't happy with the answers I was getting and it just didn't make sense to me. So I took some time today to figure it out. I wouldn't say I was completely surprised when I figured it out, but it is pretty disappointing for consumers.
First of all, cut is not the only thing that is factored into the Shane Co. "cut grade" which ranges from poor to shane classic. They shared with me that a stone must be of H or higher color and SI1 or higher clarity to be considered "Shane Classic". Dumb if you ask me, because these factors have nothing to do with cut, but the reps assured me that is isn't just the cut that determines the beauty and sparkle of the diamond.
So I limited my search to only show stones graded H or higher color, SI1 or better in clarity, and excellent or better in cut which includes "excellent", "ideal", and "shane classic". I looked at stones 1/2 carat or larger and only those graded by GIA with an unlimited budget. This yielded 396 stones with cut grades as following:
Excellent- 32
Ideal- 0
Shane Classic- 364
This seemed crazy to me because they claim only 1% of the worlds diamonds will qualify for shane classic, yet 92% of this sample achieved the grade. So I started looking at the GIA reports and the numbers only to find out it has nothing at all to do with the numbers. The one thing kicking stones from "Shane Classic" to "Excellent" was a GIA grade of very good in polish or symmetry.
So in a nutshell, when looking at GIA graded stones, a "Shane Classic" diamond is simply a diamond that is H or better in color, SI1 or better in clarity, and GIA XXX. That's it.
Again, I am posting this in hopes that others who are searching will come across this and bring it to Shane's attention when they are shopping for diamonds. Demand more from them if they are going to use their own elite cut grade of "Shane Classic". Right now, there is nothing special about the grade aside from the fact that they are GIA triple excellent.
EDIT: This is regarding round cuts. How they determine "Shane Classic" for princess is unknown to me, but I do know there are 0 stones that are graded "excellent" or "ideal", but there are 139 "shane classic".
First of all, cut is not the only thing that is factored into the Shane Co. "cut grade" which ranges from poor to shane classic. They shared with me that a stone must be of H or higher color and SI1 or higher clarity to be considered "Shane Classic". Dumb if you ask me, because these factors have nothing to do with cut, but the reps assured me that is isn't just the cut that determines the beauty and sparkle of the diamond.
So I limited my search to only show stones graded H or higher color, SI1 or better in clarity, and excellent or better in cut which includes "excellent", "ideal", and "shane classic". I looked at stones 1/2 carat or larger and only those graded by GIA with an unlimited budget. This yielded 396 stones with cut grades as following:
Excellent- 32
Ideal- 0
Shane Classic- 364
This seemed crazy to me because they claim only 1% of the worlds diamonds will qualify for shane classic, yet 92% of this sample achieved the grade. So I started looking at the GIA reports and the numbers only to find out it has nothing at all to do with the numbers. The one thing kicking stones from "Shane Classic" to "Excellent" was a GIA grade of very good in polish or symmetry.
So in a nutshell, when looking at GIA graded stones, a "Shane Classic" diamond is simply a diamond that is H or better in color, SI1 or better in clarity, and GIA XXX. That's it.
Again, I am posting this in hopes that others who are searching will come across this and bring it to Shane's attention when they are shopping for diamonds. Demand more from them if they are going to use their own elite cut grade of "Shane Classic". Right now, there is nothing special about the grade aside from the fact that they are GIA triple excellent.
EDIT: This is regarding round cuts. How they determine "Shane Classic" for princess is unknown to me, but I do know there are 0 stones that are graded "excellent" or "ideal", but there are 139 "shane classic".
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