(IDEX Online) - A grading lab says it's redefining diamond excellence by assessing eight aspects of a stone's cut quality.
And it is providing 360-degree videos and photomicrographs to help buyers appreciate the gem's quality.
New York-based GCAL (Gem Certification & Assurance Lab) says as many as 85 per cent diamonds are graded as excellent cut, based on cut, polish and symmetry.
It says it will assess them on eight factors - polish, external symmetry, proportions, optimal brilliance, fire, scintillation, optical symmetry, and hearts and arrows - in order to distinguish the very best among the excellent-cut stones.
Consumers benefit from the images that come with its trademarked 8X Ultimate Cut Grade certification because they can see and understand a stone's fire and scintillation.
Angelo Palmieri, COO at GCAL, said "A great many manufacturers have shared with us their frustration of having their precision cut diamonds judged on par with diamonds of a far lesser cut quality, yet graded equally.
"Consumers can easily identify the best color (D)???,? ? and the best clarity (flawless). Finally, the pinnacle in cutting can now be identified scientifically (8X)."