- IGI-certified diamonds
- Triple Excellent standard
- Lifetime setting upgrades
- Free, fully insured shipping
- Made to order in Toronto
When jewellers say ‘cut’ they usually mean three different things. The IGI grades them separately — cut, polish and symmetry. ‘Triple Excellent’ means Excellent in all three, and it is the single biggest driver of how a diamond actually looks.
"Triple Excellent" means a diamond earns the top grade for cut, polish and symmetry — the proportions that make it come alive. It is the single most important quality factor, ahead of colour, clarity and carat. Montare never goes below it on a centre diamond.
Key takeaways
- Cut grade is the proportions that make a diamond return light — it drives brilliance.
- Polish is facet smoothness; symmetry is facet alignment.
- Triple Excellent means all three are Excellent — they only deliver together.
- Cut affects how a diamond looks more than colour, clarity or carat.
- It is Montare's floor on every stone — not a tier you upgrade to.
Cut grade
Cut grade is the proportional integrity of the stone — the angles between the table, the crown and the pavilion. Within a narrow tolerance, light entering the top reflects back through the top; outside it, light leaks out the sides. The naked eye reads this as brilliance. A perfectly cut diamond is brighter than a poorly cut diamond of any size or colour.
Polish grade
How smooth the surface of each facet is. Polishing marks at the micron level scatter light. Excellent polish means no visible polish lines under 10x magnification.
Symmetry grade
Whether the facets line up. Off-symmetry diamonds have misaligned facets that distort the reflection pattern. Excellent symmetry means every facet mirrors its opposite.
Every centre diamond is Triple Excellent, D–E, VVS and at least three carats — the hard calls are made for you.
Design your ringCut, polish and symmetry at a glance
| Grade | What it measures | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Cut | Proportions and angles | Brilliance and light return |
| Polish | Facet surface smoothness | Crisp, clean sparkle |
| Symmetry | Facet alignment | Clean, undistorted reflections |
Why all three matter together
A diamond can be graded Excellent in cut but Very Good in symmetry, and the industry will still call it ‘Excellent cut’. It is not. The visible brilliance only holds when all three grades agree — Triple Excellent forces every variable to the same standard. It also matters far more than the other Cs; for the full picture see the 4Cs explained.
What it costs you
Triple Excellent commands a 15–20% premium over single-Excellent — and it is the only premium truly worth paying. Deciding between grades one step apart? See Triple Excellent vs Very Good cut. Above-floor colour, above-floor clarity and extra carat weight scale the price but not the visible difference. Cut scales the visible difference more than anything else. Because the stone is the same regardless of origin (lab-grown vs mined), cut is where your money does the most work.
Montare's position
Every diamond we set is Triple Excellent — not as a tier, as the floor. Build a ring to the standard in our ring builder or book a consultation.
Design your ring in minutes. Every centre diamond is D–E colour, VVS clarity, Triple Excellent cut and at least three carats — IGI certified, made to order in Toronto.
Open the ring builder →Frequently asked questions
What does Triple Excellent mean?
It means a diamond was graded Excellent in all three of cut, polish and symmetry by the IGI — the strictest combination, and the one that most determines how the diamond looks.
Is Triple Excellent worth paying for?
Yes. Cut is the only factor that determines brilliance, and the three grades only deliver together. It is the one premium that changes what you actually see.
Does cut matter more than colour and clarity?
For how a diamond looks, yes. A Triple Excellent stone outshines a higher-colour or higher-clarity stone that is poorly cut.
Is Triple Excellent the same as Ideal cut?
They overlap. ‘Ideal’ is a proportions term used by some labs; Triple Excellent refers to Excellent grades in cut, polish and symmetry. Montare holds both ideal proportions and Triple Excellent.
See the difference cut makes. Build a ring in the ring builder or book a consultation.
The Montare standard
Lab-grown · D–E colour · VVS clarity · Triple Excellent · 3ct minimum · IGI certified
Every ring is made to order in Toronto and backed by our lifetime setting upgrade, with free, fully insured shipping.
Design your ringBook a free consultation