Leo vs. Hearts on Fire vs. A cut above (WF)

[CountryBoy]

I know this has been talked about some in the past, and I fully understand that cut opinions can vary and be subjective. All that aside, I can't help but wonder what the prevailing opinion is of different diamonds that are marketed based on its cut. Specifically, I wonder about a Leo diamond, a Hearts on Fire diamond, and A Cut Above (ACA) from Whiteflash. Does anyone have an opinion as to which may be of higher quality and why? Is there any reason to consider one superior over the other? Assuming all other variables were exactly the same, which of the three would you prefer to have and why? Is there any reason for me to believe that purchasing one will offer me a significant advantage versus the others? I appreciate any thoughts. Thank you.

 

[drkewl]

I can give you my ''visual'' opinion on the Leo... it has more facets than a regular RB... some people (like my GF) think it is ''too busy looking'' compared to your typical RB (an asessment i agree with) but some people LOVE the look! Just personal taste. I have yet to see a HOF but plan to in the coming days to compare it to the ideal H&A diamond i just bought. My opinion on the ''ACA'' is STRICTLY limited to everything I have been able to gather reading these forums the last few months so I apologize if any of my details aren''t 100% accurate. In general it is just another ''flavor'' of an ideal RB cut diamond. Because of the Brand and the high standards needed for a diamond to be considered ACA, you can be assured you are getting quality. From what I have been able to gather from the forum, i believe that ACA may perform SLIGHTLY lower than a regular diamond in DIRECT lighting (hence whiteflashes dislike for the brilliancescope which measures a diamond''s light performance in direct lighting). The tradeoff is that an ''ACA'' diamond tends to perform ''SLIGHTLY better'' than a regular ideal diamond in diffuse lighting, which seems to me to be a nice tradeoff but again I don''t know how much an ''amateur''s'' eyes would be able to spot this difference. I doubt I could.

For what its worth I have yet to find anyone who has once said they didn''t absolutely adore their WF ACA diamond and you don''t pay sales tax on it so it seems popular here (FYI i did NOT purchase my diamond from whiteflash but still have a high opinion of them)

hope that helped a little. Again (and i know you know this) but you may have to VIEW the Leo and a HOF to see how you personally feel. they are ALL BEAUTIFUL in their own way! but beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

 

[belle]

the leo is different from the hof and aca in that is has more facets (8 more pavilion mains) giving it an appearance of having a lot of 'skinny' arrows, so to speak. i don't care for it and regardless of the look, wouldn't even categorize it as having the same high quality as hof or aca.
the prices for hof are ridiculous. my choice hands down would be the aca. the quality is consistent and the prices are competitive.

 

[TimeTraveller]

Pardon my ignorance. What is a "LEO"? Does it refer to the Solasfera brand?

Still learning...

 

[belle]

hey tt,
leo is a brand name diamond. the cut style is a bit different than a regular rb and it is sold in mostly mall chain stores.

 

[Maxine]

Date: 8/9/2005 3:01:45 PM
Author: drkewl
I can give you my ''visual'' opinion on the Leo... it has more facets than a regular RB... some people (like my GF) think it is ''too busy looking'' compared to your typical RB (an asessment i agree with) but some people LOVE the look! Just personal taste. I have yet to see a HOF but plan to in the coming days to compare it to the ideal H&A diamond i just bought. My opinion on the ''ACA'' is STRICTLY limited to everything I have been able to gather reading these forums the last few months so I apologize if any of my details aren''t 100% accurate. In general it is just another ''flavor'' of an ideal RB cut diamond. Because of the Brand and the high standards needed for a diamond to be considered ACA, you can be assured you are getting quality. From what I have been able to gather from the forum, i believe that ACA may perform SLIGHTLY lower than a regular diamond in DIRECT lighting (hence whiteflashes dislike for the brilliancescope which measures a diamond''s light performance in direct lighting). The tradeoff is that an ''ACA'' diamond tends to perform ''SLIGHTLY better'' than a regular ideal diamond in diffuse lighting, which seems to me to be a nice tradeoff but again I don''t know how much an ''amateur''s'' eyes would be able to spot this difference. I doubt I could.

