ID Polish

What ID Polish Means for Buyers

Polish grade measures how smooth each facet's surface is after cutting. At Excellent, no polish lines are visible even at 10× magnification. Polish becomes visible to the naked eye only at Good or worse, and even then, typically only in strong directional lighting. It's one of the least consequential of the grading dimensions.

Right now we're tracking 911 active ID polish listings across our retailer network. The typical natural ID diamond trades around $3,406/ct while the lab-grown equivalent sits at $827/ct. Roughly a 76% gap that reflects the broader natural-vs-lab pricing gap, not a quality difference at this grade.

ID carries a steep 63.5% premium over the neighboring VG grade. That's premium territory. You're paying heavily for the top tier. Most buyers will prefer VG, pocket the difference, and spend it on a better cut grade or a larger carat weight where the visual payoff is much bigger.

ID shows up most often in CUSHION. About 345 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.

Polish is cheap at the top grades, so there's rarely a reason to buy less than Very Good or Excellent. The premium is typically just a few percent over Good. On a GIA-graded stone we'd expect Excellent polish by default. Don't pay extra premiums for it, but don't accept Good or lower either.