What is a typical cut diamond like?

[jeffF]

Now that my personal search for a diamond is over and I can focus on other things, I have a question that I have been wondering about for a while. Pricescope has been great in educating me about the importance of cut and evaluating cut, but I am curious what type of cut is the "typical" diamond people buy? By typical I mean the type that someone uneducated in cut would get when they walk into one of the large chain mall stores? That was where I started my search for a diamond, before finding PS, and I remember not getting anything about cut other than the Salesperson''s assurance that it was a "well cut" stone.

Obviously those diamonds are of a lower cut quality and based on the diamond education level of their clientele it would not make sense for them to get these stones graded by GIA or AGS. If they were, however, what would the cut grades be for these "typical" mall stones?

On PS there is so much talk about Ideal and near-Ideal stones. Obviously cut info, IS images, etc are going to be provided for stones on the high end of the cut scale. I am curious for comparison sake what all the cut info that normally gets posted on PS would look like for the "typical" stone. If anyone has that information, perhaps on a mall diamond they purchased before learning about Pricescope, I would appreciate it if they could post it along with pictures.

And of course I need to end with a huge thank you to PS for lifting me up from that naive shopper level!

 

[susimoo]

Here in the Uk and possibly even into Europe itself, most jewellers push you towards the purity of a diamond over its cut. That is, I previously believed that a D/FL stone was the most desirable stone you could ever aspire too.

However I now know that cut is KING and that the one thing more rare that a D/FL diamond is a well cut D/FL diamond. I am now embarking on a journey to try and marry the two beliefs together and find a superbly cut diamond with my sweet spot of a G/VS . It will take me many years and no doubt many upgrades but I will be tenacious in my journey!! LOL

You had all better be ready for much soul searching from me in the future. Remember, I learned all that I know from you!!

 

[Dancing Fire]

go to your local Zales and take a look at their 1ct $1999 weekend special.

 

[Gypsy]

Poor cut.

If you''ve ever seen a well cut diamond next to a poorly cut diamond, there would be no question in your mind. Case in point, I was at a high end jewelry store today, located in the mall but not your typical mall jeweler (horribly overpriced though), that carried Hearts on Fire (branded Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal cut) and also carried some lower quality goods (still above average, but not ideal) and you could easily see the difference in quality of the diamonds. And they still carried very good quality stuff, even their ''average'' stuff was way above Zales.

Get educated and go to Macys and Zales for an hour or Two. See if you can handle all the funk they carry. You don''t even need a loupe. Or an ideal scope. Or anything other than your open eyes.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Hmm...well I just helped my mom upgrade her Kays diamond to an AGS Ideal, and let me just say, the difference is VERY noticeable. The AGS just sparkles way more, and faces up super white compared to its color grade (K) than the Kays diamond does (which is an I). Actually aside from two huge visible (to me, not my mom) inclusions on the Kays diamond, it's actually not that bad. The inclusions are white, the diamond isn't too yellow, it's not super dead or dull, BUT...it's nothing super special. Not something that will jump out to people passing by because of its incredible sparkle. And the AGS Ideal DOES have that incredible sparkle.

ETA: I think my mom's Kay diamond is EGL cert.

Here's a comparison pic - smaller diamond on top is the Kays, the larger one on the bottom is the Ideal cut.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Yes, ditto the others. All of the people I know have "good" cut grade max diamonds. They look ok, but there is no sparkle and life at all.