Clefts in Hearts of Super Ideal H&A Rounds

[Lenapie]

I've been looking through many super ideal hearts & arrows and have been reading about the tight parameters they have to satisfy in order to be classified as a Hearts & Arrows cut. I have a question regarding clefts in the hearts. Given that as long as they don't exceed 8% of the length of the heart (or no more than 2 exceeds 8%, read this in PS articles), do they impact light performance or look any different in person from other super ideals that don't have clefts in their hearts? If there are 2 super ideals both equal in all aspects, except that one has clefts in the hearts and the other doesn't, which would be the "better" option (if there's one)?

Thanks in advance for indulging my curiosity!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

A superideal cut should not have clefts in the hearts, but an ideal cut might. I think some ideal cuts are preferable to others, so I would have to see the report with all the numbers and a face-up photo of the stone to really give an opinion.

 

[gr8leo87]

That's right about no more than 2 hearts should have cleft exceeding a certain percentage to qualify for H&A. I don't think cleft would have effect on light performance. It merely means one of the LGF facet is slightly longer. This shouldn't have effect on light performance.

 

[gr8leo87]

There are many stones that show perfect hearts but rubbish light performance - but those will not qualify for arrows and hence not H&A. Nice black arrows is a partial sign of Superior light performance. It means light is obstructed where it should be and reflect where it should.

 

[Lenapie]

Thanks for all the replies! I ask because I've been looking at a few of the PS Vendor's super-ideals and noticed that some have VERY SMALL clefts in the hearts. They're vendors with super strict cut parameters for their signature lines, so I do not question their stones performances at all. I just wonder if there's a visible difference in person between one that has absolutely no clefts versus one that has very small ones.

Thanks again!!

 

[gr8leo87]

Re: Clefts in Hearts of Super Ideal H&A Rounds

Thanks for all the replies! I ask because I've been looking at a few of the PS Vendor's super-ideals and noticed that some have VERY SMALL clefts in the hearts. They're vendors with super strict cut parameters for their signature lines, so I do not question their stones performances at all. I just wonder if there's a visible difference in person between one that has absolutely no clefts versus one that has very small ones.

Thanks again!!

Two super ideal hearts and arrows diamonds can perform differently - but both will be beautiful.

However cleft in hearts (or in only few of them to be considered hearts and arrows) will not affect performance.

Let's put it this way - 1 carat stone - 6.45mm - One heart - let's say 2.5mm - cleft - 0.25mm

Don't worry it's not doing anything to the performance.

 

[Lenapie]

Thanks for all the replies! I ask because I've been looking at a few of the PS Vendor's super-ideals and noticed that some have VERY SMALL clefts in the hearts. They're vendors with super strict cut parameters for their signature lines, so I do not question their stones performances at all. I just wonder if there's a visible difference in person between one that has absolutely no clefts versus one that has very small ones.

Thanks again!!

Two super ideal hearts and arrows diamonds can perform differently - but both will be beautiful.

However cleft in hearts (or in only few of them to be considered hearts and arrows) will not affect performance.

Let's put it this way - 1 carat stone - 6.45mm - One heart - let's say 2.5mm - cleft - 0.25mm

Don't worry it's not doing anything to the performance.

Awesome! Thanks for the clarification, gr8leo87!

 

[pfunk]

That's right about no more than 2 hearts should have cleft exceeding a certain percentage to qualify for H&A. I don't think cleft would have effect on light performance. It merely means one of the LGF facet is slightly longer. This shouldn't have effect on light performance.

This... simply means the LGF is longer. Someone who prefers longer LGF's might prefer a diamond that doesn't qualify as "hearts and arrows" because it will result in clefts in the hearts and a larger gap between the heart and the v below it. It can still be cut to the same precision with the same optical symmetry, but you would see uniform clefts and uniform spacing between the hearts and the v's.

A "hearts and arrows" diamond is cut with a high degree of precision and symmetry to specific proportions that allow the h&a pattern to be created. Another diamond could be cut with the same degree of precision and symmetry, but if it is cut to different proportions it won't display the perfect "h&a" pattern.