Cut...what gives?

[Here we go]

Okay heres the deal. I''m a first time diamond buyer trying to sort out how to evaluate an excellent cut on a diamond. Prior to a couple weeks ago, I had rarely paid attention to diamonds at all. However, now that a diamond purchase is on the horizon I decided I needed to educate myself a bit and do my due diligence to get the most beautiful stone for my girlfriend.

I''m looking at buying a round, excellent cut, diamond around 1karat. I have a good understanding of where I want to be on color, karat, clarity as well as price....my only problem is cut...it''s so confusing.

From my research, I determined that not all diamonds that are graded excellent (ideal) cut from GIA or ASG respectively are actually an excellent (ideal) cut. I have also realized that the criteria for grading cut have been evolving dramatically over the years. My question is if I have a diamond that is graded excellent (ideal) from GIA or AGS, and it received a score of 2 or below on the HCA calculator and looks good under an ideal scope how much more information should I obtain in reason, to make sure that I am truly getting an excellent cut stone? Do I really need to get a sarin report to verify the angels the cert? Do I really need to do all those others tests like the brilliance scope, diam calc...ect.

I truly want the best cut stone that I can afford, but I feel that I''ve been doing so much research online without actually seeing the diamonds in person that I might be going overboard on trying to select a beautiful stone. In my mind, I feel that by doing all of this research and getting a stone that meets the above criteria that the stone should look great in person. But at what point does all of this research become academic and the diamond would still look good to me in person? For instance, if the diamond specs looks good on the HCA (under 2) and the ideal scope is good but the diamond’s specs are different between the sarin report and the GIA cert due to the GIA rounding, will it really make a dramatic difference on how the diamond looks in person to me. Please help.

 

[boston_jeff]

Date: 5/8/2007 3:26:57 PM
Author:Here we go

From my research, I determined that not all diamonds that are graded excellent (ideal) cut from GIA or ASG respectively are actually an excellent (ideal) cut. I have also realized that the criteria for grading cut have been evolving dramatically over the years. My question is if I have a diamond that is graded excellent (ideal) from GIA or AGS, and it received a score of 2 or below on the HCA calculator and looks good under an ideal scope how much more information should I obtain in reason, to make sure that I am truly getting an excellent cut stone? Do I really need to get a sarin report to verify the angels the cert? Do I really need to do all those others tests like the brilliance scope, diam calc...ect.

I truly want the best cut stone that I can afford, but I feel that I''ve been doing so much research online without actually seeing the diamonds in person that I might be going overboard on trying to select a beautiful stone. In my mind, I feel that by doing all of this research and getting a stone that meets the above criteria that the stone should look great in person. But at what point does all of this research become academic and the diamond would still look good to me in person? For instance, if the diamond specs looks good on the HCA (under 2) and the ideal scope is good but the diamond’s specs are different between the sarin report and the GIA cert due to the GIA rounding, will it really make a dramatic difference on how the diamond looks in person to me. Please help.

I really think you are on the right track. I am no expert, but personally, if I were in the market for a round, I would be satisfied with a beautiful IS and no red-flags on the HCA. Even better would be AGS000. Oh, and a trusted vendor with a great reputation like WhiteFlash and GOG. If you have those things, I would not worry about other tools unless you are interested.

 

[belle]

welcome hwg!

Date: 5/8/2007 3:26:57 PM
Author:Here we go

Okay heres the deal. I''m a first time diamond buyer trying to sort out how to evaluate an excellent cut on a diamond. Prior to a couple weeks ago, I had rarely paid attention to diamonds at all. However, now that a diamond purchase is on the horizon I decided I needed to educate myself a bit and do my due diligence to get the most beautiful stone for my girlfriend.

you''ve come to the right place to learn!

Date: 5/8/2007 3:26:57 PM
Author:Here we go

I''m looking at buying a round, excellent cut, diamond around 1karat. I have a good understanding of where I want to be on color, karat, clarity as well as price....my only problem is cut...it''s so confusing.

are you still at the same place on color and clarity that you were before you found ps?

for a lot of us, myself included, things changed after we learned more about what truly makes a diamond beautiful.
you don''t have to pay for what you can''t see

Date: 5/8/2007 3:26:57 PM
Author:Here we go

From my research, I determined that not all diamonds that are graded excellent (ideal) cut from GIA or ASG respectively are actually an excellent (ideal) cut. I have also realized that the criteria for grading cut have been evolving dramatically over the years. My question is if I have a diamond that is graded excellent (ideal) from GIA or AGS, and it received a score of 2 or below on the HCA calculator and looks good under an ideal scope how much more information should I obtain in reason, to make sure that I am truly getting an excellent cut stone? Do I really need to get a sarin report to verify the angels the cert? Do I really need to do all those others tests like the brilliance scope, diam calc...ect.

ags and gia are two of the most respected and widely used labs. they are very different in their cut grading, so it can get confusing sometimes but don''t let that stop you. it''s really not as bad as it seems.
really, an idealscope image or aset image can tell you more about the cut quality than any piece of paper or other tool can because you are actually viewing the diamond itself. the lab reports with the angles can verify what you are seeing in the idealscope image and the sarin report can verify that the lab report is in the right range on the angles but it is definitely NOT necessary. brilliancescope is just a sales tool and not needed. diamcalc is a computer simulation and cannot really give an accurate picture of the diamond from the information entered. for the gadget heads, more may seem like better but really, all you need is an idealscope image and an up to date lab report. you can get plenty of information from those two things.
of course, using the hca to narrow things down is useful too.

Date: 5/8/2007 3:26:57 PM
Author:Here we go

I truly want the best cut stone that I can afford, but I feel that I''ve been doing so much research online without actually seeing the diamonds in person that I might be going overboard on trying to select a beautiful stone. In my mind, I feel that by doing all of this research and getting a stone that meets the above criteria that the stone should look great in person. But at what point does all of this research become academic and the diamond would still look good to me in person? For instance, if the diamond specs looks good on the HCA (under 2) and the ideal scope is good but the diamond’s specs are different between the sarin report and the GIA cert due to the GIA rounding, will it really make a dramatic difference on how the diamond looks in person to me. Please help.

http://www.pricescope.com/sift.aspx use that link to the ''cut quality search''
and no, you don''t need to go overboard. this doesn''t have to be hard! under 2.0 and a great idealscope image is all you need.


best of luck!

 

[kcoursolle]

To me, if you've already found a diamond that looks beautiful in the images, has an awesome ideal scope image, has good numbers on the HCA, and when you get it you love the look of it...that's good enough for me! It will be a stone that outshines almost all of the stones you will see in your everyday life.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

As Boston Jeff said above, it''ll make your life a lot easier if you''re shopping at Good Old Gold or WhiteFlash because most of what they carry are true ideal cut and you have the idealscope images to look at. That''s what I ended up doing personally for a ring stone and earrings.