Why do some PS vendors have cut grade for oval diamonds?

[Lizabeth]

I'm a newbie. In reading here and elsewhere, I'm under the impression that GIA does not grade cut for fancy diamonds (including ovals), yet some some of the GIA diamonds listed for sale on PS have a cut "grade" listed. What am I missing here? Should the fact that there is (or isn't) a cut grade listed for an oval diamond be disregarded?

Similarly (I think), if the HCA for a round brilliant diamond is in the excellent category (0.7) but the actual GIA cut grade assigned to the stone is "very good," should the actual cut grade be disregarded or the HCA?

Hope someone can shed some light on these for me. Thanks in advance.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Don't put anything but GIA Excellent cut round stones into the HCA in the first place. It is already a very wide category, and we use it to narrow down the excellent cut stones to the best ones. The vg stones will have other problems that may not be reflected in the HCA like too thin or too thick girdle, etc.

No, the fancy cut labels of cut are assigned by the diamond seller and may or may not be meaningful. You need an ASET image on any fancy cut stone, so stick with vendors who supply them as well as magnified images of the stones.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

The cut description on a seller’s website (Ideal, Signature, Excellent, Premium, etc.) might be assigned by the seller, not any grading lab. This is especially true for fancies where, as noted, cut is not graded by GIA.

AGSL actually does have a performance-based cut grade for ovals, as well as princess and square emeralds. There is not much use of it, however, because of little awareness or demand from consumers.

 

[msop04]

The cut description on a seller’s website (Ideal, Signature, Excellent, Premium, etc.) might be assigned by the seller, not any grading lab. This is especially true for fancies where, as noted, cut is not graded by GIA.

AGSL actually does have a performance-based cut grade for ovals, as well as princess and square emeralds. There is not much use of it, however, because of little awareness or demand from consumers.

Sorry to threadjack, but I just love your avatar, Diamond_Hawk!!

 

[Lizabeth]

Thank you! My guess then is that any price advantage of choosing an oval over a round brilliant diamond is negated by the fact that there's no way to know what an oval purchased online is really going to look like unless you purchase from one or two particular venders.

 

[Gypsy]

Diamond Hawk is right. As there are no cut standards for ovals, and you CANNOT BUY OVALS BY THE NUMBERS, any desinations of "ideal" or "very good" etc are usually well... crap.

That said,

If you are looking for an oval there are two at GOG right now I am currently smitten with. So... lemme know if you want an oval around a carat.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

The cut description on a seller’s website (Ideal, Signature, Excellent, Premium, etc.) might be assigned by the seller, not any grading lab. This is especially true for fancies where, as noted, cut is not graded by GIA.

AGSL actually does have a performance-based cut grade for ovals, as well as princess and square emeralds. There is not much use of it, however, because of little awareness or demand from consumers.

Sorry to threadjack, but I just love your avatar, Diamond_Hawk!!

Thanks for the Avatar love - you obviously have impeccable taste!