HCA help please - is this diamond a dud?

[Belle Brilliant]

Please can someone give me their view on this diamond. I posted on an earlier thread asking for opinions, but having looked at what people say at HCA, it seems that this stone hasn''t scored very highly. It gets a 3.6 which I gather is not very good? Maybe that''s why no one wants to give me the bad news...

I don''t know what to do, because I loved it in person but don''t want to buy a dud stone when my money could be put towards something better.

I should add that I''m based in London and sellers tend to be a lot less competitive with their pricing that their American counterparts. I was happy with the deal I was offered (and haven''t been able to get any other sellers to be reasonable with their pricing) , but now I''m starting to think it''s not such a bargain after all.

Please can someone give me their view?

Would it be worth asking to send it to an appraiser first? (This is not the norm in England, unlike in America).

Please please someone give me their opinion, even if it''s bad. I haven''t paid for it yet and so can try and find another stone if this one isn''t worth having.

Thanks in advance

B xx

Details are below

GIA 2.02 E SI1 (although the seller considers it to be closer to VS2 as it only has one tiny cloud).
Round Brilliant
Measurements: 8.21 -8.28 x 4.98
Cut: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Depth 60.4%
Table 58%
Crown Angle 32%
Pavilion Angle 41.6%
Girdle Thin to Medium Faceted
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None

 

[Regular Guy]

Belle,

If you''ve only a bird in the hand, and are not comparing it to possible birds in the bush...it is easy to look lovely.

Can you give your jeweler the link for Pricescope, tell him to put a diamond he might show you into the HCA, and get one that scores under 2 for you to look at?

Ideally he can even do it while the original one is still in place, and you can compare these.

Most diamonds are lovely. The idea is just that some are lovelier. Are you constrained otherwise?

An appraiser...I cannot think...will help you. What will they say? That''s not an under 2 HCA option?

You can virtually always optimize. But, you want to come as close to your chosen target at the outset as you can.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 10/11/2007 4:43:27 PM
Author:Belle Brilliant


Please can someone give me their view on this diamond. I posted on an earlier thread asking for opinions, but having looked at what people say at HCA, it seems that this stone hasn't scored very highly. It gets a 3.6 which I gather is not very good? Maybe that's why no one wants to give me the bad news...

I don't know what to do, because I loved it in person but don't want to buy a dud stone when my money could be put towards something better.

I should add that I'm based in London and sellers tend to be a lot less competitive with their pricing that their American counterparts. I was happy with the deal I was offered (and haven't been able to get any other sellers to be reasonable with their pricing) , but now I'm starting to think it's not such a bargain after all.

Please can someone give me their view?

Would it be worth asking to send it to an appraiser first? (This is not the norm in England, unlike in America).

Please please someone give me their opinion, even if it's bad. I haven't paid for it yet and so can try and find another stone if this one isn't worth having.

Thanks in advance

B xx

Details are below

GIA 2.02 E SI1 (although the seller considers it to be closer to VS2 as it only has one tiny cloud).
Round Brilliant
Measurements: 8.21 -8.28 x 4.98
Cut: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Depth 60.4%
Table 58%
Crown Angle 32%
Pavilion Angle 41.6%
Girdle Thin to Medium Faceted
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None

Hi BB,

The 41.6 pavilion is why the HCA penalizes it.That's steeper than the commonly agreed-upon “sweet” range because - in general terms - pavilions this steep can result in light leakage and large table reflection.

Specific to this stone, the 32 degree crown angle (shallowish) offsets the steepish 41.6 pavilion angle, which is why it looks nice.It has a lower crown than conventional “near-Tolkowsky” makes of the kind preferred around here: In practical terms this means that if you compare it to diamonds with similar-smaller tables and crown angles between 34-35 you’ll see less colored sparkle and more white/brightness in this one (41.6 PA is too steep for 34-35 CA).

There are several popular assessment systems here (GIA, AGSL, HCA and AGA) and we can use pavilion angle to identify where the ‘center’ of the different metrics lies:For 53-58% tables, pavilion angles 40.6-41.0 have the greatest approval cross-system. The AGS cut guidelines suggest most 0 candidates right in that range. The HCA and AGA prefer the shallow side - and a bit lower. The GIA system prefers the steep side - and higher.

Ultimately it is a matter of taste.There is nothing “wrong” with this diamond, but you may want to compare it to specimens that fall in the conventional “ideal” range, side by side and through several lighting environments not limited to jewelry store spotlights.

 

[Belle Brilliant]

John,

Thank you so much for your extremely informative and helpful post (I also feel reassured re the corresponding crown angle). I think you are right, I need to compare it with some ''ideal'' range stones before I can make an informed decision.

I''ll put the brakes on my jeweller and ask him to hold off until I have some comparisons.

This website is such an invaluable resource. Thank you to everyone who has advised me. I''ll try and get some other stones to look at and would be really grateful for all your thoughts on those too.

Best wishes to all,

B x