HCA Score 6 :(

[Dreamer_D]

Wow, thank you so much! This has been a comment that is really helping me to just stop obsessing, and appreciate my diamond for what it is... It really is beautiful and I do feel lucky to have it!! I just want to edit to add- My ring looked like crap IN the jewelry store, where I thought diamonds were meant to look their best haha.

Nah, my diamonds often look like shit in jewelery stores too! They look super tinted and dark -- its just what spot lighting does to well cut diamonds. I guess maybe it makes poorly cut diamonds look better? ANyway, spot lighting/pot lighting has never been my favourite place to look at diamonds. I like indirect lighting like sitting in a room with my hand up in front of a window or sitting under a tree. Then you see the scintillation. Each person has some characteristic they love about their particular diamond's performance. You just have to learn your diamond's personality.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I don't, but I have had it cleaned in one, and I generally just clean it with dish soap! Do you know anything about the prongs being too thick and maybe blocking some light?

That isn't an issue bc your diamond is reflecting light back at you from the crown, not through the pavilion. Thick prongs are secure. If you don't like them aesthetically, you can always reset your diamond in the future.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Yup, I would do it ASAP.

The diamond would dip below 1.70ct if it was recut. They would lose tonnes of value doing that, not to mention the stress and risk to the diamond on the wheel. C'mon man, be realistic!

OP live with your diamond for a while. If you still care one iota about the cut in a year, then revisit the issue. Don't listen to the people urging you to recut your GIA XXX diamond that you enjoy and just bought but can no longer exchange or return. Yeesh.

 

[whitewave]

The diamond would dip below 1.70ct if it was recut. They would lose tonnes of value doing that, not to mention the stress and risk to the diamond on the wheel. C'mon man, be realistic!

OP live with your diamond for a while. If you still care one iota about the cut in a year, then revisit the issue. Don't listen to the people urging you to recut your GIA XXX diamond that you enjoy and just bought but can no longer exchange or return. Yeesh.

We didn’t start the thread. OP started the thread for a reason, which she said was that her diamond performs “very poorly” in some cases.

 

[SandyinAnaheim]

I contacted BG recently and they quoted me $450/ct, so the 1.5 ct I was considering would have been $675, plus I think they said $250 for an AGA cert (could have been $225). The clincher is you have to insure the stone before BG will cut it.

I would rather have a slightly smaller spectacular stone, than a slightly bigger dud, imho.

 

[Dancing Fire]

The diamond would dip below 1.70ct if it was recut. They would lose tonnes of value doing that, not to mention the stress and risk to the diamond on the wheel. C'mon man, be realistic!

OP live with your diamond for a while. If you still care one iota about the cut in a year, then revisit the issue. Don't listen to the people urging you to recut your GIA XXX diamond that you enjoy and just bought but can no longer exchange or return. Yeesh.

I don't care what GIA call it. I have never seen a well performing stone with a flat top + a large table. I had a flat top stone (1.47ct) recut into an ideal proportion 1.15ct and couldn't be happier with its result.
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...t-after-the-recut-by-infinity-diamonds.24501/

 

[LLJsmom]

Keep the diamond, and ask Brian Gavin about a recut?

Exactly my first thought!! Yes!!!

 

[nala]

I used to own a 5.6 hca and my new one is a 1.3.... I didn’t know what I was missing. My new stone throws off rainbows and reflects so much light and basically looks lit almost everywhere! I am sooooo glad I ditched my 5.6 but again, I didn’t know what I was missing. I felt like my 5.6 looked kind of murky in many places and it certainly didn’t photograph as gorgeously as my new one does. I would encourage you to pursue a recut if you don’t want to lose a lot of money.

 

[gm89uk]

I have to agree the OP made the thread with concerns about performance, and ignoring those concerns and saying everything is fine, isn't the most useful advice.
I do agree with comparing to other well cut stones before moving forward, to see if any further financial investment is worth it. (viewing nearby H&A stones, other superideal vendors or HPD SITBI)

I would imagine a recut would leave mostly the top half alone. A shallower crown and large table lose a lot of ct to get a higher crown smaller table (reduced spread). Most likely they would shallow the pavilion to a tightly controlled 41.2 or just under, which could work with the 33 crown.

I would also, if you deemed your stone to be a far inferior performer to a very well cut stone, consider contacting @Wink to see if he could rid of your stone and use credit towards an HPD. Many posters have found this a much more cost effective way of moving forward and wink has been able to provide on occasion great "buy back" HPD credit, compared to you selling it yourself. Additionally HPD has a nice selection in this carat size at the moment for a good price

In your pictures your finger shows through the diamond, indicating some leakage and reduced brightness, but only with your eyes will you determine if the difference in performance is worth it. Fortunately these days it isn't impossible to get hold of a super ideal stone to compare.

