EightStar information - Does anyone have Analytical or Real-life ''Data''

[wanderlost]

Howdy.

I''m having difficulty in my diamond search (being too picky probably)... and wanted to know if anyone knew of BrillianceScope, ISee or Sarin data that has come from analyzing a EightStar diamond.

Their website presentation and basic principals are impressive, however, I''ve been spoiled on the wealth of infomation that GOG supplies and the other analysis tools that are out there. In order to compare apples to apples.... I was hoping someone could chime in with pictures, etc..... even just of home ''side-by-side'' comparisons...

Thanks very much for your help (in advance).

 

[quaeritur]

I'm in the "too picky club" too, welcome!!!

I can't give you anything concrete, I'm afraid, but I have seen what an EightStar does to an ISee2 machine, and it made an impression. The particular EightStar in this particular machine took a hit on symmetry (top scores on the other two though) for a total score of 9.4. HOWEVER, my completely un-scientific and un-expert opinion is that the machine is calibrated to a different type of symmetry than this 8* stone. It's hard to explain if you haven't seen an ISee2 display in action, but the image oscillates, so one moment one set of arrows, facets, whatever is dark and the next it's light. It goes back and forth. In the nicely cut stones we all love, it's kind of like a pinwheel, I guess, with alternating dark/light. Well, the 8* also oscillated, but the pattern was wider. Actually, I found it somewhat hypnotic. I think that the wider swaths get misinterpreted as lack of symmetry by the machine, because when I stood there looking at it (and not wanting to like the rock with the big premium), it was precisely the symmetry that jumped out at me.

EDIT: the top H&As look like a dartboard pattern in the ISee2.

 

[Superidealist]

All of this is second hand, so take it for what it is worth, but BrillianceScope results tend to be good but not stellar. The "color light" scale is generally pegged but the "white light" and "scintillation" scales often fall below the "Very High" region. I've heard that EightStars tend to score well on the Isee-2, but I've also heard of less high scoring EightStars on this device as well. Personally, though, I don't place much faith in any device that trys to measure something as subjective as beauty.

I've seen and compared EightStars with other branded and unbranded hearts and arrows diamonds but, again, it all comes down to personal preference. Look and decide for yourself.

 

[DiamondExpert]

Superidealist is correct - you shouldn't try to 2nd guess these machines at their upper levels of measurement - you gotta see how the stone appeals to your eye.

I feel that people are screwing themselves with all the machinations over the detailed differences in the readings from all these machines...chill out and have a close and comparative look.

In fact, one could argue - don't look at ANY of the data (not even the cert) and compare a bunch of stones side by side under many different light conditions for their beauty - I know, I know - it's not easy to do - but it's probably the optimal way.

Who knows, maybe you don't like the look of, or don't need to see an ideal cut stone to be blown out of the H2O - there are many other sub-ideals which are beautiful stones!

Brought to you by the Devil's Advocate

and associates

 

[quaeritur]

Well, many of us don't have the luxury of being able to compare well-cut to regular-cut stones in person. I'd like nothing more, believe me! Longomont, CO just ain't the well-cut diamond capital of the world, dontcha know. All I can go on are the data provided for each stone, and hope it looks as nice as it's supposed to.

 

[noobie]

How about a vacation trip to Boise Idaho?

 

[wanderlost]

I'm just south of you in Denver & having fits in being told "that's not really what you want" by a local B&M (unfortunately, they're the only vendor that sells my setting... which I'm leaning toward just buying elsewhere)....

I'm not trying to utilize the various analyses to gauge 'beauty,' rather, to get an idea of the light return and scintillation, etc. for stones that otherwise I'd have no idea until I saw them in person.

 

[Superidealist]

The problem with that is that the quantites that these machines are designed to measure aren't really well enough defined at the moment to allow measurement. That they are measuring something and calling it x does not mean that they are measuring x. Proceed with caution.

 

[quaeritur]

Well hello, fellow Coloradan! Doesn't it suck to be in the diamond desert?! Best thing I've found around here (in Boulder) is a B&M that carries HoF (nice enough, but didn't knock my socks off). However, one of the sales reps is a GIA certified gemologist, who loves when I come in to talk diamonds... he always has some new rock to show me -the latest winner (NOT) was a flat as a pancake 1.64 ct M stone... looked like a 20 degree crown angle and a 90% table on that thing! We had a good laugh about it (it was a consignment piece). But I digress...

I tend to agree w/Superidealist, the machines only go so far. I think they do what the HCA does in terms of weeding out the awful performers. I also got very hung up on the readings, until I went to GOG and discovered for myself that I could see NO difference between high and very high readings, or a 9.2 and a 9.8. I still have to remind myself of that though. And I think there's some psychological desire to have the triple VH+ and 9.8, just for perfection's sake. Just remember, the B'scope results can vary for the same stone. I get more out of the pictures than the slider scale reading -I feel at least it's a snapshot of the stone's performance. Try not to take any of these things too seriously... I know, easier said than done!