For what its worth I have yet to find anyone who has once said they didn''t absolutely adore their WF ACA diamond and you don''t pay sales tax on it so it seems popular here (FYI i did NOT purchase my diamond from whiteflash but still have a high opinion of them)

hope that helped a little. Again (and i know you know this) but you may have to VIEW the Leo and a HOF to see how you personally feel. they are ALL BEAUTIFUL in their own way! but beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

Drkewl....do you have a thread re: the diamond you did purchase??? I think you said it''s a 1.5?

 

[drkewl]

Maxine,
ummmm i don't think i do

not to my memory at least. I JUST got my diamond today (purchased it Monday). Why do you ask? The one i got was a 1.566.

Did i do something bad?

 

[Maxine]

Date: 8/9/2005 8:11:46 PM
Author: drkewl
Maxine,
ummmm i don''t think i do

not to my memory at least. I JUST got my diamond today (purchased it Monday). Why do you ask?

Just wondered if I missed it!! (and wouldn''t want tomiss a new diamond!!

)
Have seen some of your other posts.....wouldn''t want to miss the "main event!" Will we get to see it????????? I saw that other post where you said "my diamond"....are you going to "share it?" (just giving you a hard time...........

)

 

[drkewl]

Date: 8/9/2005 8:01:26 PM
Author: belle
hey tt,

leo is a brand name diamond. the cut style is a bit different than a regular rb and it is sold in mostly mall chain stores.

I've seen it in Jareds I believe. I feel like i've seen some of the appraisers here note that they were not too crazy about the quality of the 'cut' on some of the Leo's they have seen if memory serves me right.

 

[drkewl]

LOL Maxine! I thought I had contradicted myself or something in what I posted here and you were calling me out!

Well right now all i have is a diamond in a ''spring setting'' and don''t have access to a digi cam at the moment (I bought a brand now expensive SLR camera a few years back... i just can''t justify spending more on a digi now until i''ve had this for awhile longer).

I''m buying this diamond really far in advance because i have the $ and don''t want to buy the exact same thing for a $1000 higher or more next year... planning of proposing in december... of 2006! lol. My next step in the process is slowly trying to figure out what kind of ring i want custom made. If there will be side diamonds, i want to buy them soon as well but my gf is still undecided... keeps oscillating between 3 stone ring, 3 stone ring with pave, just 1 stone with pave... not sure if side stones would be in a channel or set, etc. etc.

But thats ok, I love this diamond and i get to play with it for awhile now! yay

Will post on how the appraisal with Martin Fuller goes this Friday.

 

[sxn675]

DrKewl that''s great that you bought something! You need to keep us informed - pretend like we''re a bunch of old aunts who are anxiously awaiting news of every detail of your progress and then you''ll understand the level of detail we seek . Maybe start a thread in SMTR and tell us all the details (that way, we don''t hijack this poor thread)

As for the question, I''ve seen all three diamonds in person. I own two ACA diamonds (one for my e-ring and one for a pendant). I thought the Leo was a bit busy looking. The HOF was pretty, but very expensive. Good luck, whatever you decide!

 

[strmrdr]

Leo - im one of those that thinks it is too busy looking.
HOF - range from very good to exellent
ACA - range from near exellent to exellent and win the bling for the buck contest hands down over hof.
Take the top HOF and the top ACA and they would be pretty close.
Take the worst ACA and the worst HOF and the ACA would blow it away.

 

[CountryBoy]

Just wanted to take a moment and thank all of those that answered my query. Like many of the threads here, this one taught me some things. I have already purchased an ACA and am thrilled with it, but was just curious as to the thoughts of others regarding other popular diamonds based on cut. It is always interesting to see how the opinions stack up. Thanks again and I further welcome the comments of others.

 

[belle]

you what when where why how!!? have you posted your stone yet?

congratulations!