 

[vintageloves]

I have to agree the OP made the thread with concerns about performance, and ignoring those concerns and saying everything is fine, isn't the most useful advice.

I'd say 70% of the time I love it.

She said she's happy with her stone 70% of the time and really loves it. And it's her engagement stone. How is suggesting that maybe she doesn't need to spend hundreds or more extra having it recut not useful? It's another perspective. That's useful.

The best decision I made jewelry wise was ignore advice I got here to have a stone recut. Not that the advice wasn't given with the best of intentions, but sometimes accepting and loving your imperfect stone is the best move. And in the case of buyers regret for a ring that hasn't been worn long, you need to give it time to really think about what you want. There's no harm in waiting, but once you cut, you can't get it back.

And owning a superideal and non-superideal to compare, my personal opinion would be not to do it.

 

[whitewave]

She said she's happy with her stone 70% of the time and really loves it. And it's her engagement stone. How is suggesting that maybe she doesn't need to spend hundreds or more extra having it recut not useful? It's another perspective. That's useful.

The best decision I made jewelry wise was ignore advice I got here to have a stone recut. Not that the advice wasn't given with the best of intentions, but sometimes accepting and loving your imperfect stone is the best move. And in the case of buyers regret for a ring that hasn't been worn long, you need to give it time to really think about what you want. There's no harm in waiting, but once you cut, you can't get it back.

And owning a superideal and non-superideal to compare, my personal opinion would be not to do it.

Well, yes, it is a different perspective.

But, an HCA of 6 means it scored fair to poor in many categories and has noticeable light leakage.

Yes, she would have to weigh the pros and cons of losing weight and therefore losing value.

Yes, she should compare it to an idea cut diamond.

Yes, it wouldn’t hurt to call BG and get a quote and discuss.

I thought about recutting my ungraded .75 original engagement stone. But since it is I1 clarity, it wasn’t worth it so now it’s a pendant with marginal performance.

It wouldn’t necessarily be a super ideal in the end. It would be a better performer though.

I would try the angle with Blue Nile that while you are outside of the return period (by how long I wonder), that you are SUPER UNHAPPY with performance (I mean repeatedly nail that point even if it’s a bit exaggerated) and you want a like for like trade with a better diamond.

Yes, she could also contact Wink and get his opinion of what he might or might not be able to do for her.

I do agree in the end that if she just was curious about the HCA and then found it’s a 6 and then it bugged her, find a way to release that.

But, if it bothers her now, it’s going to bother her more as time goes on most likely, and if she checked HCA in an attempt to figure out why it bothered her, then she has a problem with that stone.

Yes, it’s complicated. Many of us would take value loss to get a much improved stone in performance and then keep that stone, so value becomes secondary. It’s still an asset.

It just depends on what she wants to do after sitting on her options for a while.

None of us would begrudge her for doing nothing and keeping her stone as is.

 

[yssie]

The first thing you need to do is see a GIA XXX that does score higher on the HCA in person and see if you can even tell the difference between that diamond and your diamond. The tools on PS are not meant to replace in person viewing! Many of us have diamonds that are not "perfect by numbers" but are just right for us optically.
[...]
I have been on PS a long time. I happen to think now, after owning a looooooot if diamonds, that the finer nuances of cut are not particularly apparent in normal viewing. You should absolutely NOT be panicking over an HCA score and you should absolutely NOT be considering a recut at this point!

[...]
It just depends on what she wants to do after sitting on her options for a while.
[...]

This.
The tools here on PS aren't designed to replace in-person opinion.
Your first step really needs to be to judge what, if any, appreciation your eyes have for different flavours of GIA EX.
A recut is a drastic measure - you'll certainly lose weight, you'll concretely lose value, and you risk winding up with a lower colour/clarity grade.

Recut, trade, sale/consignment are all viable paths forward if your educated decision is that you will not be happy with your stone as-is long-term. And PS is a fantastic resource that can help you pursue those options. First, though, you need to educate your eyes to make that decision, and that education requires time and exposure. No shortcuts.

 

[Lookinagain]

Keep the diamond, and ask Brian Gavin about a recut?

this is exactly what I was going to suggest.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I had a 1 ct ungraded diamond that was passed down in my family, and I couldn't bear to set it to wear as it was. I could see that it just did not have the cut and brilliance of my ideal cuts. So I did have BG recut it. It was 100% the right decision in my case, because I wanted to keep the family stone as opposed to selling it and starting over. My stone ended up at .80, but it is now a beautiful stone. I think recutting is an option to consider, however, whether it would be worth doing depends on how much size you'd lose, especially in diameter.

I am going to tell you why I would not choose your proposed alternative stone and show you what we look for when choosing the best of GIA Ex cut stones. All stones with an HCA score under 2 are not created equal. That's why you need to know a little more before you try to choose a new diamond.

