WF? What''s the difference between ACA and Expert Selections?

[ame]

I was looking at diamonds for stud earrings and I cant tell a difference.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Hopefully this will help, Ame. Check out this thread:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/for-wf-are-there-3-in-house-options-which-come-w-egg-roll.24499/

John does a real good job of explaining the different WF offerings.

 

[Mara]

quick answer in a nutshell though im sure john will chime in with the official answer...

ACA's are cut in WF's belgium facility to brian's very particular ACA cut grade specifications. Sometimes they make the 'cut' and sometimes they don't. Many of the ES stones are ACA rejects..which just means that your naked consumer eye cannot pick out why they were rejected, but Brian's superparticulareye can. Protection of the brand.

That is why alot of the ES round stones are amazing in terms of numbers, IS image, specs, and finally..the result. I have an ES stone and I can't see a whit of diff between it and Greg's ACA. can be cheaper to go with ES too of course...not branded and somehow lacking (though i can't see how!)

however WF also does have other ES stones that are not rounds .... aka asschers etc which they choose to produce to the customer as cream of the crop, and also some ES rounds that they get from other means which were not ACA's or maybe were going to be but who knows what happened.

bottom line is ES can be a great deal if you can find a good one that fits your bill. as with any stone or vendor, sometimes Inventory dictates why you shop one place over another or with one brand vs another. Lastly, ES is very competitive to other H&A vendors...even though technically the ES stones are not branded H&A though the excellent pattern exists.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

No Expert Selection diamond is what WF would call H&A. If you look through the Expert Selection rounds you should be able to find diamonds which look to have been "A Cut Above" candidates, but did not make the grade or standards set forth. Most of the patterning is good, just not good enough to be a branded ACA.

If you take a look at both the “New Line: & Classic Line ACA’s you will notice they both have a signature Idealscope image. Looking at the IdealScope images of each of the Expert selection stones, you will see why these diamonds are considered "Expert Selection." They do not maintain the exacting standard which gives these diamonds the ACA stamp of approval to be branded as such.

Because expert selection presents stones which do not fit into the branded ACA checklist, they can be looked at as stones which present the best value for the money . A good idea is too check out the Ideal-Scope images for these stones and not just the optical symmetry of the arrow shafts or patterning, so you can get a good idea of light return for stones which have a broad range of proportions.

I think the most important point to consider is picking out a beautiful diamond at a good price.

 

[ame]

So for a pair of studs it wouldn''t be horrible to go with an ES over an ACA? I probably couldn''t tell a difference either really.

Thanks!

 

[ame]

And thank you for the link. I was pretty sure they were worth looking at but wanted to know what the actual difference was. I think John explained that well.

Thanks!

 

[marriahlyn]

ame-
i have aca 20 pointer earrings and a 3 stone 25 point each pendant. under the idealscope and h&a viewer, I can''t tell a difference, the ES are wonderful!! i think for earrings especially, it''s not worth the extra for ACA (sorry my friends at WF

jaime

 

[JohnQuixote]

Jaime - No need to apologize. The decision to go with an "A Cut Above" is a personal one... Just as some people insist on VS or VVS and for others "eye-clean" SI1 or SI2 is just dandy!

My personal note would be that in the case of the ACAs our specific tolerances result in controlled character of visually balanced performance through a full range of lighting conditions (as noted by Josh) which is reliably consistent and - therefore - commands and receives a premium. Additionally, avid fans of supersymmetry feel that owning that fine degree of true patterning is somewhat romantic... As I said, it's personal.

Major props to our past customers for a splendid job of providing input in this thread.

 

[Lord Summerisle]

I have a ACA 30pt and a pair of 15pt ES earrings - well as a gift for t''other half...

anyways....

Both the ES and the ACA are beautiful... very little to tell em apart.

Heres a piccie of the earrings... sorry if they aint very clear... its 2 images spliced together.. only way i could do it with the focus set so low...