HRD Antwerp Diamond Lab has introduced ‘refined’ cut grade over and above the other grades it has been offering so far, for diamonds. Diamonds will be assessed on three parameters - 'proportions', 'symmetry' and 'polish', instead of two parameters of ‘proportions’ and ‘finish’.

HRD Antwerp has also added an ‘excellent’ cut grade on top of its ‘very good’ quotation. “We needed to adjust our system in order to meet the market demands, since diamond dealers felt there was a discrepancy in grading terminology between different diamond labs. The introduction of an ‘excellent’ quotation does not imply that our very own ‘very good’ grade will be downgraded. On the contrary, we have upgraded part of the top-level cuts which, before, would get a ‘very good’ grade”, explains Georges Brys, General Manager of HRD Antwerp.

HRD Antwerp holds a symposium on its HRD Antwerp Cut Grade on July 17, 2008. The new cut grade will be operational as of January 1st, 2009. The HRD Antwerp cut grade has a fully transparent and consultable system. The standards and criteria are checked with the diamond dealers and manufacturers, and are based upon an optimal optical performance. It has been founded based on extensive research on hundreds of thousands of diamonds.