Here's your current stone, then the alternative stone, and then a stone that looks like one we'd recommend (but I am not linking it because it is out of your price range. I actually did not see any close to your specs that I'd buy at BN at this time.)







Now here's what you need to be able to find stones that look like the third image, aside from buying from one of the superideal cut vendors.

When looking at GIA excellent cut stones, use these numbers.

Table: 54-57 (up to 58 possible)

Depth: 60-62.3

Crown angle: 34.0-35.0 (up to 35.5 may work with pav angle closer to 40.6)

Pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (up to 41 may work IF the crown angle is close to 34.0)

Most superideal cut vendors stay within the first set of numbers and do not go into the ones in parentheses. Those are the safest ranges when you can't access light performance images such as ASET.

Here's a superideal image just to get yourself oriented to what you should be aiming for.

 

[nala]

I am new to in depth diamond education, and purchased my diamond based on GIA specs, which I have now learned, is not as cut and dry and I thought it was! My diamond performs very well in some lights (overcast, indoor natural lighting) but very poorly in others. When I decided to look more into specs was after I left a jewelry store and it looked like crap!! I am so disappointed. This is the diamond that I own- It scores a 6 HCA and a 2A AGA
https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD09683941

Would this diamond be much better? It scores a 1.9 and a 1B
https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD11288293?track=Detlink0

I'm not sure there is much to be done now without loosing a bunch of money, but I could see what I could do! I'm also wondering, since I am already getting poor light reflection, if my bulky prongs could be making things even worse!!

After reading all the replies, what are you thinking of doing?

 

[AV_]

I am finding many beautiful possibilities not fitting into any rules - which does not mean I am tolerant in nature ,) Optical symmetry is worth its weight in diamond - astonishing to see & don't I wish to see how it is done too...

 

[anon34985]

After reading all the replies, what are you thinking of doing?

I've contacted BG, but as I suspected I likely won't hear back until after the holiday weekend! Outside of that, I am definitely not ready to loose a substantial amount of money on my stone, and especially since it is my engagement stone, I will likely leave it as is!

I got some terrific information here, and I'm so thankful to everyone who contributed. I do love my ring, and believe it or not, I do actually get tons of compliments it, and its sparkliness haha I think I was just very taken back at first when what I thought was an excellent stone, turned out to grade so poorly- even though I had noticed some less than flattering lights for it. I have read on some other forums, that direct sunlight is bad for a well cut stone? Is this true? that and very bright lighting is for sure its worst look!

If I ever upgrade down the road, I 100% will be posting any stone options here first.

 

[anon34985]

I had a 1 ct ungraded diamond that was passed down in my family, and I couldn't bear to set it to wear as it was. I could see that it just did not have the cut and brilliance of my ideal cuts. So I did have BG recut it. It was 100% the right decision in my case, because I wanted to keep the family stone as opposed to selling it and starting over. My stone ended up at .80, but it is now a beautiful stone. I think recutting is an option to consider, however, whether it would be worth doing depends on how much size you'd lose, especially in diameter.

I am going to tell you why I would not choose your proposed alternative stone and show you what we look for when choosing the best of GIA Ex cut stones. All stones with an HCA score under 2 are not created equal. That's why you need to know a little more before you try to choose a new diamond.

Here's your current stone, then the alternative stone, and then a stone that looks like one we'd recommend (but I am not linking it because it is out of your price range. I actually did not see any close to your specs that I'd buy at BN at this time.)







Now here's what you need to be able to find stones that look like the third image, aside from buying from one of the superideal cut vendors.

When looking at GIA excellent cut stones, use these numbers.

Table: 54-57 (up to 58 possible)

Depth: 60-62.3

Crown angle: 34.0-35.0 (up to 35.5 may work with pav angle closer to 40.6)

Pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (up to 41 may work IF the crown angle is close to 34.0)

Most superideal cut vendors stay within the first set of numbers and do not go into the ones in parentheses. Those are the safest ranges when you can't access light performance images such as ASET.

Here's a superideal image just to get yourself oriented to what you should be aiming for.

Thank you for this info!! next stone I buy, I am certainly taking all of this information into consideration first!! (and probably posting here to get an expert opinion)

 

[AV_]

You might have seen - WWW

 

[anon34985]

Update from BG: $425 per carat coming to a total of 722.50 NOT including any shipping, insurance, or a new grading report. He cannot tell me how much carat weight I would loose until I send it in. Will keep you updated if this happens!

 

[whitewave]

Update from BG: $425 per carat coming to a total of 722.50 NOT including any shipping, insurance, or a new grading report. He cannot tell me how much carat weight I would loose until I send it in. Will keep you updated if this happens!

Please do!

 

[whitewave]

Update from BG: $425 per carat coming to a total of 722.50 NOT including any shipping, insurance, or a new grading report. He cannot tell me how much carat weight I would loose until I send it in. Will keep you updated if this happens!

