If you have shopped for a diamond online, you have seen cut labels that sound better than "Excellent" — Super Ideal, Ideal, 8X, Hearts & Arrows. Some of these come from an accredited laboratory. Some are written by the store selling you the diamond. Here is who issues what, and what it is actually worth paying for.

Who issues which cut grade

The part almost nobody mentions: fancy shapes have no GIA cut grade

GIA issues an overall cut grade for round brilliant diamonds only. Ovals, pears, marquises, cushions, emeralds, radiants and the rest come back with no cut grade at all — the field is simply not applicable. They are still assessed for polish and symmetry, but not for cut overall. Their facet patterns and light behavior vary too widely for a single standard to apply.

This matters because most of the engagement rings we build are fancy shapes. So when you see a superlative cut claim on an oval, understand what you are reading. It did not come from GIA, because GIA did not grade the cut. It came from somewhere else. That could be another laboratory: GCAL does grade cut on several fancy shapes, which is a genuine point in its favor. Or it could be the seller's own marketing department.

This is changing, but not yet. GIA has announced that it will introduce an overall cut grade for three fancy shapes — oval, pear and marquise — with a launch planned for 2027. Cushion, emerald, radiant, princess and the rest are not part of that announcement. Until it arrives, everything above still holds, and even afterward most fancy shapes will remain ungraded for cut by GIA.

If you are still deciding between shapes, our diamond shape guide walks through how each one actually looks on the hand — which is a more useful comparison than any cut label.

What 8X actually measures

We offer 8X diamonds and we are glad to show them to you, so it is worth explaining what the grade involves rather than waving at it. GCAL's 8X requires the top result in eight separate factors:

• Physical precision — polish, external symmetry, and proportions. That means the surface finish, the outline of the stone, and the angles of its facets.
• Light performance — optical brilliance, fire, and scintillation. That means how bright it is, the flashes of color it throws, and how it sparkles as it moves.
• Craftsmanship — optical symmetry and hearts & arrows. That means how evenly the facets line up, which shows as a pattern of hearts and arrows under a special viewer.

It is a demanding standard, and comparatively few stones meet it. That is real. Two things are worth knowing before you go looking for one. First, 8X is not offered on every shape — as of today it covers round, oval, pear, marquise, princess and radiant, with emerald and cushion listed as coming. If your heart is set on an emerald cut, there is currently no 8X to find. Second, it does not make an Excellent-cut diamond look poorly cut by comparison — which brings us to the honest part.

Our recommendation, plainly

Put a well-cut GIA Excellent diamond in front of you, across a counter, in ordinary light. To your eye, that is about as good as a diamond gets. The step above it is measurable with instruments. It is much harder to see. And it costs more.

So our usual advice is this. Reach a genuinely excellent cut, then stop paying for cut. Spend the rest somewhere you can actually see it: a larger stone, a better color, a setting built properly. If you have compared them side by side and you love the premium stone, buy it with our blessing; some people genuinely see the difference and enjoy owning it. But nobody should feel that a diamond without a premium cut label is somehow compromised. It is not.

We can set comparable stones side by side for you, whether we already have them here or bring them in for your visit, and let you decide with your own eyes. That is the only comparison that settles it.

See the stones themselves

You can browse the diamonds we can show you before you come in, and filter them the way you would compare stones at the counter:

• Lab-grown diamonds — a live search of the lab-grown diamonds we can bring in, by shape, carat, color and clarity. The 8X cut grade appears here as a filter, so you can see for yourself which stones carry it and what the difference costs.
• Natural loose diamonds — the same search across the natural diamonds we can bring in.
• Diamond shape guide — how each shape reads on the hand, and which ones carry a cut grade at all.

Whichever you are leaning toward, tell us and we will arrange the comparable stones so you can see them side by side.

Common questions

Is "Super Ideal" a real diamond grade?

No. It is not issued by any independent grading laboratory. Retailers and cutters who use the term define their own tolerances and apply the label themselves. That does not mean those diamonds are poorly cut — many are cut very well — but the label is a marketing claim, not a graded result, and no outside body verifies it.

Is 8X a real diamond grade?

Yes. 8X is issued by GCAL by Sarine, an independent laboratory. It has held ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation — an international standard for testing laboratories — since 2008, when it became the first diamond laboratory in North America to earn it. It is a published standard with a defined methodology, and it appears on the laboratory report rather than on the seller's website.

Which diamond shapes can receive an 8X cut grade?

Six shapes at present: round, oval, pear, marquise, princess and radiant. GCAL lists emerald and cushion as coming. If a seller describes an emerald-cut diamond as 8X today, ask to see the report.

Does GIA grade the cut on an oval diamond?

Not today. GIA currently issues an overall cut grade for round brilliant diamonds only; on an oval, pear, marquise, cushion, emerald or radiant, the report carries polish and symmetry but no overall cut grade. GIA has announced that oval, pear and marquise will receive a cut grade beginning in 2027. The remaining fancy shapes are not part of that announcement.

Should I pay extra for a premium cut grade?

Usually not. Once a diamond is genuinely well cut, the additional money tends to buy differences that are easier to measure than to see. Most people are happier putting that same money into size, color, or the quality of the setting. Compare them in person before deciding.

Every diamond and gemstone at Farsi Jewelers is evaluated in-house by a GIA Graduate Gemologist. Family-owned and operating in Sandy Springs since 1998. Laboratory accreditation and grading standards described above belong to the issuing laboratories; we report them as published and encourage you to verify any report number directly with the laboratory that issued it.