Show my your HCA 2+ stones

[KirstLWA]

With the discussion around rejecting stones that score over 2 on the HCA tool, I would love to see your stones that scored over 2, that you purchased and happily wear in your ring.

I'm just trying to work out how much emphasis to put on the HCA as I am sure the 2+ stones are gorgeous too. Is too much information bad... should we just be happy if it looks nice to our eye or do we drill deeper and deeper in the pursuit of perfection in our stone??

Please share your specs.

Thanks.

 

[LLJsmom]

I’m not sure how much seeing stones with hca greater than 2 will help. I think you would be better off searching for AGS 000 stones, in which case you don’t need to concern yourself with the HCA.

If you are looking for a stone, you should ask the moderators to move this thread to Rocky Talky so you can get more technical help.

As to whether you should try to reach for perfection depends entirely on the person you are. There are plenty of people who are fine with good enough, don’t want to pay for super ideals, don’t even need AGS 000, and start their search for HCA under 2. If you are super anal or want the best and don’t want to settle for anything less, then you would be well served considering super ideals. Only you would know what you would be comfortable doing.

Since you are looking at the stones in person that will help you be more certain of what you want as you do not already know yet.

 

[foxinsox]

There was a thread on this recently that Nala started - https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-me-your-low-scoring-hca-diamonds.236534/.
Look the HCA isn’t the be all and end all - it’s a tool to help you narrow down the stone that’s most likely to give you the best bang for your buck where bang is sparkle/light return.
Yes some stones scoring higher than 2 may well be beautiful and that’s where the eye of the beholder comes into play and the way angles are rounded and not the full picture etc but it’s a way to help you narrow your choices down instead of having to eyeball or get an ASET for every single stone you come across.

 

[LLJsmom]

If you are looking for stones for the B&M to call in, I would suggest searching for AGS 000 stones first. I did not find many among the online retailers at all, other than the custom cut WF, BG, VC and GOG stones, which are not options for you. Then just plug in your parameters into the searches for the other online vendors and see what you can find. Bluenile, James Allen, B2C jewels, and there were more. I forget. I would not consider anything not GIA or AGS. If you provide your parameters, and budget, people here can help with the search too.

I would also buy an ASET scope to take with you when you view the diamonds. I would recommend seeing the diamonds that you like multiple times, several days apart. When I first see a diamond, my brain on registers "pretty!!" and I miss a lot of the details. I personally need at least three visits to start trusting my eyes. See it in different lighting environments, indoors and outdoors, sunny and overcast days. Direct and shaded sunlight. Also remember your first gut reaction. I once almost bought an E, I1 that was beautifully cut. When I first saw it, I did not notice how the inclusions affected its performance. As I stared at it a couple more times, for hours at a time, I could see the dark spots and where the diamond did not light up. I knew that mentally, that would bother me. But I was so tempted because it was such a good deal, white, well-cut. I am glad I didn't buy it because I am that anal person. Good luck.

 

[nala]

I started a thread like this. Sadly, not many came forward to share.

 

[LLJsmom]

I started a thread like this. Sadly, not many came forward to share.

@nala I think logistically this is hard because a lot of PS regulars have bought AGS MRBs, and I am guessing that many of these people have never even used the HCA on their stones. For the people who have purchased GIA stones, many have bought HCA < 2. And even if GIA buyers bought stones with HCA>2, a regular everyday pic of their stone doesn't really tell the story. My old MRB with HCA<2 photographed really poorly and the pics did not give a true story of how it looked. If videos were allowed, those would be so much more helpful. With a picture, you can take a zillion, and choose the best, and any diamond (properly cleaned and in the right environment) can look beautiful, regardless of the HCA score.

 

[nala]

@nala I think logistically this is hard because a lot of PS regulars have bought AGS MRBs, and I am guessing that many of these people have never even used the HCA on their stones. For the people who have purchased GIA stones, many have bought HCA < 2. And even if GIA buyers bought stones with HCA>2, a regular everyday pic of their stone doesn't really tell the story. My old MRB with HCA<2 photographed really poorly and the pics did not give a true story of how it looked. If videos were allowed, those would be so much more helpful. With a picture, you can take a zillion, and choose the best, and any diamond (properly cleaned and in the right environment) can look beautiful, regardless of the HCA score.

Very true. Though I suspect that there is such a stigma here on PS about the score that sharing photos would deter some for fear of rejection. I was scolded rather harshly by another PSer for buying my stone without running the numbers and having been a member here at that point.

