AFSO vs GIA

[sofin]

Hey Everyone,

What''s the difference between the two in a princess cut? Or am I comparing apples to oranged? Is out touted over the other in the industry?

 

[neatfreak]

What is AFSO? AGS and GIA are considered the best grading houses, i.e., most reliable.

 

[sofin]

My mistake...I meant AGS. Thanks for correcting me. Is one more reliable than the other?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 11/4/2008 6:54:48 PM
Author: sofin
My mistake...I meant AGS. Thanks for correcting me. Is one more reliable than the other?

I think AGS is better for princesses because they make picking a winner cut wise very easy. Just stick to AGS0 princesses and they will have ideal light return.

But you can certainly find a nice GIA princess too, just requires a bit more information.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/4/2008 6:57:43 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 11/4/2008 6:54:48 PM
Author: sofin
My mistake...I meant AGS. Thanks for correcting me. Is one more reliable than the other?

I think AGS is better for princesses because they make picking a winner cut wise very easy. Just stick to AGS0 princesses and they will have ideal light return.

But you can certainly find a nice GIA princess too, just requires a bit more information.

Ditto

 

[Ellen]

Date: 11/5/2008 3:44:16 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 11/4/2008 6:57:43 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 11/4/2008 6:54:48 PM
Author: sofin
My mistake...I meant AGS. Thanks for correcting me. Is one more reliable than the other?

I think AGS is better for princesses because they make picking a winner cut wise very easy. Just stick to AGS0 princesses and they will have ideal light return.

But you can certainly find a nice GIA princess too, just requires a bit more information.

Ditto

Thritto. If you''re buying online and looking at a GIA stone, try and get an ASET photo. That will tell you what you need to know for sure.

 

[sofin]

I wasn''t aware that AGS was well regarded in the princess cut. I do know that they have a rating for these cuts, where GIA doesn''t. Thanks for all the input!

 

[puravida]

So does this mean that as long as a stone is an AGS0 you don''t need more info? Does the AGS0 say it all (in terms of cut)?

Whereas if you''re considering a GIA stone, you NEED to know the nitty gritty details? (Angles, depth, etc.)

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

A princess, like most fancy shapes, was traditionally not cut for light performance, but only for weight retention. And fancy cuts have never been the topic of any cut-study by gemmologists.

AGS is the only lab that introduced a cut-grade for some fancy shapes recently, starting with the princess-cut in 2004. When they checked the available stones on the market, they found that over 50% of princess-cuts would get a grade of AGS-5 or lower.

Most cutters however do not like to use AGS for various reasons. And since some of AGS-findings in introducing the princess cut-grade were in contradiction to long held industry beliefs, most cutters simply continued to cut as usual (mainly for weight).

Live long,

 

[sofin]

Thanks for the info Paul! So, a cut grade of AGS-0 is the best cut, correct?