James Allen / Blue Nile Curated Diamond

Latest update news: James Allen and Blue Nile finished their merge and become one single brand now. From today on, people can also call James Allen as Blue Nile. Those two brands used to fight against each other as tough competitors, but now they stand side by side as business partners. Time really changes everything a lot, the world shifts so fast that no one can predict it before.

The True Hearts™ cut from James Allen and Astor cut diamonds made by Blue Nile both carry premium top-tier diamond quality. After the combination, the two brands launched a new diamond line named Curated Diamond, these stones also own nice quality and super cost-effective performance at the same time. Curated Diamond acts as the high value-for-money collection inside all their diamond product lines, it represents the brand’s highest level of cutting craftsmanship ever made. The design goal of this cut is to create ultimate symmetry, sparkle, fire flash, fire color and pure brightness on every single diamond.

Besides picking Curated Diamond, customers have another cheaper choice. You can pick regular 3EX cut diamonds that hold same visual quality as Curated Diamond stones, their price tag is much friendlier to wallets. If you want to find such budget-friendly gems, you can send us messages to get more details. Below is a full, in-depth analysis focusing on Curated Diamond cutting feature, it will help you judge whether this special cut worth your money or not.

What exactly is Curated Diamond Cut?

To put it in simple words, Curated Diamond is Blue Nile’s self-pick stone, selected for brilliance, balance, and the way they come alive in real light, these diamonds reflect a more intentional standard of beauty. It sets a stricter higher standard based on the basic Ideal Cut rule. It does not only demand diamonds reach the top Excellent grading on official GIA certification papers. Every Curated Diamond also has to pass a long list of stricter internal parameter checks, this strict rule makes the light optical effect inside the stone reach perfect balanced status.

The most easy way to tell a Curated Diamond apart from other diamonds is using a professional hearts and arrows viewer tool for observation:

1. Watch from the diamond table side (the top flat surface of diamond): You will see eight fully clear, symmetric arrow patterns without any deformation.
2. Watch from the diamond pavilion side (the bottom pointy part of diamond): Eight perfectly matched heart shapes will show up evenly on the surface.

This extreme balanced symmetry feature is the core signature mark of all Curated Diamond products.

Core Advantages of Curated Diamond

Unmatched strong sparkling performance

Because of its ultra precise proportion and perfect symmetry structure, Curated Diamond can reflect almost all light rays that go inside the stone back to viewer’s eyes directly. This optical feature brings extreme brilliance, fire flash and fast scintillation effect. When you put Curated Diamond under natural or indoor light, it will look far more shiny than other regular Excellent grade cut diamonds from GIA.

Stable quality double guarantee

Each Curated Diamond need to go through two extra rounds of manual screening and professional test by James Allen and Blue Nile gem experts. All testing rules follow the brand’s strictest internal standard, this process brings customers an extra layer of quality trust. Simply to say, every Curated Diamond gets double quality certification from two famous diamond brands at once.

Real visual inspection support

Blue Nile upload full 360 high-definition rotating videos for every Curated Diamond they sell online. Buyers can watch every angle of the stone by themselves, check its symmetry level and real sparkling effect before purchase. This service can make sure the real diamond you receive match all online product descriptions accurately. Even without professional observation tools, the amazing fire color and clean bright glow released by Curated Diamond can let people feel its unique charm right away.

Factors you need to think over before buying

Extra price premium cost

Curated Diamond owns higher cutting standards and double quality check process, so its price will be higher than normal Excellent cut diamonds with same 4C grading (color, clarity, carat, cut). If you pick Curated Diamond, you have to pay extra premium money just for this better sparkle and advanced aesthetic effect.

It is not a must-have option for all buyers

A normal round diamond with GIA Excellent cut grade already shows outstanding visual performance. For common people without professional gem training, the difference between Curated Diamond and high-quality regular Excellent cut stones is hard to spot with naked eyes. Choosing Curated Diamond is like chasing full 100 score when normal top diamonds already hit 95 points, both choices stay perfect in daily wearing.

Not limited to round diamond shape

Right now, Curated Diamond cutting technology is not only applied on classic round brilliant diamonds. It also works for four main popular diamond shapes including oval cut, marquise cut, pear cut, round brilliant and princess square cut stones.

Is Curated Diamond suitable for your own demand?

Situations that Curated Diamond is well worth buying

1. You chase absolute perfect cutting performance: You do not satisfy with just a “very good” cut grade, you want the absolute top cutting level that owns theoretical and visual maximum sparkle effect.
2. Your shopping budget is enough and flexible: You do not mind paying extra money for small but noticeable upgrade on diamond aesthetic performance.
3. You value official strict certification standard: You recognize the tough cutting rules Blue Nile built for its top Curated Diamond line, and treat this brand certification as solid quality proof.

Situations that you can skip Curated Diamond and pick regular Excellent cut stones instead

1. Cost performance is your top priority: You plan to split your limited budget on other three C factors, for example choosing larger carat weight, higher color grade or cleaner clarity level for your diamond.
2. You trust your own visual judgment: You are willing to use the 360 video tool on website to filter normal Excellent cut diamonds, it is totally possible to find a regular stone that shines just as bright as Curated Diamond.

Practical buying advice for diamond shoppers

1. Make full use of online comparison tools: Log on Blue Nile official website, open two 360 videos side by side, one for Curated Diamond and one for ordinary Excellent cut diamond. Ask yourself two simple questions: Can I find clear visual gap between them? Is this small gap worthy of the extra premium price I need to pay?
2. Arrange your budget with correct priority order: Always remember the importance ranking rule — Cut > Color > Clarity > Carat. It is a smarter choice to pick a regular Excellent cut diamond with better G-H color and VS clarity grade, rather than buy a Curated Diamond with low color and low clarity. The overall balanced look of the former stone will look much better on finger.
3. Double check official gem certificate: Every Curated Diamond you buy must come with original GIA certification paper, full name Gemological Institute Of America. This institute is the most authoritative global gemstone testing organization, its certificate provides reliable quality endorsement for any diamond.

Curated Diamond cut ranks among the top tier round diamond cutting styles available in current market. This special cut is never just a empty marketing trick, it brings real, visible quality improvement on diamond light performance. It fits buyers with sufficient budget and strict pursuit of perfect diamond look. But if your budget stays tight, carefully selected regular 3EX Excellent cut diamond (picked through watching 360 online videos) still acts as an outstanding, wonderful alternative choice without wasting your money.