I wonder if it would be worth sending in just to see how much carat weight he would expect to lose? But I guess it would have to be unset?

Interesting.

 

[anon34985]

I wonder if it would be worth sending in just to see how much carat weight he would expect to lose? But I guess it would have to be unset?

Interesting.

I am going to clarify if it needs to be unset for the carat weight expectation- this is the wording of his email:
"
In order to advise on how much carat weight you will lose we would need get the stone in-house so Brian Gavin perform a recut evaluation on the stone. This service is complimentary, you are only responsible for the shipping & insurance to and from our office.

If you choose to proceed the recut fee is $425 per carat based on the original carat weight, for your stone this comes out to $722.50. This does not include a new grading report.

If you'd like to proceed we will require proof of insurance for the diamond and I will issue an RMA # with shipping instructions on how to get your stone safely to our office. We require recut stones be sent in loose. We will also need the following:"

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am going to clarify if it needs to be unset for the carat weight expectation- this is the wording of his email:
"
In order to advise on how much carat weight you will lose we would need get the stone in-house so Brian Gavin perform a recut evaluation on the stone. This service is complimentary, you are only responsible for the shipping & insurance to and from our office.

If you choose to proceed the recut fee is $425 per carat based on the original carat weight, for your stone this comes out to $722.50. This does not include a new grading report.

If you'd like to proceed we will require proof of insurance for the diamond and I will issue an RMA # with shipping instructions on how to get your stone safely to our office. We require recut stones be sent in loose. We will also need the following:"

That's unfortunate. I really am not sure I'd want to have my stone unset before I sent the diamond. If anything, I'd rather send it to him and have them take out the stone and then reset it if you decide against recutting.

 

[anon34985]

That's unfortunate. I really am not sure I'd want to have my stone unset before I sent the diamond. If anything, I'd rather send it to him and have them take out the stone and then reset it if you decide against recutting.

upon confirmation, they do need the stone to be unset to estimate the carat weight that would be lost. Can't say I really feel like doing that at the moment!

 

[bludiva]

upon confirmation, they do need the stone to be unset to estimate the carat weight that would be lost. Can't say I really feel like doing that at the moment!

Well, you can always keep the recut option in your back pocket if you find yourself increasingly dissatisfied with the stone. But if you love it most of the time now doesn't sound worth it imho. If recut to ideal proportions it will still go dark in bright light I believe so there's a chance it might not fix the conditions that bother you.

 

[anon34985]

Well, you can always keep the recut option in your back pocket if you find yourself increasingly dissatisfied with the stone. But if you love it most of the time now doesn't sound worth it imho. If recut to ideal proportions it will still go dark in bright light I believe so there's a chance it might not fix the conditions that bother you.

Yes- after staring at my ring for pretty much 72 hours straight in every possible light I certainly like it more than I don't like it, and I know deep down I would be unhappy with much less weight the 1.7 ct. I would say what I will be doing is keeping my engagement ring until I want an upgrade worth double, or keep my fingers crossed BN improves their trade in program!! Thanks everyone for all of your help

 

[AV_]

You may want to find out if a recut would change the size (diameter) by much; chances are that this is not the case despite some weight loss. Just to know.

This is not a push.

 

[anon34985]

Now here's what you need to be able to find stones that look like the third image, aside from buying from one of the superideal cut vendors.

When looking at GIA excellent cut stones, use these numbers.

Table: 54-57 (up to 58 possible)

Depth: 60-62.3

Crown angle: 34.0-35.0 (up to 35.5 may work with pav angle closer to 40.6)

Pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (up to 41 may work IF the crown angle is close to 34.0)

Most superideal cut vendors stay within the first set of numbers and do not go into the ones in parentheses. Those are the safest ranges when you can't access light performance images such as ASET.

Here's a superideal image just to get yourself oriented to what you should be aiming for.

In the interest of learning more about diamonds, I typed these parameters into rare carat and came up with a stone that was actually the same price as mine, but probably much better look (learning to let this go lol) However, it scores under 1 on HCA which I know says isn't great for rings? Why would this be?

This is the GIA cert: https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=2314271831&s=1557617227256
There is no photo of the diamond.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It falls in the range of having potential. But I never would give an opinion without at least seeing magnified images of the stone, and of course, it's nice when you can get light return images. The only concern about those angles is that the lower crown angle goes better with the higher pavilion angle.

For example, a lower 34.0 crown angle would usually be better with higher 40.9 pav. angle. A high 35 crown angle goes better with closer to a low 40.6 pav. angle. Many people love the mid range of around 34.5 ca and 40.8 pav angle. Those are the most risk free if you, for any reason, couldn't see the stone photos. The numbers on the end of the safe zone can be problematic because GIA rounds numbers.