FireScope, IdealScope, SymmatryScope, and other rants

[Coo-Coo]

Two common reasons I have read here and elsewhere justifying the price premium on 8* have been that 1. the process makes the stone look larger and 2. the stone appears a color grade higher than it really is. Does that mean the price premium is LESS than if one were to get a stone that''s either actually larger or of higher color grade? It seems to me those justifications only make sense if the extra price for an 8* is less, right? But I have also read elsewhere that the price premium for 8* is 40%. What gives?

So does this mean that if I''m buying a D anyway, the color issue is moot, or does it appear even more white?

Also, regarding the topic of this thread, the FireScope and its various analogs, why is it that I rarely see perfect 8*-like pictures from the other so-called superideals H&A''s? A common problem I''ve seen, even on supposedly very very high quality H&A''s, is brown section on the edge of the stone (which, incidently, 8* uses on their website to show as stones of poorer cut). Does 8* photoshop their pictures? Is it an angle thing? Or do their stones perform THAT much better under the FS?

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

The light source in the 8* scopes is a little less bright and more vertically directed than that used by most other scope variants.
There are other stones that have similar tweaked minor facets that do the 8* thingy, if that is what attracts you - have you seen 8* alongside other nicely made diamonds?

Many people who buy 8* do so because they like what the company stands for (the brand), just as some people think that it is better to buy a maybe not so well cut Tiffany diamond for a premium price. Its more about you than about the diamond

 

[wanderlost]

I'd say that most of the 'premium' on price that Eightstar carries is due in fact that they take 26-40 hours to cut their stones (avg is somewhere around 32 hours I believe)..., whereas normal diamonds (retail) can be churned out in an hour or two (MAX)... and normal H&As take ~ 4 - 8 hours to make....

When you take that into consideration, the markup kinda disappears. Yes, they appear whiter & larger.... and you could just get a whiter & larger stone that's not an Eightstar for the same price.... it just depends on what your priorities are. If you're looking for (arguably) the best possible result from the original rough (and a bit of an over-achiever at that!)... you want an Eightstar. If you're stuck on getting a 'bargain' that looks 'whiter & bigger' than it really is.... you still might want an Eightstar, but something else might fit your bill too.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

People do not buy brands because they have better products. They buy the brand that they identify with.
The fact that LV make a bag inefficiently in France, and sell it for 100 times the price of a bag that might be the same quality from Asia, or 8* have inefficient work practices, has little to do with why people feel fantastic with their LV or 8* product.
Is my Merc a better car than a Honda?
Probably not.
But I feel good about Merc. I identify with it.