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First ASET Photos and I don't know what to think

phaskellhall

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Jun 11, 2019
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First time poster here but have been lurking for the last few months. Unlike some of the other diamond groups I've been learning from, PS has the reputation for being real detailed oriented on cut and maximizing brilliance which is prob what I'm most interested in to be honest.

Girlfriend wants at least a 1ct cushion cut diamond but I wound up finding a nice 4 pavilion 1.8 ct cushion cut diamond that sparked my own interest. My goal is to get a nice diamond that she will love that doesn't have to be the best diamond ever but I do want it to be a good deal. This particular diamond I price matched online and saved about $1,500 which makes me feel like a win already, and it does look really nice in person. But the ASET is making me wonder if this is a EX cut, Great cut, or just okay cut despite the GIA saying it's EX Polish and one seller having it a "100% cut" and the other saying "Very Good Cut".

I just got it today along with the ASET tool and had some fun in the studio trying to capture a good image of it. For some reason, my 4 images wind up falling into 2 different reflection patterns. One looks pretty white/blue in the middle while the other pattern looks pretty red/blue. Not sure if the diamond wasn't facing up perfectly but out of the 10 images I took, they all were a variation on these two patterns.

I've been trying to educate myself with ASET images but it's been pretty difficult without a bunch of diamonds and with a limited number of examples online of cushions. Any help reading this? Also, am I doing anything wrong in getting two different patterns or is that the nature of a diamond under the ASET viewer?

aset.jpg
 

Octo2005

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Congratulations on your upcoming engagement and welcome to PS!:wavey:

The stone is tilted in some of your images and it is hard to say with certainty because these ASETs where not professionally and it may be just an inaccurate ASET, but it looks like there is a ring of leakage under the table. I suspect that it is not an accurate ASET, because the rest of stone and some of the tilted photos look fantastic with nice crisp faceting in the areas that are tilted up.

You want to see lots of red and green with minimal white and also look for areas where the colors are not as vibrant. Play around with the ASET some more and make sure that you have the bottom of the scope lined up with the girdle and that the stone is not tilted. Also, play with the stone in different lighting conditions. Do you notice any areas that seem to not be "turning on" or that look dark compared to the rest of the stone. A cushion is never going to perform like a MRB, but a well cut cushion should be bright and sparkle through-out.
 

Venzen007

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It looks like the different patterns are consistent with their apparent relative angles to the Aset, so that's good!

My understanding, limited though it may be since I just got my handheld aset myself, is that, at first, anyway, you want to be looking straight down the barrel, so to speak, where the scope is parallel to the table/girdle and just close enough to the scope so that the diamond is crisply in view and not blurry.

I was playing with a 1.64 asscher today, and I felt like I could get lots of different colors depending on what lighting I was in and where the light was coming from, e.g. the bottom, ambient, etc.) That said, there was definitely a trend that kept coming back, and so I tried to position the stone such and in the right light so that I got the clearest version of that consistent pattern, where all of the colors (green, red, blue) showed clearly.

Now, I could be doing it wrong, too. =P Just to throw that out there. But, it's fun! I'm wishing I had a stack of diamonds and an aset right now!

As for what that diamond looks like to me, (caveat: I'm a total novice), I'd echo what Octo2005 mentioned, about the leakage. On your two face up views, the hazy white fog ringing the inside of the table seems like what I've read leakage looks like. The center also seems like a light sucker. I'd expect to see more red, too, for an excellent cut.
 
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phaskellhall

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Okay, I'm going to try to take some better photos tonight or tomorrow. These were taken with the diamond on a piece of acrylic placed on my iphone, screen set to full brightness and white, and then the ASET device placed directly on it. So the scope was flat but maybe the diamond wasn't perfectly flat.

Here are some macro videos I took of the ring to see how it sparkled under different lighting conditions. This thing is super white and looks awesome outside. Maybe this is good enough for me and I'm being too picky here but I figured this was the place to get advice on the super nitty gritty aspects of the cut.


Tomorrow I will see some other diamond options with a jeweler and this will be the "control" if you will. If something else looks better and is a similar price then I might return this but part of me thinks there is no way the local jeweler will be able to compete with this carat size at the price I got it. Hoping for the best tomorrow.
 

phaskellhall

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Jun 11, 2019
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Okay here are 2 more ASETs. The one on the left was shot with the tool resting on the lens of the camera with the white illumination several feet behind the diamond on plexi. The image on the right was taken with the plexi, diamond, and ASET tool resting directly on the illumination source and the camera placed on or near the lens. I rotated them both so the orientation is the same.

I think it is very clear now that there is a lot of light leak in the middle of the diamond. The question is how bad is this for a cushion and can I do better for the price point? Outside in natural light this thing looks great as you can see in the video above (great to my eyes at least). It's kind of frustrating trying to buy online if I'm going down this rabbit hole of finding a near perfect cushion. Truth is I know my gf would be more than happy with this but I'm wondering if I'm always going to think about the light leak now that I know about it.

aset 2.jpg
 
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kmoro

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Okay here are 2 more ASETs. The one on the left was shot with the tool resting on the lens of the camera with the white illumination several feet behind the diamond on plexi. The image on the right was taken with the plexi, diamond, and ASET tool resting directly on the illumination source and the camera placed on or near the lens. I rotated them both so the orientation is the same.

