HCA Advisor vs. Ideal-Scope

[Khalsa007]

I had a question on the two:

I just looked at the Ideal-Scope website, the HCA advisor kind of helps with this correct? If you found a diamond that was Excellent in all four categories would you be safe to assume that the proportions are good?

I saw a few diamonds on Blue Nile and they said they didn''t have an Ideal-Scope but how would you know if the proporations are good on a diamond to be able to get the excellent look?

Ideal-Scope

Thanks!
Khalsa

 

[ChunkyCushionLover]

11%; HEIGHT: 370px" class="ibbquote">Date: 1/18/2010 2:03:51 PM
Author:Khalsa007
I had a question on the two:

I just looked at the Ideal-Scope website, the HCA advisor kind of helps with this correct? If you found a diamond that was Excellent in all four categories would you be safe to assume that the proportions are good?

If you want the top cut in round and an ideal hearts and arrows to be sure you would need images from a hearts and arrows viewer to prove it. There are many angles and lengths not available on a certificate which determine optics.

HCA is a guide all diamonds need to be checked for lack of leakage with idealscope and for hearts and arrows with HA viewer if you want that level of perfection.

I saw a few diamonds on Blue Nile and they said they didn't have an Ideal-Scope but how would you know if the proporations are good on a diamond to be able to get the excellent look?

You wouldn't. There are safe ranges but even stones scoring HCA


Ideal-Scope

Thanks!
Khalsa

 

[Todd Gray]

Hi Khalsa,

I believe that a little clarification on the concepts at hand will provide some clarity with regards to the use of the HCA and the Ideal Scope.

The HCA is a tool designed to help eliminate diamonds which are more likely to exhibit better visual performance from options which are likely not to - the tool is based on the measurements for the individual sections of the diamonds and basically deal with the proportions of the diamond. With this clarification in mind, the HCA focuses on Cut Performance.

The term Cut Performance refers to the Cut Quality of the diamond in terms of the overall combination of proportions, meaning the measurements of the primary sections of the diamond and the consistency of facet shape, size and alignment within each section.

The premise behind devices like the Ideal Scope, the ASET scope and the Gems Fantasy Scope (H&A) is that they help provide insight into the Optical Symmetry of the diamond which is a matter of Cut Precision.

The term Cut Precision is used to indicate the degree of Optical Symmetry to which the diamond was crafted. Quite simply, it is how precisely the diamond cutter aligned the facets of the diamond opposite of each other.

In reality, you will use the HCA as a tool to determine which diamonds in the list of options you might be considering are more likely to exhibit better light return than others based on their proportions... Then you would look at the images provided by the vendor for the diamond as seen through an Ideal, ASET and H&A scope for additional insight regarding the cut quality. Many PS vendors make such information available on their diamond details pages which accompany each listing in their inventory - other vendors usually make the information available upon request.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/18/2010 2:03:51 PM
Author:Khalsa007
I had a question on the two:

I just looked at the Ideal-Scope website, the HCA advisor kind of helps with this correct? If you found a diamond that was Excellent in all four categories would you be safe to assume that the proportions are good?

I saw a few diamonds on Blue Nile and they said they didn't have an Ideal-Scope but how would you know if the proporations are good on a diamond to be able to get the excellent look?

Ideal-Scope

Thanks!
Khalsa

Hi Khalsa,

The Holloway Cut Advisor is used for rejection, not selection. Basically the aim is to see which diamonds score below 2, what this tells you is that these stones are worthy of further consideration. It is not safe to assume that diamonds scoring below 2 will necessarily be great performers as there are various factors that the HCA cannot account for that could negatively affect the beauty and optics of the diamond such as overall cut precision, cutters tricks, proportion rounding and so on. Furthermore in some cases, diamonds which score between 2 and 3 can also be worthy of consideration if the overall cutting precision is good, the diamond has top symmetry and you have images such as Idealscope.

Also it is important to note how a lower HCA score is not better than a higher one, this seems to be a misconception that crops up from time to time. Stones which score below 1 often have shallower proportions and need checking for obstruction, this is where a diamond visibly darkens at close scrutiny due to the observer's head/ body blocking the light to the diamond.

Unfortunately BN do not supply images such as Idealscope at this time.

 

[Khalsa007]

Thank you both for the great answers. That definitely answers my question. In order to inspect/reject diamonds I used the HCA and AGA Grader Tool to weed out "bad" diamonds but also thought that it would give an idea of how well the diamond would fair in reality...I''ll make sure to just use it to get an idea about diamonds and not the end all, be all of how nice they will be! Thanks!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/18/2010 3:03:42 PM
Author: Khalsa007
Thank you both for the great answers. That definitely answers my question. In order to inspect/reject diamonds I used the HCA and AGA Grader Tool to weed out ''bad'' diamonds but also thought that it would give an idea of how well the diamond would fair in reality...I''ll make sure to just use it to get an idea about diamonds and not the end all, be all of how nice they will be! Thanks!

Thats exactly what the HCA is intended for. And you are most welcome, just ask if you need any more help.