Hearts & Arrows Viewer Image??

[Jeanne61]

Hi,

My Xmas H&A diamond arrived last week and came with a H&A viewer. So of course I used it on EVERY diamond I own right away.

I noticed that the arrows image of the H&A diamond looks exactly as it should like below with clear/white arrows. However, my other stones, although they show very well aligned arrows, the arrows themselves are shaded pink instead of the clear/white of the H&A diamond. What does the pink on the arrows mean?

Thanks!

 

[gulliverseyes]

I''ll guess the pink is showing a mix of light waves from a less even cut, but will bump your post for a pro answer.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 1/4/2008 2:00:37 PM
Author: gulliverseyes
I'll guess the pink is showing a mix of light waves from a less even cut, but will bump your post for a pro answer.

Pretty good answer. Imprecise patterning can indeed cause the white and red hues to mix. It could also be the angle of the facets - if they are outside a certain range the angular spectrum changes and the filament paper will be reflected rather than the white light from above. It could also be the viewer itself; the construction can makes the colored filament paper too long or short. Furthermore, a mounted diamond will not appear properly in most instances because a H&A viewer is designed to operate closed, with no backlight (no light beneath the diamond).

For precise, crisp arrows to appear in the viewer the proportions and cut precision are most important but orientation, lighting and the viewer itself also play a role.

The filament paper in these viewers was not red, but they're general examples:

Graphics 1 & 2: Imprecise patterning (cut issues).
Graphic 3: Viewer length affects coloration (viewer issue).
Graphic 4: Top patterning, no tilt, proper viewer length.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Would a diamond cut similar to #2 still produce a lot of sparkle? One of mine looks like that under the viewer and it seems to my eyes to only sparkle a tad less than my ACAs, but possibly it's just my perspective.

 

[chrono]

MC, I would expect IScope 2 diamond to still be a good looking stone. Obviously not ideal but not a dog either. Much better than the usual mall quality.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 1/4/2008 3:40:03 PM
Author: Chrono
MC, I would expect IScope 2 diamond to still be a good looking stone. Obviously not ideal but not a dog either. Much better than the usual mall quality.

Ditto this, presuming the proportions are good. A top level of optical symmetry (H&A) is not a requirement for great light performance or beauty. The arrows appear pretty easily in a lot of diamonds, since it takes only 2 ''overlapping'' facet reflections to create each one. Even so, #2 above shows better precision than the vast majority of diamonds in commercial markets - as Chrono said.

 

[Jeanne61]

The ''mixed'' images I saw is a lot like #3. The stones themselves are mounted and so may be a viewing issue. I''ll take a another look this weekend!


BTW - can a H&A image double as a IS image? or at least give some indication of the light return? If so, can I apply the same rules to determine light return quality (ie. more pink and red is likely better)?

Thanks everyone!