How does the ASET image look for this diamond?

[Natalie33]

Hi all,

This is a follow-up to a post from last week where I was evaluating 3 diamonds of which I had high res photos, but no ASET/ID scope pictures and was told that 2 of them looked more promising than the third.

old thread if anyone is interested:

Need help with selection: Is it possible to tell if diamond has good light reflection without ID/ASET?

Hello! I stumbled upon this forum while browsing for the 4Cs and entered a whole new work. I am looking at engagement rings and the jeweler exclusively sources from a gem vendor that is B&M, so it’s a long process of back and forth to look at stones. they’ve sent me 3 stones that I thought...

www.pricescope.com

I decided to buy a hand held ASET scope to check them out myself and took some pics. Apologies they’re kind of blurry since it’s my first time looking at a diamond under a scope.

this is #2 from my original post


Recording is at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8yqv6bb6jwvou22/Video Sep 03, 12 14 09 PM.mov?dl=0

Would appreciate if you could let me know if my analysis is correct. I can see the 8 arrows extending all the way out, but there are some additional points of contrast on the perimeter (which I don’t see when looking at the ideal cuts). the areas near the base of the arrows appear light pink instead of red - not sure if there might be light leakages or just my light source (phone) isn’t strong enough to reflect red. There are some greens in the perimeter, but it’s not excessive. Comparing against the charts I’ve found, I would say it’s very good as far as cut goes.

I’ll have pics of the #1 diamond from the previous post to share tomorrow for comparison.

thanks again for the help!

 

[flyingpig]

10/10

 

[lovedogs]

10/10

Agree, I think it looks amazing

 

[flyingpig]

The backlight intensity is just right.
Many super ideal vendors use black background for ASET. Therefore, leakage is masked and it appears sold red under the tableb rather than pink.
I am glad that you posted the video.

1. In the beginning at 2 sec, the diamond is tilted and you see white leakage under the table at 900 and 1030.
2. Also at 1~2 sec, you see the inner circle/table reflection is all red and bluish tone under the table on the right side. The arrowheads look more like clubheads. This is because the diamond is too close or deep inside the scope.
3. As you move the diamond away from the scope, the inner circle becomes a mixture of green and red and the extra blue spots go away. Still, the scope is too close.

Try to adjust the distance between the scope and diamond so that the inner circle just turns green. Too much distance, you will see excessive leakage, greens under the table and around the edges.

In short, whatever imperfection you see is due to the tilt and misaliangment. The diamond is 10/10.

 

[Natalie33]

The backlight intensity is just right.
Many super ideal vendors use black background for ASET. Therefore, leakage is masked and it appears sold red under the tableb rather than pink.
I am glad that you posted the video.

1. In the beginning at 2 sec, the diamond is tilted and you see white leakage under the table at 900 and 1030.
2. Also at 1~2 sec, you see the inner circle/table reflection is all red and bluish tone under the table on the right side. The arrowheads look more like clubheads. This is because the diamond is too close or deep inside the scope.
3. As you move the diamond away from the scope, the inner circle becomes a mixture of green and red and the extra blue spots go away. Still, the scope is too close.

Try to adjust the distance between the scope and diamond so that the inner circle just turns green. Too much distance, you will see excessive leakage, greens under the table and around the edges.

In short, whatever imperfection you see is due to the tilt and misaliangment. The diamond is 10/10.

Got it. Thank you so much for the thorough feedback! I’m certainly having a lot of fun with this amateurish discovery. I’ll try looking at it again further away later tonight.

As for the #1 diamond - here are the photos and videos. I think the contrast patterns look a little more symmetrical than #2

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[flyingpig]

#1

Got it. Thank you so much for the thorough feedback! I’m certainly having a lot of fun with this amateurish discovery. I’ll try looking at it again further away later tonight.

As for the #1 diamond - here are the photos and videos. I think the contrast patterns look a little more symmetrical than #2

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

I think #2 and #1 are equal in light performance. You got a tough decision to make.

Note: in this video, the opposite is happening. The scope is a bit too far away. Notice extra greens around the edges.

It is not easy especially if you trying to record it, and even reputabpe vendors struggle with this. Have fun with the scope and diamonds.

 

[stonehunter20]

beautiful stones!!!

 

[Natalie33]

#1


I think #2 and #1 are equal in light performance. You got a tough decision to make.

Note: in this video, the opposite is happening. The scope is a bit too far away. Notice extra greens around the edges.

It is not easy especially if you trying to record it, and even reputabpe vendors struggle with this. Have fun with the scope and diamonds.

Thank you for the help! Hope you had a nice Labor Day weekend.

Indeed, very hard to decide as they are quite similar in the other Cs! But glad I got the light performance piece out of the way!

Was wondering what’s the next important characteristic after cut?

These two have similar prices and clarity (VS1). The only difference is one has better color (D vs. E) and polish is very good while the other has more carat (1.3 vs 1.26) and polish is excellent. They do have different locations and characteristics of inclusions though. The D color / lower carat has clouds / feathers throughout the crown / bezel while the E color / larger carat has clouds / feathers through the table, crown/star.