I think it is very clear now that there is a lot of light leak in the middle of the diamond. The question is how bad is this for a cushion and can I do better for the price point? Outside in natural light this thing looks great as you can see in the video above (great to my eyes at least). It's kind of frustrating trying to buy online if I'm going down this rabbit hole of finding a near perfect cushion. Truth is I know my gf would be more than happy with this but I'm wondering if I'm always going to think about the light leak now that I know about it.

aset 2.jpg

I’m not a cushion person, but I can tell you that I have seen much better ASET images, so it is possible to get a much better diamond. You’ll be able to see through the diamond where there is light leakage. You’re going to look at the diamond around the purchase time and then a bunch of occasional times while your fiancée is wearing it. Your g/f might not be the type to put her diamond under a microscope, but unlike your relatively short diamond examination time, she is going to stare at that diamond and stare and stare and stare ... for days and years and decades ... in good light and bad light ... in good moods and bad moods (haha sorry I had to throw that in). Don’t you want that diamond to be as beautiful as possible within your budget? Don’t you want its sparkle to bring a thrill to her heart? Or do you want to her to see the setting through the big dull circle in her “good deal” diamond?

I know you say you don’t need to get the best diamond, but you’re on PS, and the fact is that cut is biggest factor for diamond beauty. I would urge you not to skimp on cut. I expect that this is a purchase that means something to you and your g/f might want to keep that diamond her whole life. Maybe it’s worth going down the rabbit hole just a bit?

There are folks here that can help you find a beauty! You came to the right place. Now all you need is a bit more patience than you intended, and you and your g/f will end up with a diamond that isn’t just a diamond. I’m pretty sure you are going to be SO glad that you came on here before buying that diamond.

Calling for PS cushion “experts” to come to the rescue! Please help this OP.
 

Girl505

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Aug 23, 2018
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I wouldn’t call myself a cushion expert, but I did recently buy one and I have had a lot of success working with IDJ. I recommend calling them and seeing what they might be able to offer you in your budget. From the ASET reports I have seen I do think this could be better, but I am not an expert.
 

OoohShiny

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I'm not mad-keen on that ASET or the performance in the video - it seems a bit dark/lifeless under the table (in my non-expert opinion!).

If you like cushions, make sure to check out the August Vintage Inc. cushions from Rhino (a member on this forum), and also the cushions from Yoram at www.gemconcepts.net - both are top-notch in terms of light performance and character :)
 

phaskellhall

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Jun 11, 2019
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Okay today I went into a jewelry store to compare diamonds in person for the first time. Out of the 7 stones he received, only one of them was a 4 pavilion cut like I'm looking at (he's trying to get a Cushion Brilliant with 8 facets but those are hard to find).

Upon showing him my diamond above, he immediately kind of dismissed it and said it has a lot of leakage around the eye or center of the stone. He said this without using any tools and just made that assessment with the naked eye. Let me go ahead and say that I really like this jeweler but at that moment I thought he was dismissing it because I had brought it into his store. My diamond was clearly the 2nd best diamond out of the bunch since the others were modified cushion cuts that had a crushed ice look to them but his reaction seemed a bit more harsh than I was expecting.

Anyways, I was able to take an ASET of his 2.0ct stone and while I did like his stone the best out of all the stones he showed me, it was a J color and stood out among all the H stones he had and the H that I brought in (mine is the ASET in black below). With my limited experience looking at diamonds, I do feel like his J stone had a bit more fire and was maybe 5-10% better than mine but it's really hard to tell.

Anyways, here is the ASET from his stone (white background) with my stone next to it (black background). I made this quickly and wasn't able to illuminate it as brightly as the stone I photographed last night. Does this ASET look significantly better than mine or do they both exhibit a bit of light leakage in the middle? He kept mentioning that my stone has a lot of blackness on the corners which I can see in my ASET (big blue squares on the corners) but from what I've read, the Blue contrast isn't the worst of things but then again, his stone has red there instead so maybe that's more ideal?

aset mine vs jewelers.jpg

If his stone was an H or even maybe an I, I do think it would be up for consideration but until I see another stone that is as white as mine, I think the 1.8 is still a better option although the hunt will continue. Thoughts?
 
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OoohShiny

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Octo2005

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Haven't had the pleasure of working with Yoram, but he is highly respected here on the forum.

Brian Gavin also has a branded 8 main cushion that is AGS ideal, so it takes all of the guess work out as to whether or not the stone performs well. However, that does come at a premium. I just linked a random 2 carat stone so that you could check out the video and ASET since I didn't know what your parameters are, but they have several to chose from.


https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/....082-j-vs1-cushion-diamond-ags-c-104104601018

Also, since you are interested in 8 mains have you looked at AVC's? It's a modern cut antique style cushion that is cut to ideal AGS standards. They are a different flavor than the 4 mains that you have been looking at, but they are amazing. Antique faceting are my favorite type of cushions, those big pastel flashes get me every time. But again, they come at a premium since they are ideal cut. I believe that Jonathan will cut to order, but I may be wrong. It has been several years since I have explored that option.
https://www.augustvintageinc.com/co...vs2-august-vintage-cushion-brilliant-74427972
 

OoohShiny

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Brian Gavin also has a branded 8 main cushion that is AGS ideal, so it takes all of the guess work out as to whether or not the stone performs well. However, that does come at a premium. I just linked a random 2 carat stone so that you could check out the video and ASET since I didn't know what your parameters are, but they have several to chose from.

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/....082-j-vs1-cushion-diamond-ags-c-104104601018
I had forgotten about those - they are nice!!

All the performance of a well-cut MRB but in a cushion :))
 
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