1.8 hca please advise

[Mlh]

Looking at stone 1.8 hca. Falls within ags 0, gia 3x. But hca showing very good for fire, scintillation, brightness....light return excellent. Put in actual #s from sarin. Continue search or not?

 

[tyty333]

Post the GIA/AGS report please.

 

[Mlh]

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=6331108862&s=1579961627520

 

[headlight]

Personally, I would not get a stone that didn't score with Excellent for the first 3 (performance) categories on the HCA. Yet, here the HCA is not in alignment on those aspects as compared to the report you show above. I am not familiar with those reports but others here are. I don't know if that pavilion angle is too much... someone else here that knows more on that can jump in. I also am not familiar with the way the image is shown next to the hearts image. So, apologies, not much help on the specifics here, but IMO I would not personally pursue a stone that didn't get excellent for fire, scintillation and light return on the HCA. It is said here by many that those categories in and of themselves don't matter as long as the score is under 2. I don't understand that reasoning because if it didn't matter, why would the HCA have those categories and scores for them??? Also, the elements of brilliance, scintillation, and light return could have lower scores and yet the stone could be very "spready" in which case it will score excellent for spread in which case the stone could get under 2 but for the wrong reasons IMO. Ultimately, it apparently all boils down to an ASET image yet, even with that, I do not know if you have a stone with a perfect ASET and a stone with an almost perfect one, yet not TOTALLY perfect, if one would really see the difference when the ring is on the finger.

 

[Mlh]

Thanks @headlight ! Yes, I was not happy to see those very goods. I don't know what to think. Light return excellent, overall excellent....so confusing. My images are apparently inconclusive and not centered correctly. The stone is pretty irl.

 

[headlight]

Quite honestly, what the stone looks like IRL and if it speaks to you is really what is most important above and beyond everything so heavily weighted here on images and numbers. I know that people hate hearing this, but there must be some element of benefit and truth to the GIA Cut Grading System. Does it have its faults, yes. Is some of it becoming obsolete in the age of technology and what that can provide to diamond cutting, yes. Not sure how they are going to deal with that. That's a whole pandora's box for another day. However, the concept that there are many, MANY sets of proportions that can yield an attractive stone, along with the fact that different people are drawn to a certain "look" a stone has I think does bear merit. With that said, I do feel that you need to see the stone in more than just the jewelers fancy, expensive lighting designed to made everything sparkle like mad but that's not real life. So I want to make sure that you have seen this stone, AS WELL AS OTHERS to have basis of comparison, in various lighting. And with regard to seeing other stones, see them in more than one store because a single store might only have stones of a certain quality. And that applies to stores that only sell top stones as well as those that sell not such great ones as a rule. Because if you only see not so great ones against other not so great ones, you may be looking at the pick of the litter and so you think that is awesome. However, if you also were to see a lot of great stones, you would not only know that the one you like is definitely appealing to you, but it will also give you an appreciation for what is a nice stone and what is a dog. And you don't need to have a super ideal to have a beautiful diamond. If you want and can afford a super ideal then that's awesome. But, similarly, one may not care for a colorless diamond nor being able to afford it, but (as example) they might get an H color versus an E color and they will still have a beautiful colored diamond (all other things being acceptable). I can tell you that the stone I currently have is not one that people here would tell me to get because it isn't quite "perfectly' cut. Yet, when I saw it on a tray with 4 other stones (incl AGS0), this is the one that my eye went to immediately. Is it because it is E color? I don't know, but clearly there was something there that made it stand out to me. And it was the smallest on the tray (but size wasn't my priority). There are also other factors that played into in that I won't get into. In the end it was between the one I got and another one that was a better cut, one that would get high praises here. But it was a G and I wanted a D or E. And, the truth is, the visual difference in terms of performance was SO close, almost indiscernible. I spent about 8 hours over 2 days at the store comparing the 2 stones in various lighting settings and it hurt my eyes trying to see the difference. Maybe an extra flash here or there, but not much different. So I'm not saying you should or shouldn't get this one. I'm just saying there is a lot to think about. Also, even with what I said about the HCA, even what @Garry H (Cut Nut) says about it (he developed it), he says there are limitations. And there are many out in the industry who don't give it any credence (I don't necessarily agree with them as I do think the HCA has value and I think @Garry H (Cut Nut) is a genius and has made so many contributions to this industry so I have great respect). This site places great emphasis on a certain "look" to a diamond. Some would say that they all look the same, that they don't have any personality. That they are cut from the same boilerplate pattern. And they say that as a negative. Other will concur that the stones do have that element but in a most positive way... that it is the look of a modern well-cut stone. The purchaser (and wearer) has to make that call. I see the virtues in this, for sure. But then what do we say about our mother's and grandmother's stones? Flush them down the toilet? Are they all ugly because they might not possess the tight range of proportions emphasized here? And because they don't have the precision cutting that is available today due to technology? That is where I struggle. I do understand that buying online is different than buying in a store given you aren't interacting with the diamond in person. So for that along, going by known parameters and images is the way. Even more than the parameters, becomes sometimes if they don't work together well it can be a less attractive stone than one that falls out of range but everything "works" in that particular stone. So really I think shopping online is all about the images. BUT, going back to what I mentioned earlier (sorry about the rambling), if you have a stone with a perfect ASET image and one with maybe one little area of lighter red/pink or even white, will you REALLY see a difference when it is on the finger? Some here say absolutely yes, and others (who have had both super ideals and other stones that are still good yet not the top-top) will say there isn't that much difference when it comes down to it. So I guess you have to go with your gut and your personal situation and method of purchasing you are comfortable with. Some people are blatantly against shopping at Brick and Mortar. Others want to "buy local" or their families have a long-time relationship with a family jeweler.

