Hearts and Arrows

[Diabuyie]

Hi,

I have a hard time understand Hearts and Arrows diamonds. Is there any bases to this from looking at the diamond grading? How can we tell a H&A diamond from just looking at the certificate? I heard that Hearts and Arrows diamond originally came from the Budhism religion due to some believes...Is this true?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/10/2004 9:49:21 PM
Author:Diabuyie
Hi,

I have a hard time understand Hearts and Arrows diamonds. Is there any bases to this from looking at the diamond grading? How can we tell a H&A diamond from just looking at the certificate? I heard that Hearts and Arrows diamond originally came from the Budhism religion due to some believes...Is this true?

um, I seriously doubt that the buddist religion focuses on diamonds!

 

[Regular Guy]

Not sure if there is a relationship between heart & arrows and Buddhism...maybe someone knows, however....

although you say: "I seriously doubt that the buddhist religion focuses on diamonds...," the choice of focus can be most anything...sometimes a candle, usually the breath...it certainly could be diamonds.......................and further....

one of the most famous Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, hails from the Tibetan stream of Buddhism...and this approach is sometimes called: The Diamond Vehicle.

Coincidence....I think not!

 

[valeria101]

Well, it just so happens that nicely cut round brilliants form that pattern and "harts and arrows" sounds like you know, good ol'' Cupid & quivver. Good for e-rings!

Anyway, the pattern was not really intentionally built in. And US gem labs do not mention "Harts and Arrows" on their diamond grading reports. You will find words like "Ideal cut" or "Premium cut" used, but these related only loosely with the H&A quality of those diamonds.

There must have been a few hundred threads talking about H&A versus "Ideal" cut around here. Worth a search

That is rather labor-intensive... I know. You may want to take a look on Ideal-Scope.com and their refference chart for round diamonds. Aside other things, that one cut grading tool makes some difference between top brilliance (what the "ideal cut" aims for) and the H&A cut.

It does remain up to you to judge what these cut grades are good for, IMO

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/10/2004 10:53:44 PM
Author: Regular Guy

Not sure if there is a relationship between heart & arrows and Buddhism...maybe someone knows, however....

although you say: ''I seriously doubt that the buddhist religion focuses on diamonds...,'' the choice of focus can be most anything...sometimes a candle, usually the breath...it certainly could be diamonds.......................and further....

one of the most famous Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, hails from the Tibetan stream of Buddhism...and this approach is sometimes called: The Diamond Vehicle.

Coincidence....I think not!

Isn''t the point of Buddhism to be kind to others and selfless as well and not to focus on material weath and items relating to this greed? Obviously you know more than I do on the subject so can you explain how the approach, "the Diamond Vehicle" actually relates to diamonds in its teachings not in just its name? Thanks!

 

[Regular Guy]

Mostly....I don''t know. (And, I was 3/4 joshing!)

But, I understand that, according to some traditions of Buddhism, of all the species that exist, only humans have the potenial to most fully "come to their senses." and "wake up."

Supposedly, the difference between humans and animals and other species, is in our facility, our ability, to discriminate, to make discriminations between one thing and another. So, just as you say, we can specifically choose... "to be kind to others and selfless as well and not to focus on material weath and items relating to this greed.." rather than the opposite, being self centered, mean to others, and hoarding wealth for ourselves.

Relatedly, if there was ever a discipline where you are making discriminations, this one (separating out the goodness of one diamond over another another) could be it. If it were not for this quality of attending to discrimination that distinguishes one''s appreciation about diamonds...what else is it that holds our fascination? Appreciating beauty may be one element, but even that, too, will be based on our sense of discriminating awareness.

There may be more to the story, with respect to the association between Buddhism & diamonds. Like I said, I was kind of joshing. But, in substance, the reality of the relationship as I understand and have described the connection works for me!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Diabuyie, actually there is symbolism which has been associated with Superideals since their beginnings:

The religious connotations can be traced to Takanori Tamura, a Japanese businessman, Kioyishi Higuchi, his cutter, and Eightstar diamonds, which were the first of the "Superideals" over a decade ago.

Some people saw the arrows pattern in the Eightstar diamond as both the octagram of the I Ching and the Rinbo of Buddhism. Tamura said he felt that the pattern bore a resemblance to the eight-spoked wheel of dharma, associated with spiritual perfection in the Buddhist faith. This “arrows” pattern as well as the “hearts and arrows” pattern that followed are products of the same quest for perfection in precision and ultimate beauty in a diamond.

Americans may not consider these patterns to have religious symbolism, but there is still a great deal of importance placed on them in other cultures.

This is one of the (many) reasons I campaign so strongly that only a diamond with the highest standards of TRUE Patterning should be accepted and recognized as a “Hearts & Arrows” diamond.


Okay, that was the spiritual part

... For my take on what a Hearts & Arrows diamond is, who produces them and how to assess standards, you can click here.

Best,

 

[nicknomo]

A lot of people will tell you a diamond must be ideal to truly be H&A, but I don''t buy this. I think the only criteria really is that you see the hearts and arrows in a viewer, and they aren''t deformed.

Of course if you want it to look nice, that''s another story. Ideal H&A''s look great... As far as how exact the H&A pattern has to be, before you stop noticing any visual difference... That is up for debate. A lot of people don''t think the H&A makes any difference.. However, I''d say those who require absolute perfection are just milking the label. Half the time, I can''t even see the difference through the scope between a perfect H&A and an almost H&A. With the naked eye, considering they have the same cut, they look identical to me.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Hi Nicknomo,

Consider perhaps that grading of the patterning is justified for the same reason we make distinctions between VVS and VS in clarity, or 1 color grade: The differences in near-true and true patterning may not always evident to the naked eye, but the cut is as much a part of the character of the diamond as its other attributes and should be recognized.

 

[Superidealist]

Tamura and the Dalai Lama from the EightStar Japan website.