MissGotRocks|1427676354|3854288 said:The difference in price between a VS1 and a VS2 - particularly in a 2 ct. stone - is significant. The difference in diameter between the CBI stone and your stone is quite telling. Your stone may be deeper or have more weight in the girdle. I don't know as I've never seen the specs of the stone you are purchasing. The fact that you may or may not notice the size difference is not the only litmus test for the difference in the two stones.
CBI does not cut thousands of stone per year. If you will go to their website and read about their cutting process - from procurement of a stone or rough to a finished product, you will see the expertise, time and planning that they put into a finished stone. While this level of precision may not be for all - and price being included in that choice - it is for some. Your efforts to quantify the difference between an ideal cut and a super ideal cut will always fall flat - beauty is in the eye of the beholder and purchaser. When people come here looking for the biggest, most sparkly diamond that they can find for their money, they will usually always be advised to go for the smaller, well cut stone. Finding a stone with color/clarity and size that they want is just the beginning and so often what they've found is a less than well cut stone. When other choices are presented, it is always up to the consumer to decide what is right for them. It's just that PS is a place to come for some education about diamonds and choices and they will usually be directed to stones and vendors that are a known source of very well cut stones. The 'most sparkly' stone won't be found among the mediocre.
I am happy for you that you have found a stone that you really like and that hits all of your important high spots. That makes for a very satisfied consumer and that's important. Asking questions of the experts in order to gain information and education is commendable. Asking questions in an effort to debunk what they know firsthand from many years of experience is questionable.
Indeed the stone is hiding some weight in a slightly thick girdle. Obviously to make sure the all important 2 carat mark was hit. I did not intend to bring ongoing discussion about my stone into the thread, but thought it an interesting thing to add considering what smitcompton had mentioned about the premium of a superideal, and to hopefully illustrate to Paul why wanting to know more information is important when the price premium for a CBI is that large.
I am not trying to quantify the difference between an ideal and a superideal stone. I'm asking if anyone else has quantified it. I'm curious if there is published literature or laboratory measurements showing that superideal stones outperform ideal cuts in visual aspects such as scintillation, fire, brilliance, etc.
Regarding your last statement. I am asking these questions to learn for myself and also to help other consumers wondering the same things. I am not trying to debunk what anyone knows firsthand from years of experience. Obviously someone who has years of experience and who specializes in precision cut diamonds also has experience with high tech devices used to cut and assess those diamonds. They also likely have very good relationships with the laboratories doing the grading. This is the reason for my questions about the tools which are used to show that a perfect h&a diamond outperforms one with slight imperfections. If no such tools/data/measurements exist, fine. If they and their customers are seeing the differences but don't yet have a way to actually measure and quantify them, fine. I'm simply asking the question, admittedly over and over again now, because I haven't yet seen it answered.