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Can the naked eye REALLY tell?

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gman246

Rough_Rock
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Jun 10, 2003
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5
I''ve read the scoop on the ''ideal'' tables, crown angles, pavillion angles, depth, girdle, etc...

My question is (sorta subjective, I know)....

-Can the average person''s naked eye really pickup much of a difference between two ideal cuts that are maybe .5% or .2-3 degrees off in 1-2 categories? I''m not talking about .5% off in like 5 of the major categories, just 1-2... For example, holding all else equal, crown angles differ by .3 degrees and the table by .5%. Or pavillion depth is .5% deeper on one ideal than another, etc... Does it really sparkle all that much better or look all that different? Or are we talking minutia?

-Can a gemologist''s naked eye tell the difference?

I can understand how the machinery can pickup the light differences, what escapes, etc... but I''m not convinced the naked eye can...but I''m the ''average'' person listed above :)


Finally:
Do the answers to the above questions change when the two diamonds are placed into identical settings?

Thanks for the input!
 

pqcollectibles

Ideal_Rock
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Feb 22, 2003
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3,441
Hi GMan!
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I am just an average person. I compared 2 A Cut Above diamonds from White Flash. One was their Classic Cut and the other was their New Line Cut. I can tell you there was most definitely a difference in the performance of the 2 diamonds.

One is very much like the descriptions of 8*'s. Big, bold flashes of white light and color. The other is more subtle, with constant flashes of white light and sparkly colors. Two SUPER IDEAL diamonds with slight variations in cut. Huge difference in the performance of each diamond. And, both are magnificent.
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dimonbob

Brilliant_Rock
Trade
Joined
Dec 12, 2000
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670
No, the average person cannot tell the difference. And no, the average gemologist cannot tell the difference. When I was on the staff at GIA, a number of us would practice trying to see the difference and we could get it some of the time. Using a loupe, we could get it most of the time. But it takes practice and a lot of diamonds.
 

pqcollectibles

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 22, 2003
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3,441
Gee, Diamond Bob, I wish Leonid had an embarrassed icon. I'd sure post it now!
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niceice

Brilliant_Rock
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Jan 29, 2003
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1,792
There are definite differences between the brilliance, dispersion and scintillation levels displayed by those diamonds cut to a tighter range of proportions than those that are not... For instance, the super ideal cut range tends to produce diamonds with a little more brilliance and dispersion than ideal cut diamonds cut to the outer realm of the range... It can be extremely difficult to detect a difference between a diamond with a 34.3 degree crown angle and one with a 34.6 degree crown angle when the pavilion angle is between 40.6 - 40.9 degrees, but compare one cut within that range to one that has a 35.3 degree crown angle and a 41.3 degree pavilion angle and we're willing to be that the average person could see the difference if they let their eyes relax and they look for a difference in the amount of white sparkle and colored flashes being emitted by the stones... PCC, we wouldn't look to hard for that "embarrassed icon" we don't think it applies here...
 

pqcollectibles

Ideal_Rock
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Feb 22, 2003
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You folks at Nice Ice are soooooo generous!
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I humbly Thank You for your comments!
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I also appreciate the Trade information and expert comments you post regularly on the forum. You guys at Nice Ice are true assets to the diamond industry!
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niceice

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 29, 2003
Messages
1,792
Without a doubt, we SHOULD refrain from commenting on the sexing the chickens thing but we find ourselves looking at the icon selected by Furthermore and thinking of the sexing the chicken thing and that look just makes us chuckle... So in the name of sinking this thread, here's a little animal joke from Oregon
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Why do farmers screw sheep at the edge of a cliff?

Because they push back
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pqcollectibles

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 22, 2003
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Sexing chickens and sheep at the edge of a cliff????
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Laughing to tears!!!
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dimonbob

Brilliant_Rock
Trade
Joined
Dec 12, 2000
Messages
670
Maybe I am reading the original question wrong.

PQ - Yes, you can see a difference in performance but what I was thinking was can you see and put a number (percent) on the table & pavilion.

GIA used to, and may still, hand out with the diamond course a group of 15 diamond pictures. On the back of the picture is the table % and the pavilion %. The idea is to look at the picture and see if you can estimate the percent measurements of the diamonds table and pavilion. We would practice on real diamond that had known measurements. My focus gets a little narrow sometimes.
 
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