hearts and arrows

[carina]

After observing my diamond and lots of others closely that are not officially labeled hearts and arrows - I realize that most round brilliant diamonds have hearts and arrows in the standard cut. The perfect hearts and arrows can be given the credit but the not so perfect hearts and arrows that are in most well cut diamonds look pretty good to me. As I see it, there are plenty of well cut diamonds that are hearts and arrows some are just off very very slightly. So I wouldn't pay for the perfect labeled hearts and arrows - it's a waste of money.

 

[valeria101]

True enough ...

There is just one argument I know of pro tight H&As: the pattern makes a reliable and relatively easy to interpret indicator for brilliance only when it is "by the book". Since there are ways to choose brilliant diamonds with no H&A... your choice is definitely out there, I would think.

On the other hand, diamonds must be cut on purpose to obtain some sort of harts and arrows. Otherwise, neither the AGS0 proportions nor GIA's top symmetry grade have much to do with them. You may find some examples of such non H&A ideals in Jonathan's library (down THIS link - esp. that GIA Ex-EX is a cute one !)


Now, all things equal (including price) would you still avoid that pattern ? To me it sounds odd to look for eight arrows on a diamond: it may be a sign of good luck in Japan but it makes the mark of witchcraft in my country