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AGS ASET from certificate = no good?

alpackie

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Hey PS,

I just got off the phone with a JA representative and they claim that the ASET image on AGS certificates is generated from a computer and therefore not as accurate as IdealScope images taken in-house. While I understand the importance of looking at RBs under an IdealScope, I'm having difficulty identifying dug out girdles using only IdealScope images. My gemologist order needs to be approved by a manager in order to get an ASET image taken, as their policy is to only do this for fancy cuts.

So are they right? Are the ASET images on AGS certs really unreliable?
 

JulieN

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They're good enough for the vast majority of cases.
 

Karl_K

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They are not as accurate as real images.
Digging and painting is one area they are not as accurate.
While I can not evaluate the diamond itself if you post the IS image here and ask if it shows signs of excessive painting or digging I can answer that.
 

alpackie

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Karl_K|1411185901|3754178 said:
They are not as accurate as real images.
Digging and painting is one area they are not as accurate.
While I can not evaluate the diamond itself if you post the IS image here and ask if it shows signs of excessive painting or digging I can answer that.
Thank you Karl!

Do any of these show any signs of digging?
1.22 H VS2, I requested an ASET image for this one since the cert did not have one.
284269__1_.jpg

1.22 G VS2, the ASET cert image did not show any digging at all. Does the i-scope say the same thing?
73772.jpg

*****************************************************************************************************
This is the 1.24 G VS2 that I already eliminated since the i-scope seems to show some digging (also consistent with the ASET cert image).
73694.jpg
 

Karl_K

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none of the 3 show excessive painting or digging.
Keep in mind the best RB ever cut has small amounts of painting and digging as a by product of the cutting process.
 

diamondseeker2006

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Guess what? With idealscope images like that, you do not need an ASET at all. Idealscope images are generally sufficient for round brilliant stones. I rely on that more than the image on the AGS report.
 

alpackie

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Karl_K said:
none of the 3 show excessive painting or digging.
Keep in mind the best RB ever cut has small amounts of painting and digging as a by product of the cutting process.
Thank you Karl for the confirmation! Since I'm going with just a solitaire setting, no halo, I wanted to err on the side of caution. Although the 1.24 G VS2 doesn't show "excessive digging," the ASET showed 5-6 points of light leakage on the girdle. Since the per carat price of these similarly spec'd stones are comparable, I would just rather go with one that either has no digging, or barely any.

diamondseeker2006|1411255982|3754505 said:
Guess what? With idealscope images like that, you do not need an ASET at all. Idealscope images are generally sufficient for round brilliant stones. I rely on that more than the image on the AGS report.
I hope you also mean that these IdealScope images show that the stones have good light performance :naughty:

I'm really on the fence about the 1.22 H VS2 since the i-scope for the 1.22 G VS2 seems to show more optical symmetry. Would an ASET not help in the decision-making process at all? I'd hate to have to rule out JA, just because other online vendors like GoG and BGD provide all the data.

But having compared i-scope images more, I think I'm beginning to be able to spot digging without having to look at an ASET image.
 

JulieN

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can you post the ASETs as well? It doesn't seem like itd be a big deal from the Ideal Scopes
 

alpackie

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JulieN|1411268216|3754621 said:
can you post the ASETs as well? It doesn't seem like itd be a big deal from the Ideal Scopes
ASET for the 1.22 H VS2 is pending, here are the other ones:

1.22 G VS2: Gemologist said this one faced up the whitest and showed the best light return. I compared the i-scope of this one with the H, and this definitely showed more symmetry than the H.
capture_11.jpg

1.24 G VS2: I am no longer considering this one because the i-scope and ASET show it as slightly dug out. After looking at more i-scope images of ideal girdles vs. dug out/painted ones, I can see how the light leakage shows in the i-scope images for this stone. ASET images are just so much easier to see this phenomenon!
1_47.jpg
 

Texas Leaguer

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This is a good example of ASET revealing additional light performance aspects that the IdealScope image does not. From the IS images it was predictable that both stones would be high performers. But having more diagnostic information at your disposal enables you to find the best of the best. And splitting hairs is what we do here.

Well done alpackie!
 

Karl_K

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based on the IS image I suspect a real aset would not look like the AGS virtual aset.
It would be interesting to get a real ASET on it.
 

alpackie

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Karl_K|1411311233|3754767 said:
based on the IS image I suspect a real aset would not look like the AGS virtual aset.
It would be interesting to get a real ASET on it.
What really convinced me was looking at the other online vendors that do take their own ASET images. For example, I found this dug out stone during my research:
bgd1.jpg bgd2.jpg
Interesting how it matches with the AGS ASET image!
 

Karl_K

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alpackie|1411454744|3755619 said:
Karl_K|1411311233|3754767 said:
based on the IS image I suspect a real aset would not look like the AGS virtual aset.
It would be interesting to get a real ASET on it.
What really convinced me was looking at the other online vendors that do take their own ASET images. For example, I found this dug out stone during my research:
bgd1.jpg bgd2.jpg
Interesting how it matches with the AGS ASET image!
do you have an IS image for it?
 

Karl_K

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alpackie|1411455708|3755622 said:
Karl_K|1411455346|3755621 said:
do you have an IS image for it?
bgd3.jpg
You can see it in the IS clearly with that one.
 

alpackie

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Karl_K|1411457321|3755626 said:
You can see it in the IS clearly with that one.
As an expert, what criteria are you looking at? The differences must be subtle, because I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out how to tell from just the i-scope.
 

Karl_K

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alpackie|1411477963|3755683 said:
Karl_K|1411457321|3755626 said:
You can see it in the IS clearly with that one.
As an expert, what criteria are you looking at? The differences must be subtle, because I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out how to tell from just the i-scope.
First you look at the dots at the end of the upper girdles where they meet the the stars, then you look at the V shaped of leakage next to the arrow heads at the edge of the stone.
Notice how they are farther away from the arrow heads in some? and different shapes?
 

Karl_K

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Also double check your IS images in the first post to make sure you have the right ones.
 

alpackie

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Karl_K|1411488645|3755745 said:
Also double check your IS images in the first post to make sure you have the right ones.
Thank you Karl for all your help! I did confirm that the IS images are the correct ones for the stones I'm considering. Thank you thank you! We're doing the deposit today!
 

Karl_K

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kewl congrates.
 
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