The Very Good cut grade is the second-highest classification awarded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) within its five-tier cut grading scale for standard round brilliant diamonds. Positioned immediately below Excellent and above Good, the Very Good grade indicates that a stone's proportions, symmetry, and polish collectively produce excellent light return, brightness, and scintillation — but with minor deviations from the tightly defined parameters that constitute an Excellent grade. In practical face-up viewing conditions, a well-selected Very Good stone is frequently indistinguishable from its Excellent counterpart to the unaided eye, a fact that makes the grade commercially significant for buyers who wish to balance optical performance against budget or carat weight.

How the Grade Is Determined

GIA's cut grade for round brilliants is a composite assessment that integrates multiple measured and observed factors: table percentage, crown angle, pavilion angle, total depth percentage, culet size, girdle thickness, polish, and symmetry. It also incorporates modelled predictions of brightness (the proportion of white light returned face-up), fire (dispersion of white light into spectral colours), and scintillation (the pattern of light and dark areas during movement). A diamond earns a Very Good grade when one or more of these parameters fall slightly outside the narrow corridor reserved for Excellent — for example, a table percentage a few points wider than ideal, a crown angle marginally shallower or steeper, or a pavilion depth fractionally beyond the optimal range — while the overall optical performance remains high.

It is important to note that the cut grade applies exclusively to standard round brilliant diamonds. Fancy shapes — ovals, cushions, pears, marquises, and others — receive individual polish and symmetry grades on the same five-point scale (Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor), but GIA does not issue an overall cut grade for these outlines, owing to the absence of a universally agreed-upon ideal for non-round geometries.

Optical Performance in Practice

The optical difference between an Excellent and a Very Good round brilliant is, in many cases, imperceptible without instrumentation. Both grades are capable of producing strong face-up brightness and lively scintillation. The distinction becomes more apparent under controlled gemological lighting — particularly with tools such as the ASET (Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool) or Ideal-Scope — which can reveal subtle differences in light leakage or contrast patterning. Under the mixed, diffuse lighting of everyday environments (offices, restaurants, natural daylight), a Very Good stone with otherwise fine colour and clarity will typically perform admirably.

That said, not all Very Good grades are equivalent. Because the grade encompasses a range of proportional combinations, two stones both graded Very Good may differ meaningfully in their actual optical output. Buyers and trade professionals often examine individual proportion data — particularly the crown angle and pavilion angle pairing, which has an outsized influence on light return — rather than relying on the grade designation alone.

Market Position and Pricing

Very Good cut diamonds trade at a modest discount relative to Excellent-graded stones of equivalent colour, clarity, and carat weight. The discount is generally in the range of three to eight per cent, though this varies with market conditions, the specific proportions of the individual stone, and whether the diamond carries additional certifications or optical performance reports. For buyers whose primary priorities are colour grade, clarity grade, or carat weight — rather than cutting perfection per se — the Very Good tier can represent a meaningful value proposition, allowing funds to be redirected toward a higher colour or clarity grade, or toward a larger stone, without a perceptible sacrifice in face-up appearance.

In the trade, Very Good is a well-regarded and actively sold grade. It is not considered a compromise in the way that Good or Fair grades sometimes are; rather, it occupies a respected position as a high-performing cut that simply does not meet the most exacting tolerances of the Excellent tier.

Relationship to Polish and Symmetry Sub-Grades

A diamond's overall cut grade is distinct from its individual polish and symmetry grades, though the two are related. A round brilliant graded Very Good overall may carry polish and symmetry sub-grades of Excellent, Very Good, or occasionally Good. Conversely, a stone with Excellent polish and symmetry sub-grades may still receive an overall cut grade of Very Good if its proportions fall outside the Excellent range. Buyers are advised to review all three designations — overall cut, polish, and symmetry — when evaluating a GIA grading report, as the combination provides a more complete picture of the stone's manufacturing quality than any single grade in isolation.