I want to add that you are correct about pictures. I have seen some very poor pictures of diamonds that should be amazing. And that is what confuses me even more about the hca bc one would expect a gorgeous diamond to outshine a poor diamond in any photo. That is why in my thread, I offered different lighting situations and hoped others would do the same.

 

[foxinsox]

@nala I didn’t post in your thread cos I’ve got an OEC so it doesn’t qualify for the HCA. Altho - it’s technically not a good OEC - it’s shallow and doesn’t have a high puffy crown. It does have the flowers under the table and it’s sparkly af, throws off fire all over the show and is bright in most every light and faces up super white like OECs do so until I’ve got the funds to go bigger, I’m not bothered by it not being technically correct.

 

[LLJsmom]

Here is a pic of my studs. One is a WF expert selection, G, SI1, (AGS 000) and the other is a shallow cut F, VS1 from over 20 years ago, with HCA probably way over 2. In pics, you can't tell the difference. I wouldn't know by these pics which is which. I can see the difference in real life, for sure. And how it looks to you IRL is what matters. So I guess I'm saying that you will definitely have to see and compare IRL, unless you are buying online, in which case you can get ASET images, GIA/AGS reports, Idealscope images, which will help you make the decision. Pics of other people's HCA>2 generally would not be too helpful in making a decision based on real life diamond evaluation experiences.

 

[nala]

I want to add another finding that threw me off about the HCA. I plugged in a GIA diamond with a very good cut and it scored better than my triple excellent!

 

[KirstLWA]

My initial reason for the post was just as a conversation piece and picture sharing opportunity, not that I was looking for a particular stone. Just a thought process that I am having where do you trust your eyes or rely on an algorithm. Can an uneducated, untrained eye really see the difference between a HCA 1 or an HCA 3 stone.

I have had people in the trade tell me not to use the HCA tool as it is inaccurate and that they never run stones through it. All you need to worry about is that your stone is GIA XXX and it will be a great stone.

I think I am just a bit jaded by the experience of trying to find a diamond when so many of them fall over 2 on the HCA, that it feels like finding a needle in a haystack - especially when I don't have the opportunity to purchase through say CBI for example.

 

[KirstLWA]

I want to add another finding that threw me off about the HCA. I plugged in a GIA diamond with a very good cut and it scored better than my triple excellent!

So frustrating isn't it!!!

 

[Ricky Rick]

I'm in the same boat KirstLWA. Unfortunately firsthand at the jeweller, under those impressive lights, its near impossible to tell the difference between even an E or a H colour for example. I believe the HCA tool is meant to help determine the diamonds shine/sparkle under less than ideal light settings etc. Question really is, like you said, just how much of a difference in quality is HCA 2 vs an HCA 5 in poor/regular lighting. For that I do not have the answer, but searching to find one

 

[nala]

I'm in the same boat KirstLWA. Unfortunately firsthand at the jeweller, under those impressive lights, its near impossible to tell the difference between even an E or a H colour for example. I believe the HCA tool is meant to help determine the diamonds shine/sparkle under less than ideal light settings etc. Question really is, like you said, just how much of a difference in quality is HCA 2 vs an HCA 5 in poor/regular lighting. For that I do not have the answer, but searching to find one

Hope I can help. My 2.20 scores a 5.6 on hca. I can tell you that I I think my stone goes dark under certain lighting. Kind of like the center area looks muddled. My hubby thinks I'm crazy Bc he can't see what I'm talking about. TBH, when my daughter wears it so that I can admire it from afar, I can't see darkness either. It still shines from across the room. It's a triple excellent GIA.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I won't bother posting pics because imo all my pics look the same.

I do however have a HCA 2 something and a HCA 1 something. The HCA 2 something is a much more superior stone imo. It has a lot more fire and looks like the rainbow. I feel like it makes the best use of any light it gets.

Keep in mind it's an IF colour E whereas the other one is a VS1 colour I. Don't know if that's impacting my judgement but imo the 2 something just looks utterly superior in my eyes.

The other one is very nice just not as eye catching.

 

[twang07]

I'm in the same boat as @foxinsox. My OEC is not perfect either and is slightly on the shallow side. There are some light settings where I notice it more, but its facets are super crisp so it still is something quite interesting to look at! I am constantly enamored by its lively-ness is and the fire never ceases to amaze me. So it depends on your personal tolerance for minor imperfections. Since an appealing OEC is harder to find than a MRB, I'm not sure if you should be tolerant to these minor quirks, but for me I think good most of the time is good enough for me.

 

[ringo865]

Something like 70% of GIA graded stones make "excellent" cut grade. And probably less than 70% of those are actually any kind of "excellent". Kind of like if 70% of the kids in class were given As. How many of those kids would actually get high SAT scores?