How important is the HCA score when looking at WF ACA diamonds?

[sugarcloud]

I'm still quite new to learning about diamonds beyond the "4 Cs" and I have been lucky enough to find out about Whiteflash’s A Cut Above diamonds. I’m hoping to buy a diamond ring in the near future (and necklace, and earrings, and bracelet haha!!) and I am wondering if I need to give much thought to the HCA score when it comes to ACAs? I’m noticing that quite a few of the stones are scoring below 1, and I'm not sure if this makes them less suitable for rings? I guess I'm just nervous about choosing the wrong stone!

 

[OoohShiny]

The HCA tool is for checking the angles and other measurements work in a diamond.

All the CBI and ACA stones of this world, the 'superideals' as they are referred to, are AGS000 graded - AGS measures light performance (which is an outcome of the angles) so to achieve 000 means the angles very definitely work


Use the HCA tool to check a GIA XXX stone - GIA XXX is much wider than AGS000 and there are some dubious angle combinations allowed!

 

[free-user]

ACA..HCA importance becomes.moot when images are available. At that point all the angles and images are there for you to decide what your preferences are. Don't think too hard when images are available already.

 

[LLJsmom]

I helped a friend buy a stunning AGS 000 diamond without checking the HCA score. She brought it home and that’s when I ran the numbers. The HCA was 3.0. It’s still one of the most beautiful and lively diamonds I have ever seen. I’m glad I skipped that step. I would have definitely rejected it.

 

[OoohShiny]

I helped a friend buy a stunning AGS 000 diamond without checking the HCA score. She brought it home and that’s when I ran the numbers. The HCA was 3.0. It’s still one of the most beautiful and lively diamonds I have ever seen. I’m glad I skipped that step. I would have definitely rejected it.

Interesting!

It would be cool to find out what the angles were in that situation

 

[Karl_K]

fyi since the latest update to the hca there are more combos that are ok for a ring scoring under 1.
Basically if the pavilion is over 40.6 actual it should be ok in a ring.

 

[LLJsmom]

Interesting!

It would be cool to find out what the angles were in that situation

MRB 3 carat hunt is ON. Help...please? - by LLJsmom

Aww, too bad about the 2.75. I think the AGS stone's cut would bug me because in that size, I think I could see the cut issues. The thing is, she may not know the diffference at all. But after I have lived with ACAs, I can see the difference. So seeing a few is definitely the way to go!

www.pricescope.com

Look on page 2 of the thread above. I read through the thread and was surprised myself.

And I have recently had the chance to compare this stone to three super ideals, and honestly it held it's own, and in my eyes out performed one of the super ideals. A couple of other PSers who saw the comparison agreed. Not to say that it didn't have leakage compared to the super ideals which pretty much had no (unallowed) leakage, but it was just livelier than one of them. But also, just opinions. Not everyone may agree. I do feel lucky to have found this one.

 

[Karl_K]

Yes there are combos that when everything is just so that score over 2 on the hca that can rock. Another stone with the same numbers may not be so nice.
With gia grossly rounded numbers this can happen a lot.