AGS Ideal Question

[mdmc]

If a RB is graded AGS Ideal do you still use the HCA?

 

[LaraOnline]

You can still run the measurements through the hca measurement / grading system, if that's what you mean...

 

[mdmc]

I think what I meant to say is do you need to?

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

I do anyway, for fun and piece of mind. I like knowing everything there is to know about a diamond before I purchase.

 

[rgladiator]

As a newbie myself I had the same question. I got a little obsessed with the HCA tool. What I've learned from entering dozens of specs and from other posts I've read here that HCA should be used as a rejection tool, not a selection tool. HCA uses different criteria to determine "best" and this criteria tends to favor GIA measurements. Diamonds have so many different angles and facets that it's impossible for a tool like HCA to accurately reflect a diamond's brilliance (don't mind the pun). So an AGS ideal that scores below 2 is a top candidate but there have been examples posted here where a diamond scores above a 2 but looks just as good or better than one in the sweet spot. This is how I explain it to myself using a healthy snack:

If HCA likes apples more than bananas:
3 apples = 1 on HCA
1 banana and 2 apples = 2 on HCA
2 bananas and 1 apple = 3 on HCA
2 apples and 1 bag of potato chips = 4 on HCA

The first three are healthy snacks and none should be rejected even though HCA says stick with 2 or below. However, the 4th snack should be rejected because it doesn't match up to a healthy snack.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

No, you absolutely do not considering that AGS grades light performance. We use it to identify the better stones within the much broader GIA Excellent category.