EX Cut

What EX Cut Means for Buyers

Cut grade measures how well a diamond's facets have been proportioned, polished and aligned to return light to the eye. It's the one grade that actually determines how the diamond looks alive. A D/Flawless with poor cut will look dull; an H/SI1 with Excellent cut will sparkle across a room.

Right now we're tracking 8,399,549 active EX cut listings across our retailer network. The typical natural EX diamond trades around $2,330/ct while the lab-grown equivalent sits at $545/ct. Roughly a 77% gap that reflects the broader natural-vs-lab pricing gap, not a quality difference at this grade.

At 4.2% above the neighboring ID grade, the premium for EX is subtle. Barely enough to move the needle on total budget. Unless you specifically want the paper grade, ID is interchangeable for most buyers and leaves money on the table for cut or carat weight.

EX shows up most often in ROUND. About 2,510,340 listings at this moment. Followed by ROUND. Most of the supply clusters around the 0.5-0.99ct carat range, where demand is strongest and retailers keep the deepest inventory. If you're shopping an unusual shape or carat, expect thinner selection.

Never compromise on cut. The tier between Excellent (or Ideal) and Very Good is worth every dollar. It's where brilliance and fire come from. Good or Fair cut grades are a false economy: you save a few percent and lose the single most important visual property of the stone. If you only buy one grade at the top tier, make it cut.