Symmetry is an important element of diamond finish. Symmetry refers to the exactness of the shape and arrangement of facets. This includes naturals, misshapen facets and extra facets, off center culets and tables, wavy and out of round girdles, misalignment of crown and pavilion facets.

To the unaided eye, finish features usually have little effect on appearance; they are like pinpoint inclusions. The importance of symmetry is less important in diamonds that have lower clarity grades. Symmetry is more important in diamonds that have very high clarity grades.

When selecting your diamond, choose one of the following symmetry grades:

• Excellent
• Very Good
• Good

Symmetry is listed on the certified diamond grading report. Few diamonds are available with Excellent or Very Good symmetry. Diamonds with a symmetry grade of Good offer exceptional beauty and are  purchased most frequently. United Diamonds has not to this date received a diamond returned due to a customer dissatisfaction with the symmetry grade of Good. Although symmetry is important, it is best to place more emphasis on diamond depth percentage, table percentage, crown and pavilion height as well as color, clarity and weight. Diamonds with fair to extremely poor symmetry should be avoided. Listed below is a list of abbreviations and brief descriptions of symmetry grades that are used by GIA, EGL, and IGI.

• EX or E - Excellent, Flawless at 10 power
• VG or VGD -Very Good, Extremely difficult to locate under 10 power
• GD, GO, G - Good, Very diffucult to see under 10 power
• F, FR, FA - Fair, Noticable under 10 power
• PR, PO, P - Poor, Easy to see under 10X / Visible to unaided eye
• VP, VE, - Very Poor, Relatively easy to see with the unaided eye
• EX or EP - Extremely Poor, Obvious to see with unaided eye