Ryan Perry, who has been with De Beers since 2002, also will be leaving the company next year.
GCAL Introduces Its New Cut Grade Standard, 8X
Diamonds must receive a grade of “excellent” across eight criteria to be deemed an 8X.

Called the 8X Ultimate Diamond Cut Grade, GCAL said it developed the cut to reflect advancements in diamond cutting technology and techniques and the resulting cuts the top diamond manufacturers are producing today.
8X is “less about distinguishing our lab from all the others, and more about providing a platform for the world’s premier diamond manufacturers to distinguish their products from all others,” GCAL founder and president Don Palmieri said in a news release.
Son Angelo Palmieri, the lab’s chief operating officer, added: “The global diamond industry has witnessed impressive improvements in technology. Diamond cutting techniques have also improved, resulting in more brilliant and beautiful diamonds. It was time to honor that craftsmanship. 8X is a cut grade standard whose time has come.”
As the name indicates, the 8X Ultimate Diamond Cut Grade will take into account eight factors.
(GIA bases its cut grade on seven factors.)
To be deemed an 8X diamond, a stone must receive a grade of “excellent” in all eight aspects of cut that GCAL is evaluating: polish, external symmetry, proportions, optical brilliance, fire, scintillation, optical symmetry, and Hearts & Arrows.
GCAL said the first three—polish, external symmetry, and proportions—focus on physical precision of the diamond’s surface, facet shapes and angles.
Optical brilliance, fire and scintillation focus on and analyze how a diamond handles light, while grading factors seven and eight—optical symmetry and Hearts & Arrows—are about optical precision, meaning the craftsmanship of the crown and pavilion facets and how they work together.
The grading scale for each of the eight factors can be viewed on the GCAL website.
The lab said its workers spent years and analyzed hundreds of thousands of diamonds to create 8X.

The 8X Ultimate Diamond Cut Grade is available for both natural and lab-grown diamonds. The lab has not released specific pricing on the new report but did note 8X would come at a premium.
The trademarked 8X logo will be inscribed on each diamond’s girdle and will appear on both the print and digital versions of the grading reports.
The reports also will have a new design; a sample of the report’s cover can be seen above.
For more information on 8X, call GCAL at 212-869-8985 or email sales@gcalusa.com.
The Latest

The watch seller’s new index tracks sales data from 14 brands, including Rolex and Patek Philippe.

The industry veteran will step down from both roles in April 2024.

Without the ability to instill confidence within the industry and directly to the consumer, a diamond holds very little value.

Tanzanite, turquoise, and zircon are all options for December babies, who sometimes “get the birthday shaft,” Amanda Gizzi writes.


The lab-grown diamond brand also collaborated with the website The Future Rocks on a collection launching today.

The company said it is facing a “challenging retail environment” but is prepared for the holiday season.

With holiday proposals right around the corner, encourage your customers to go for platinum when making the big purchase.

It’s the hero piece of the newest "Green Jewel" collection, a collaborative offering from the two mines.

The 15.48-carat fancy intense “Pink Supreme” topped Christie’s fall jewelry auction in Asia, while a Patek Philippe led the watch sale.

Chris Cramer, who also spent time at Gen Z intimates brand Parade, will take on the dual role.

The stone headlining the upcoming sale could fetch up to $5 million.

The retail offering lets customers track their diamond’s journey.

The Luele mine is expected to eventually make the country the world’s third-largest diamond producer.

From Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, 200.4 million consumers shopped online and in stores.

The growing company also plans to open more of its own boutiques.

The best quotes from the Oracle of Omaha and his right-hand man Charlie Munger from the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting.

J. Dostie Jewelers will move from Lewiston to Yarmouth this spring.

It’s the company’s second location in Tennessee.

You can have this jewelry, why don’t you take it?

Next year’s milestone show will be full of educational programming and collaborations.

Sales experts and a diamantaire share their best advice on how to send customers home with diamond jewelry.

The brand has released five new collections.

The Albany Business Review recently honored the 100-year-old company.

There have been eight attacks in the last month, spanning from a jewelry store parking lot in Rhode Island to highways in California.

These 15 pieces of jewelry celebrate November babies and the hues of citrine and topaz that reflect the colors of the season.

The money will help a nonprofit rehabilitate sea turtles.