The Key Diamond Spec They're Hiding

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A decade ago, when lab-grown diamonds were just entering the consumer market, a mined two-carat round diamond with decent specifications cost $15,500 to $25,500. Today, a lab-grown diamond with similar specifications runs $1,500 to $3,000 – roughly 90% less.

Lab-grown diamonds have dramatically democratized access to diamond jewelry, but democratizing access hasn't democratized information. As prices dropped, a curious pattern emerged: brands started obscuring the one specification that actually determines sparkle.

Consider Dorsey's five-carat round-cut ring at $6,450. The product page specifies IGI certified, D-E-F color, VVS/VS clarity, 5.00 carats: everything except cut grade, the specification that determines whether that five-carat diamond sparkles or sits dead on your finger. This isn't an isolated oversight. It's an industry pattern, and it's most pronounced among brands that position themselves as the sophisticated alternative to traditional jewelers.

The hypocrisy is particularly stark at Aurate, where the education page explicitly states that cut is "THE most important element of sparkle" (their emphasis, not mine). Turn to their product pages, and that emphasis disappears. Their $2,198 luxury diamond studs list SI clarity – a relatively modest clarity grade – but skip cut grade entirely. They've told you what matters, then denied you the information to evaluate it.

What Cut Grade Actually Means

The cut grade measures how well a diamond's facets interact with light. An "excellent" cut features precise symmetry that maximizes brightness: light enters, reflects internally, and exits with that characteristic sparkle. A poor cut allows light to leak out the sides and bottom, creating dark spots and dullness. This difference isn't subtle. Two diamonds with identical color, clarity, and carat weight can look entirely different based on cut alone.

For round diamonds, cut grading is standardized across major labs (GIA, IGI). The scale runs from Excellent (or Ideal) down through Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor. Other shapes lack this standardization, which makes transparency even more critical – but that's precisely where brands retreat into vague descriptors.

Comparisons Reveal Everything

Mejuri's 3mm lab-grown diamond eternity band costs $2,300. The specs: 2.04-2.43 total carats, FG color, VS clarity, 14k gold. Ring size 6. No cut grade listed.

Grown Brilliance's Paris eternity band costs $1,610. The specs: 2.10 total carats, DE color (better), VS1 clarity (more precise), 14k gold, Excellent cut. Ring size 6.