Can HCA help make the right decision?

[newcomer]

Hello,
I am in a dilemma here and would appreciate any help to make the right decision.

The two sets of earrings I am looking at are -
PAIR 1 - 2 AGS-cert Triple Ideal 0, H&A
PAIR 2 - 1 AGS-cert Triple Ideal0, and 1 GIA - EX, EX, (ideal cut)

BUT, the HCA for PAIR 1 gives me 0.5 and 1.8.
For PAIR 2, HCA gives me 2.0 and 2.2 - with no excellent ratings but only "Very Good".

Is this a good enough reason to go for PAIR 1 ??
The stones are 80 pointers, F, VS1

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[hoorray]

They are probably all nice stones, but the hca score is not as good on the second pair due to some reason. It could be the combo of crown and pavilion angles or depth etc. Post the specs of the stones if you want more feedback.


btw...IMO VS1 is overkill for earrings. If you want to, you can probably drop the price somewhat if you bump it down to VS2 - SI2 and never know the difference. Clarity is expensive, and you will never see it in earrings.

 

[valeria101]

With all things equal, I would say so.

The range of HCA scores is tight enough, but from 0.5 to 2 there should be some effective difference between those stones.

Also, you might want to take into account that the HCA results are only as good as the numbers plugged into the model, which are averages. These stones would have very tight cuts (AGS0, GIA's Ex-s indicate this) so the averges have not been taken between very different extremes. However, you may wander what happens with the HCA score if the given numbers vary a little ; from 2.2 the next step half a percent of table away might be 3, and from the 0.5 you would get to 1.5-2 which still does not rise ???.

Of course, this is said taking into account what HCA can and cannot do... And it definitely is not a hair-splitting instrument, for what I know.

 

[pricescope]

you should also consider other factors including price. Can you post all the data including color, clarity, carat, price, measurements, etc.?

 

[newcomer]

Please find the specs below. I don't see an option to upload an excel table.

PAIR 1 will cost(including mounting, appraisal) an additional $240 relative to PAIR 2.

Thanks.
****************
PAIR 1
Cts 0.795 0.787
Lab AGS AGS
Shp RD RD
Clr E F
Clar VS2 VS1
Dep 60.3 60.7
Tbl 57 56
Dim 6.03x6.05x3.64 6.00x6.02x3.65
Fluor None None
Pol ideal ideal
Sym ideal ideal
Proportions ideal ideal
Crown 34.9 35
pav % 42.7 43.1
pav deg 40.6 40.9
culet pointed pointed
HCA # 0.8 1.8
Remarks AGS Ideal 0 AGS Ideal 0

******************
PAIR 2
Cts 0.816 0.8
Lab AGS GIA
Shp RD RD
Clr F F
Clar VS1 VS1
Dep 61.7 61
Tbl 56 56
Dim 5.98x6.02x3.70 6.01x6.03x3.67
Fluor None None
Pol Ideal X
Sym Ideal X
Proportions Ideal
Crown 34.9
pav % 43.2
pav deg 41
culet pointed
HCA # 2.2 N/A
Remarks   No Sarin

 

[pricescope]

As you can see, stone #1 in Pair2 is a bit deep and have smaller diameter despite heavier weight.

Otherwise, you probably won't see much difference between them.

 

[Mara]

interestingly enough, pair 2 most likely looks the same to your eye as pair 1 even though they are slightly bigger..the depth is making that happen. also the hca does not love 41 pav angle, it prefers under 41...hence why the 40.6 and 40.9 are better scores in relation to their other numbers.




bottom line will you see a difference? I think you will see more difference between stone #1 in pair 1 and stone #2 in pair 1 than you will in the pair 2 stones. Diff between 1.8 and 2 / 2.2 will be almost nil to naked eye. But .5 and 1.8 you may think the stones look slightly different. Not sure how important that is to you. They are earrings...but obviously you are doing this work so you must have some nicely cut goal in mind.

 

[valeria101]

The two in pair #1 seem to have incredibly tight numbers (barely there diameter variation, and I bet the rest is just as nice). It would be my choice anyway, for what that matters.

How did you get the 2 HCS score on the GIA stone

 

[hoorray]

Hi newcomer,

Pair # 1 looks very nice. It's hard to tell about pair #2. The first stone in pair 2 the pavilion angle is slightly deep -- that's why the HCA gives it a 2.2. It doesn't like pavilion angles of 41 or greater without a compensation in the crown angle. It runs the rish of having a "dark center" due to light leakage, but it's not so deep that I think that would be a problem. More likely, it's just what the others above have said that even tho it is a higher CTW, it's dimensions are slightly smaller. (All of this is in the hair splitting catagory, of course, but then, that's what we do here

.) Who knows about stone #2 without the angles. Can you not get a sarin report from the vendor?

Given these 2 pairs, #1 is "safer" sight unseen. Doesn't mean pair #2 isn't going to look great, but you, or a pair of surrogate eyes, would have to see it to know. You just don't have all the info. I compromised some on my earring stones compared to what I would accept for a ring, and they look great, but I comprimised mostly on clarity, not cut.

If you want to consider alternatives, stone 1 and stone 2 might be an alternative. You'd need to find out if they are eye-clean, but I assume they would be a good value and look like really nice stones if they are.

edited to add some more rambling.....

 

[newcomer]

Thank you all for your responses. Here is an update -




1) I do not have a Sarin report for the GIA stone and hence I misspoke when I said HCA was 2.2.


2) I looked at the PAIR 2 today and I am not completely "happy" (meaning, I have the thought that PAIR-1 maybe "even better"). Not sure if this because I've spent sooo much time doing this research and just tired or my eyes and judgement are telling the truth. The reasons are simple - For "some" reason, one stone shined better than the other. Even though very very subtle, I was able to pick this up bcos when I requested it to be weighed, it was the AGS stone that was "better" than the other. Now, the GIA is an EX-EX but I do not have the sarin report to run it thru the HCA.


3) Now, I am contemplating if I shld request the PAIR-1 (this is thru an etailer) and see the stones personally. Especially, after the positive bias from the many responses toward PAIR-1 (tightness, AGS-0, etc..), should I spend the extra few $$ to take a peek at them?


4) I could judge better when I viewed the stones below the table rather than directly below the bright lamps in the store (every stone shows the "glitter" in this environment and hard to gage the difference).




Anyways, thank you all and I'd be interested to see any expert opinions based on my comments.


Thanks.

 

[Mara]

The pair 1 stones should be very lovely in person with those numbers. If the pair 2's did not move you, the pair 1's definitely have better numbers. Can you get images of pair 1 stones?




That said, have you tried any SI stones to broaden your options? SI is excellent for earrings, esp since alot of the reputable online vendors have extremely clean SI stones (I have one of them!) where you can't see a darn thing! I would personally not pay the VS for earrings, color is one thing but clarity on the ears is wasted IMO.




So just another option in case you want more choices...you may be able to find an excellently matched pair that makes you happy as well, for less!

 

[valeria101]

Most likely all you don't need here is more choice - however why not? Would two stones with pictures on top of Sarin data make the choice more straightforward ?