Detecting H&A pattern.

[Johannes89]

hey guys,

i recently bought a H&A labeled 0.41ct diamond from zoara.com.
They do label many of their Diamonds as H&A so i do think the definition is kind of inflated on their site.
What i am wondering tho is if the arrows should still be "easily" visible with the naked eye or how to actually see them.
Ive been trying over and over but all i get to see is some arrows in some "angles" or lighting.
i can never manage to see the full 8 arrows as perfectly as always shown on pictures.
I am wondering because on James Allen for example u can see arrows in almost all diamonds, even the worst cut and symmetry grades out there.

So in short: should i be able to see the arrows with the naked eye?
and : How to see them best?

thx in advance


EDIT: heres the cert btw if any1 wants to see

https://d1om0j4oq55t4.cloudfront.net/images/products/certificate/3592901__round_excellent_cut_k_vs2_certificate.jpg

 

[Dancing Fire]

hey guys,

i recently bought a H&A labeled 0.41ct diamond from zoara.com.
They do label many of their Diamonds as H&A so i do think the definition is kind of inflated on their site.
What i am wondering tho is if the arrows should still be "easily" visible with the naked eye or how to actually see them.
Ive been trying over and over but all i get to see is some arrows in some "angles" or lighting.
i can never manage to see the full 8 arrows as perfectly as always shown on pictures.
I am wondering because on James Allen for example u can see arrows in almost all diamonds, even the worst cut and symmetry grades out there.

So in short: should i be able to see the arrows with the naked eye?
and : How to see them best?

thx in advance


EDIT: heres the cert btw if any1 wants to see

https://d1om0j4oq55t4.cloudfront.net/images/products/certificate/3592901__round_excellent_cut_k_vs2_certificate.jpg

Did they show you the hearts under a H&A scope? any pics?

 

[Johannes89]

No, they couldnt provide me with any pictures sadly.
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/0-41ct-k-vs1-h-a-in-whirl-setting.207209/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/0-41ct-k-vs1-h-a-in-whirl-setting.207209/[/URL]
This is my pictures thread where u can find the pictures i took myself, and where i tried to capture the arrows.
U can definately see that they are there and with better quality pictures u could probably see them a bit better also but when i see others perfect Arrows i always feel its super easy to catch em on some stones.

 

[tyty333]

You should be able to capture all 8 arrows when looking straight down on the stone. It shouldnt require a tilt (at least thats
how it works in my experience).

This is my .46 BGD H&A diamond (not much bigger than yours). You can see the 8 arrows in it. This is with a not-very-good
camera so its the best I could do.

 

[tyty333]

Stones can still be beautiful without exhibiting the H&A pattern. I know it may be what you were looking for but it still
has very good angles/numbers so should be a pretty nice stone.

I get the most sparkle in the bathroom. Try taking it in there and see what you think. Are you not happy with the stone
because of the lack of H&A?

Is it still returnable? If it is, we can help you find one that does exhibit H&A (depending on your budget of course).
It would be starting over so determine how important it is to you. It would be pretty important to most long time PSers
but probably not so important to the general population.

 

[Johannes89]

hey guys,

thx for the replies:
i can see the arrows a bit from time to time, as i tried to show in the pictures in my thread ... maybe u can have a look at those and tell me what u think.

Also i am very happy with the stone overall and i will keep it. So i guess i do not fully depend on the H&A pattern to be seen, then again i was looking for H&A labeled diamond because i would like them to show.
Thats why ive been trying to "find" em^^
Basicly i wanted H&A because i want to have some things i can tell and show my gf about the stone
I hope that helps and thx again for ur answers

 

[Johannes89]

any1 else?

 

[chrono]

I have a diamond the same size as yours and can see the all arrows easily if I cast a shadow over the diamond.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Arrows are not always obvious to the naked eye. If your stone has good arrows pattern it should be possible to capture it photographically but it might take you some effort and trial and error.

The thing to understand about H&A diamonds is that the benefit is indirect. That is, seeing black arrows in your diamond is not a benefit in and of itself. But being able to see these precise patterns with special viewers and specialized photography is an indication that the diamond has excellent facet alignment in three dimensions. If proportioned correctly and with precision facet alignment you will get optimal fire and brilliance from your diamond.

Having an H&A diamond is certainly a reason to appreciate your diamond and something to share with your friends, but the benefits are the light performance aspects that derive from them, not necessarily the arrows themselves.

Hope that helps!

 

[LLJsmom]

I have had my stone for 2.5 years and only recently have I been able to see the arrows pattern with my naked eye. It's not H&A, but a GIA 3X, and supposedly a well cut stone. It's super sparkly and I never felt like I had to buy an H&A specified stone. With my lousy vision, I probably wouldn't really appreciate it anyway. It's only recently that I thought it would be cool to be able to see it.

I think it depends on how experienced you are with looking at stones and detecting the faceting pattern, how your eyes focus, the lighting or lack thereof, how you hold your stone, how you tilt your head. It's Chrono's comment about casting a shadow that did the trick for me. I've always looked for it in well lit locations, and I always just saw one side of the diamond's arrows, and when I cast a very dark shadow, not tilt my head (which I do without knowing) that I can see the bright arrows.

And the crazy thing is I have a tendency to see the left side of the stone more clearly than the right. There is nothing wrong with the stone b/c when I rotate the ring, again it's the left side that I see more clearly.

So consider that it may have nothing to do with your stone, but rather you (or me in this case!)

And for what it's worth, I can see the pattern on the 2.59 carat more clearly (GIA 3X) than the WF 1.2 carat ES (AGS 000). And I am pretty sure the WF stone is cut better than the 2.59. It's probably b/c the 2.59 is just bigger and easier on my poor eyes.

 

[leyhuong]

It should be rather easy to see the arrows if that is what you want. You should use your palm or some object (like the cake icing tip I used, shown in the picture below when I took a shot at my stud). Good luck.

 

[leyhuong]

Or bring the diamond out in daylight, use a phone to take a photo, as picture shown below.



Or put your diamond facing the opposite way of a light source (with these the arrow will be bright white arrows).

If it is a well-cut diamond, all of these tricks should work instantly.