Confused w/ Princess cuts!

[rmf1972]

I have a question regarding princesses:



I haven''t bought anything yet except an Idealscope, it should be in next week. If I see diamonds and the Idealscope looks good (showing minimal leakage) and the stone looks good in person, do the measurements/Sarin report really matter? I understand that for the stone to have minimal leakage and the stone to have fire and brilliance it will be well cut, but it seems like when I think I know what to look for based on advice on these posts, I go back to square one.

I''m at the point where I''m going to bring my GF with me, let her pick the stone she wants, and be done with it!

 

[moremoremore]

I think that if the stone looks really good with lots of dark red and black and it looks good to your eyes...I think that that would be enough to get a good stone

The other tests help to confirm...but I think you'll be ok!

 

[researcher]

Here's what I've learned--no one seems to agree on the best parameters for princess cuts. There are some basic guidelines by David Atlas which I'm sure you've seen and some helpful hints by the experts, but IMHO if you can find a stone that has little light leakage, lots of fire and great brilliance you're in good shape! I would however try to find stones that are in line with Dave's suggestions so you can be sure you're not just comparing bad stones to horrid stones. While I love my ideal scope, I must admit that it's hard for me to compare the light leakage of various stones when I'm in the stores (I'd feel really silly asking vendors to place a light with a piece of paper taped on it (for difused light) infront of a light colored wall....) so it's nice to have things like Sarin reports to back things up. Are they necessary? No. Are they useful? You bet!

Hang in there! Although princess cut stones require a lot of work to find an exceptional one it's truly worth it!

 

[rmf1972]

Thanks everyone for help with this post and others.

I think I've read everything I could regarding princesses, including David Atlas' articles. Being close to NYC I can at least go to the diamond district and look at multiple diamonds of different qualities side by side and make comparisons. I know that PS is a great place for information and price copmarisons, and I know that you get what you pay for, but unless my eyes have played tricks on me, some stones look better than others on paper but do not in person. Hopefully the Idealscope will help, thanks again, though.

 

[valeria101]

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On 8/27/2004 6:06:03 PM rmf1972 wrote:




If I see diamonds and the Idealscope looks good (showing minimal leakage) and the stone looks good in person, do the measurements/Sarin report really matter?


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I would think of two uses for proportions: to make sure the piece has no durability issues and that it is big enough for it's weight. It seems that the GIA report (meaning standard measurements: table, depth, surface, proportions and girdle) and the Iscope fill in all info. I would not know what to do with Sarin to predict brilliance for a princess so... why bother?


Just my 0.2, of course.


Does the Iscope come with a sample or refference chart for princess cuts these days?

 

[rmf1972]

Just got my beginner's ideal scope today, no chart for princess/fancies, but does have pics of RBC plus what shallow and deep diamonds show, what good symmetry looks like, what light leakage looks like. I've used it on two diamonds, both belonging to friends (they were mounted RBC, both looked good, no HCA), will be using it in the real world to look at princess cuts. I'm glad that I bought this, esp. since there is less info for princesses than rounds, would rather spend the 30 bucks on the idealscope and find a great diamond than get ripped off.