Triple X Diamonds
– What Are They? Do You Need One?
Oct 05, 2023
Choosing the center stone for your engagement ring is a big decision. There are a lot of factors that go into crafting the perfect diamond, and it can take time to determine what elements are most important.
If you’re considering a round brilliant cut diamond, you’ve likely come across the term “Triple X.” While not an official GIA ranking, Triple X diamonds can be seen as worth the investment. Yet, many people don’t know what this term means or if a Triple X diamond is the right choice for their ring.
What Are Triple X Diamonds?
Triple X diamonds are diamonds with the highest-quality cut. Triple X is a term used in the diamond industry that stands for Triple Excellent. Triple X diamonds are round brilliant cut diamonds that have been GIA-rated as having Excellent cut, Excellent symmetry, and Excellent polish.
GIA ratings, in order from best to least, are Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor. If a diamond has been coined a Triple X, it means the diamond has the highest quality in cut, symmetry, and polish. The higher the quality of these, the better the craftsmanship of the diamond.
What is an Excellent Cut?
The cut of a diamond is the most important element of the stone. The cut determined the depth of the diamond, the facet angles, its light refraction, and all of its proportions. If a diamond has a poor cut, it will appear dull and may have light or dark patches throughout, making it unappealing to the eye.
An Excellent cut diamond has been cut in a way that gives off intense fire, sparkle, and brightness when it's in light. An Excellent cut diamond won’t have any dull spots from any angle, and it has an ideal depth.
What is Excellent Symmetry?
The symmetry of a diamond refers to the evenness of the facet sizes and shapes throughout the diamond. It also considers the alignment of the facets and the shape of the diamond itself.
Excellent symmetry means that all the diamond’s facets meet at the widest part of the diamond. It also means the points of the kite-shaped facets on the top of the diamond align perfectly with the points of the facets on the bottom, which are kite-shaped. On top, the table facet should be perfectly centered, and on the bottom, the facets should all meet at the tip of the diamond.
When a diamond is symmetrical, it’s able to reflect light in a uniform way throughout the stone. This allows the diamond to have a more appealing appearance when people look at it.
What is Excellent Polish?
The polish of a diamond refers to the finish of the diamond. The smoother the surface of a diamond is, the better its polish rating. An Excellent polish means the diamond doesn’t show any polish defects when magnified 10x.
When the surface of a diamond isn’t smooth, it will dull the sparkle of the stone. While many defects aren’t visible to the human eye, they will still affect how the diamond reflects light. Typically, repolishing can help improve the appearance of pits or polish lines on a diamond, but a true Excellent polish means a flawless surface when magnified.
What is the Benefit of Buying Triple X Diamonds?
The most significant benefit of buying Triple X diamonds is knowing your diamonds are of the highest quality possible. The cut of a diamond makes or breaks its appearance, so opting for a diamond that has an Excellent cut will ensure beautiful fire and sparkle from the stone.
Choosing a Triple X diamond means you’re purchasing a diamond that’s been masterfully crafted to have the most impressive cut possible. Most diamond experts will tell you that the cut is the most important element of a diamond, so it’s vital to choose one with a high ranking.
Is it Necessary to Buy a Triple X Diamond?
While the cut of a diamond is important, it’s not the only aspect of a stone to consider. Because of this, it’s not necessary to buy a Triple X diamond. While these diamonds are guaranteed to have the highest quality cut, they could have other imperfections.
Triple X diamonds can still have strong fluorescence, which can make the diamond appear less transparent. Triple X also doesn’t guarantee there will be no visible inclusions, which means some of these diamonds will still have visible flaws.
Triple X diamonds refer only to the cut of the diamond, but it doesn’t take in the whole picture. You can find a Triple X diamond that has a Poor color rating, which would make the diamond appear very yellow. No matter how great the cut of a diamond, it won’t make up for poor color or clarity.
Instead of jumping right to a Triple X diamond, look for a stone that has high quality across the board. Factor in the cut, color, clarity, and carat weight of a stone (the 4Cs) to decide if it’s the right stone for you.
It’s also important to note that a diamond with an Excellent cut that has Very Good symmetry and Very Good polish will look nearly identical to the human eye as a Triple X diamond of the same size but for less money.
Summary
The cut of a diamond is considered the most important of the 4Cs, and Triple X diamonds are guaranteed to have Excellent cuts. There’s nothing wrong with purchasing a Triple X diamond, but it’s essential to consider the whole diamond and not just the cut.
Well-cut diamonds are worth the investment, and a Triple X diamond with Excellent clarity and color would be a showstopper of a stone in any engagement ring. However, you can find stunning diamonds that aren’t Triple X. At the same time, you can find Triple X diamonds with poor clarity or color ratings.
Triple X shouldn’t be the end-all rating you look for in diamond shopping, but it’s definitely an excellent place to start.