The GIA does not grade radiant cut diamonds, or other fancy shaped diamonds, for cut grade. If you see a cut grade associated with an radiant cut diamond, it is a cut grade that the jeweler is assigning to the diamond themselves. While this is okay, you should always verify the cut a jeweler provides since they can make mistakes in determining the cut rating since they don’t have a certificate to rely on.

For these reasons, and because how well a diamond is cut is the most crucial factor in maximizing the beauty, you want to make sure you understand the ideal cut specifications. The table below serves as a general guideline for evaluating the cut of a radiant diamond.

The color grade of a radiant cut diamond refers to how much color (or lack of a color) the diamond shows. Smaller radiant cut stones hide color better than larger radiants do, so depending on the size of diamond you purchase, you may not need to buy a colorless (D-F) diamond even if you want your diamond to appear colorless. The chart below will help you decide on the color grade of radiant cut diamond to purchase based on if you want a colorless diamond, a diamond with limited color, or a warmer diamond.

The clarity grade of a radiant cut diamond is based on how many and how severe the imperfections are on the diamond. It’s harder to see flaws on smaller radiant diamonds than larger ones, so if you are buying a smaller stone you can get away with purchasing one with a lower clarity rating while keeping an eye-clean appearance. In addition, because radiant cut diamonds have so many facets and a lot of sparkle, they hide blemishes fairly well especially in compare to their emerald cut counterparts.

Evaluating clarity in radiant cut diamonds is subjective because each consumer has their own standard for clarity. Some may be perfectly comfortable with inclusions as long as they cannot easily see it, but other may insist on a more technically flawless appearance. The clarity chart below provides general guidelines for picking a clarity rating for your radiant cut diamond, based on your inclusion tolerance. Please note that the ratings in the Clean to the Naked Eye column assume that your jeweler will check to ensure it is actually eye-clean. For example, every time a customer purchases a diamond from us, we send a gemologist to check and make sure it is “eye-clean” and inform the customer if it isn’t. If you want an eye clean stone, make sure you ask your jeweler to do the same.