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How did you become a "cut snob?"

atp223

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
290
To the more seasoned members of pricescope and newbies alike - how did you find pricescope?  Or maybe, more specifically, when/how/why did you start caring about the cut of a diamond?

Just thought it would be an interesting discussion.

I will go first and see if anyone wants to play! 

I had always wanted diamond earrings, and finally could afford my first not-tiny pair a few years ago.  So, I bought them from a local B&M store, and was very impressed at how they looked in the store, but was underwhelmed after taking them home.  I chalked it up to diamonds just being more sparkly in particular types of lighting.  I actually had a theory that based on the diamond's refractive index and cut - for my job I write patent applications about glass composition and coatings and the reflection, refractive index, etc. of the articles - there were particular wavelengths of visible light that produced the most sparkle, and that jewelry stores had figured out what this wavelength was and made sure all of their light sources emitted that particular wavelength...haha.

Anyway, then one day I was running on the treadmill at the gym in my apartment building, and was literally (proper use of the word!) temporarily blinded by a flash of light from a girl stretching against a wall about 20 feet in front of me.  After recovering from the temporary blindness, I squinted and realized the flash had come from an engagement ring.  At that point, I was hooked on the idea of having a super sparkly diamond!

A couple years later, when we started looking for rings, I expressed this desire to my now-fiance.  We noticed that a lot of stores advertise having "ideal cut" diamonds, and throw a percentage at you (the cut is in the top 1% or 3% of all diamonds, etc.).  However, when we went to see these "excellent ideal" cut stones in person, these stones weren't wowing me.  I was very perplexed - I knew cut was important, and knew I wanted a truly ideal cut diamond, but had no idea how to find one and make sure it really was cut well.  My fiance, also being a science person, liked the challenge.  I honestly feel like he was ok spending more than he initially wanted to on the ring when he realized we were choosing a stone based on numbers/formulas.

I turned to the internet.  I learned about the Tolkowsky ideal cut.  I found Whiteflash (their website or websites discussing them mention "super ideal" cut diamonds somewhere), and found it promising.  And then finally Pricescope...then learned all sorts of super fun things about a diamond's cut.  And now when people tell me my engagement ring is the sparkliest one they have ever seen, I silently gloat as I try to modestly and humbly explain to them the importance of both the cut of the diamond and keeping it clean!

Anyway, that is my story...I would love to hear other people's stories!!
 

MichelleCarmen

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 8, 2003
Messages
15,880
I had a beginning idea of cut when my dh and I bought my eng ring and got home and I realized it was hideous. We returned it and got a different stone and when the gal showed me the one we were to end up with, I was focused mostly on the color/clarity, but the concept of cut came into play. I then learned (and this was in my early 20s) that a better cut meant more sparkle.

It wasn't until I joined PS that I REALLY understood the concept to the full extent, though. Before then, I just looked to see that a diamond had some fire and was eye clean. I didn't look at numbers until PS.
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,225
I became a cut snob by seeing the difference in light performance between good and bad cut.

BTW, I think the term snob is like beauty in that it is in the eye of the beholder.

I'm clear that some will see me as a snob about cut, but IMHO if they also saw good and bad cut side by side they'd jump the fence too and no longer use the term cut snob.
 

Dancing Fire

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
33,852
atp223|1335554079|3182318 said:
To the more seasoned members of pricescope and newbies alike - how did you find pricescope?  Or maybe, more specifically, when/how/why did you start caring about the cut of a diamond?
about 11 yrs ago when i first saw a Lazare Kaplan diamond... :love:
 

MissStepcut

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 29, 2011
Messages
1,723
Well, first PS told me to be a cut snob. But I didn't really believe them. Then I went to T&C to try on emerald cuts with FH. Even that blinding T&C lighting couldn't hide the big, fat dead spots in some of those suckers :errrr:

I'm still not as cut-snobby as a lot of PS though. I think that a very well cut diamond will be indistinguishable from an H&A PS-perfect diamond in almost any real-life lighting environment.
 

Black Jade

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 21, 2008
Messages
1,242
MissStepcut|1335720346|3183470 said:
Well, first PS told me to be a cut snob. But I didn't really believe them. Then I went to T&C to try on emerald cuts with FH. Even that blinding T&C lighting couldn't hide the big, fat dead spots in some of those suckers :errrr:

I'm still not as cut-snobby as a lot of PS though. I think that a very well cut diamond will be indistinguishable from an H&A PS-perfect diamond in almost any real-life lighting environment.

Ditto.
Of course cut makes a difference. But I think it can get so that people trust a piece of paper more than their eyes. Buying on the internet, when I don't get to see the stones in advance, I went for super-ideal in cut but buying in person I go for what my eyes tell me.
 

Dreamer_D

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
25,247
I am a cut snob because I have seen what a difference cut makes. That said I am less dogmatic about cut as I used to be. I think when people first find PS they get very dogmatic in their beliefs about what makes a well cut diamond. For me, time and exposure to many different cut qualities has made me more liberal in my opinions about cut. That and my interest in old cuts which are far from "ideal" most of the time.

Still, much as I love old cuts there is no doubt in my mind they have more cut "issues" than ideal RBs ;)) In that I will always be a cut snob. But I can still appreciate old cuts from what they are. I am less cheritable towards commercial grade modern rounds :knockout:
 

Laila619

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
11,676
I wouldn't say I'm a cut snob per se (for instance, perfect hearts and arrows are not important to me), but I definitely have learned the difference between a well-cut diamond and a poorly cut one. After I got engaged, I was curious about diamonds and so I started reading the tutorials on here. And the rest is history! As it turns out, luckily my DH bought me a pretty good diamond from a maul store, even though at the time, he knew nothing about diamonds or PS.
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
58,547
I definitely learned it here. When I was looking for my anniversary diamond 6 years ago, I knew I wanted a high quality diamond. So I started researching and came across PriceScope at the very beginning, thankfully!
 
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