 

[Mlh]

Post the GIA/AGS report please.

Thanks @tyty333 !

 

[Mlh]

@headlight , thank you so much for taking the time to write that response. I agree with all of it. I wish I didn't feel so crazy

 

[headlight]

@headlight , thank you so much for taking the time to write that response. I agree with all of it. I wish I didn't feel so crazy

Thank you so much for saying this

 

[OoohShiny]

Quite honestly, what the stone looks like IRL and if it speaks to you is really what is most important above and beyond everything so heavily weighted here on images and numbers. I know that people hate hearing this, but there must be some element of benefit and truth to the GIA Cut Grading System. Does it have its faults, yes. Is some of it becoming obsolete in the age of technology and what that can provide to diamond cutting, yes. Not sure how they are going to deal with that. That's a whole pandora's box for another day. However, the concept that there are many, MANY sets of proportions that can yield an attractive stone, along with the fact that different people are drawn to a certain "look" a stone has I think does bear merit. With that said, I do feel that you need to see the stone in more than just the jewelers fancy, expensive lighting designed to made everything sparkle like mad but that's not real life. So I want to make sure that you have seen this stone, AS WELL AS OTHERS to have basis of comparison, in various lighting. And with regard to seeing other stones, see them in more than one store because a single store might only have stones of a certain quality. And that applies to stores that only sell top stones as well as those that sell not such great ones as a rule. Because if you only see not so great ones against other not so great ones, you may be looking at the pick of the litter and so you think that is awesome. However, if you also were to see a lot of great stones, you would not only know that the one you like is definitely appealing to you, but it will also give you an appreciation for what is a nice stone and what is a dog. And you don't need to have a super ideal to have a beautiful diamond. If you want and can afford a super ideal then that's awesome. But, similarly, one may not care for a colorless diamond nor being able to afford it, but (as example) they might get an H color versus an E color and they will still have a beautiful colored diamond (all other things being acceptable). I can tell you that the stone I currently have is not one that people here would tell me to get because it isn't quite "perfectly' cut. Yet, when I saw it on a tray with 4 other stones (incl AGS0), this is the one that my eye went to immediately. Is it because it is E color? I don't know, but clearly there was something there that made it stand out to me. And it was the smallest on the tray (but size wasn't my priority). There are also other factors that played into in that I won't get into. In the end it was between the one I got and another one that was a better cut, one that would get high praises here. But it was a G and I wanted a D or E. And, the truth is, the visual difference in terms of performance was SO close, almost indiscernible. I spent about 8 hours over 2 days at the store comparing the 2 stones in various lighting settings and it hurt my eyes trying to see the difference. Maybe an extra flash here or there, but not much different. So I'm not saying you should or shouldn't get this one. I'm just saying there is a lot to think about. Also, even with what I said about the HCA, even what @Garry H (Cut Nut) says about it (he developed it), he says there are limitations. And there are many out in the industry who don't give it any credence (I don't necessarily agree with them as I do think the HCA has value and I think @Garry H (Cut Nut) is a genius and has made so many contributions to this industry so I have great respect). This site places great emphasis on a certain "look" to a diamond. Some would say that they all look the same, that they don't have any personality. That they are cut from the same boilerplate pattern. And they say that as a negative. Other will concur that the stones do have that element but in a most positive way... that it is the look of a modern well-cut stone. The purchaser (and wearer) has to make that call. I see the virtues in this, for sure. But then what do we say about our mother's and grandmother's stones? Flush them down the toilet? Are they all ugly because they might not possess the tight range of proportions emphasized here? And because they don't have the precision cutting that is available today due to technology? That is where I struggle. I do understand that buying online is different than buying in a store given you aren't interacting with the diamond in person. So for that along, going by known parameters and images is the way. Even more than the parameters, becomes sometimes if they don't work together well it can be a less attractive stone than one that falls out of range but everything "works" in that particular stone. So really I think shopping online is all about the images. BUT, going back to what I mentioned earlier (sorry about the rambling), if you have a stone with a perfect ASET image and one with maybe one little area of lighter red/pink or even white, will you REALLY see a difference when it is on the finger? Some here say absolutely yes, and others (who have had both super ideals and other stones that are still good yet not the top-top) will say there isn't that much difference when it comes down to it. So I guess you have to go with your gut and your personal situation and method of purchasing you are comfortable with. Some people are blatantly against shopping at Brick and Mortar. Others want to "buy local" or their families have a long-time relationship with a family jeweler.

Paragraphs.

That's all I'm saying

 

[headlight]

@OoohShiny Yes, you are correct! Clearly I was in rant mode this morning, along the lines of one long rambling sentence. Yikes, either too much coffee or not enough!

 

[OoohShiny]

@OoohShiny Yes, you are correct! Clearly I was in rant mode this morning, along the lines of one long rambling sentence. Yikes, either too much coffee or not enough!

lol

We've all been there