Do I need to get a magnifying class to check out the inclusions or are they negligible since they’re not affecting the light performance?

If there’s anything that stands out or if there are other ways to rank these, would appreciate if you could share. I’ll have until end of the week to send these back and commit to one.

Thanks again!

 

[Karl_K]

viewm them in a s many light conditions as possible.
Did they send you spring stone holder rings to hold the stones? If so put them on and view them all over.

 

[Natalie33]

viewm them in a s many light conditions as possible.
Did they send you spring stone holder rings to hold the stones? If so put them on and view them all over.

No, just the stones themselves. I’m nervous about mixing them up so I haven’t tried doing a side my side comparison yet, but I’ll try it today!

 

[flyingpig]

No, just the stones themselves. I’m nervous about mixing them up so I haven’t tried doing a side my side comparison yet, but I’ll try it today!

Clean them both real good.
Assess the definition and sharpness of each facet. Check for cleanliness and sharpness of light return. Check for any milkiness or cloudiness from the top, at an angle and from the side.

I would personally go for the D. But then, the E is triple Ex with Ex polish.

 

[Natalie33]

Clean them both real good.
Assess the definition and sharpness of each facet. Check for cleanliness and sharpness of light return. Check for any milkiness or cloudiness from the top, at an angle and from the side.

I would personally go for the D. But then, the E is triple Ex with Ex polish.

This would be done outside of the ASET scope? I'm surprised the D looked as good as it did. How important is polish in the grand scheme of things? I did check them under the scope again and I couldn't tell the difference in their light performance.

 

[flyingpig]

This would be done outside of the ASET scope? I'm surprised the D looked as good as it did. How important is polish in the grand scheme of things? I did check them under the scope again and I couldn't tell the difference in their light performance.

These will be done outside the scope.
Many say VERY GOOD polish is good enough. But I have not done enough IRL comparisons between ex and vg polish to give you any definite answer

 

[Natalie33]

These will be done outside the scope.
Many say VERY GOOD polish is good enough. But I have not done enough IRL comparisons between ex and vg polish to give you any definite answer

So I tried looking at them under natural lighting and under a flashlight...E shows more contrast between the arrows and the whiteness whereas I couldn’t distinguish the arrows as well for D. As for the cloudiness / tiny dots throughout, these were similar for both under the flashlight

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a magnifying glass, so just looking at at eye level / phone camera. I’m reattaching the official photos the vendor shared under magnification for reference.

Under the ASET scope it was easier to find the arrows on D (similar experience for the bf). With E it took a few minutes of adjustments before I got the positioning right. Is this reflective of the physical characteristic of the diamond or is it just user error or the handheld? If not, then I think E looks prettier / more captivating IRL.

D


E

 

[flyingpig]

What are the angles and table %of each stone?

 

[Natalie33]

D:
table - 56%
crown: 35%
pavilion: 40.8%

I think when I ran this through the HCA tool it received a 1.7 score


E:
table - 57%
crown: 34%
pavilion: 40.6%

this one had a 0.9

The assessor was GCAL

 

[Natalie33]

What are the angles and table %of each stone?

hope the info attached is useful. When I was comparing it with the ranges that several people mentioned, they seem to be within that spectrum

 

[flyingpig]

hope the info attached is useful. When I was comparing it with the ranges that several people mentioned, they seem to be within that spectrum

One is a shallow/shallow combo and the other is a relatively steep/deep combo. They do behave slightly differently.

Go with whichever pleases you yhe most. No wrong choice here.

 

[Natalie33]

One is a shallow/shallow combo and the other is a relatively steep/deep combo. They do behave slightly differently.

Go with whichever pleases you yhe most. No wrong choice here.

I see... is D the steep and E shallow? Is one better than the other or what are their characteristics? I remember reading about the balance of fire and brilliance some time ago. I think D has skinnier arrows and looks like it would have more fire?

 

[flyingpig]

I see... is D the steep and E shallow? Is one better than the other or what are their characteristics? I remember reading about the balance of fire and brilliance some time ago. I think D has skinnier arrows and looks like it would have more fire?

We are talking two diamonds within the TIC ranges, HCA less than 2.0, and with near perfect ASET results. And you have both stones. Any analysis based on the proportion is kinda pointless. If you like fast moving flashes and fires from the skinnier arrows, go with the D. If you prefer chunkier fires, go with the E.

here is an video on the arrows (lower girdle facet length)

 

[Natalie33]

We are talking two diamonds within the TIC ranges, HCA less than 2.0, and with near perfect ASET results. And you have both stones. Any analysis based on the proportion is kinda pointless. If you like fast moving flashes and fires from the skinnier arrows, go with the D. If you prefer chunkier fires, go with the E.

here is an video on the arrows (lower girdle facet length)

Thanks for sharing the video! That makes a lot of sense. I didn’t realize they were so different since they both have 80% lower girdle facet length, but in combination with the other facets (and rounding) would yield different results.

I’m all set now. Will circle back and share pictures of the ring in a few months (once it arrives and I am proposed to