I want an awesome diamond...but I''m confused

[wonka27]

I thank everyone in advance for reading this post and for providing any advice/insight possible.

I have taken some serious time trying to educate myself on diamonds. Initially, I found out about “ideal cut” diamonds. Because I want my g/f a diamond that “wows” people, I became very curious. What has happened, though, is through continuous reading, searching and looking, I have become confused.

Let me explain where I’m at. First, I have spent time considerable time looking for diamonds online. I have gone as far to create a spreadsheet that shows diamonds I found from .75 – 1.0 with HCA scores in the excellent range for light return, fire, and scintillation. All are 1.6 or below, with five of them at 1.0 or below. The lowest is 0.6.

As I continued my search, I came across Eightstar, Hearts on Fire, Lovefire, etc. I saw a Lovefire, that was beautiful but pricy. It scored a 1.0 on the HCA when I got home. The Hearts on Fire was beautiful and more pricy, but I honestly thought it was not as nice as the Lovfire. On Friday I am driving 60 miles each way to go see an Eightstar.

Finally, just the other day I saw good information on goodoldgold.com about SuperbCut diamonds. Apparently these brilliantscope animations show how awesome these diamonds are as well. Now that has struck my curiosity.

So where do I go. Will the diamonds online that I found with the very low HCA scores stack up against an Eightstar, Lovefire, Hearts on Fire, or SuperbCut? I am trying to get the most bang for the buck! I want a stunningly beautiful diamond for my g/f.

I like the idea of seeing the diamond in person at a jeweler, but it seems the cost savings on the price of a diamond plus no sales tax plus the little freebees some of these sites put out there make the Internet idea equally appealing now.

Any advice as to what the best is, or at least what way would be best for me to judge a diamond (both visually and “geometrically) would be so greatly appreciated!

 

[JC]

First of all, your girlfriend is a very lucky lady. It looks as though you have done your homework and you also have great taste. With the quality that you are considering your investment will definitely pay off. However, it will pay off much more by shopping online. Not only can you get a better price, but you will also find the same quality that everyone else can offer and maybe even better by considering the online companies listed right here on pricescope. There are also many online companies that can offer their customers a chance to see the diamond before the purchase has been made. Most online companies can also offer a return policy that will allow you to receive a FULL reimbursement including shipping if you are not completely satisfied with what you had purchased. So you would have the opportunity to see your diamond before or after the purchase with an independant appraiser that could validate the authenticity of the diamond that you are considering for purchase. So check around with the listed companies right here on pricescope. I'm sure you will be able to find a company that can offer you great service as well as a high quality diamond at a fair price. GOOD LUCK....

 

[pqcollectibles]

Diamonds with WOW come in all different types of performance. You can get big, bold flashes of light and color. Or, you can find diamonds with smaller, shimmering, sparklies that are much more romantic. As unique as your personality and tastes are, so are diamonds. You don't have to buy a Brand to get performance that you like.

There have been other folk that took the spread sheet approach to diamond buying. Keep in mind that minor facets alignment does have impact on performance. Most spread sheet folk tend to notice that, after viewing and documenting diamonds for a while, they find a particular crown/pavillion angles combo they find visually appealing to them. Take a look at your notes and think back to the diamonds that you liked the best. When looking at more diamonds in the future, see if the ones you like better than others have similar crown and pavillion angles combos to ones you preferred in the past. That might help you screen potential candidates thru specs to find diamonds with the type of performance you like.

Many of the Price Scope Vendors will ship diamonds to an approved, independent appraiser without you having to pay in advance. Check the link at the top of the page to see there is a PS approved appraiser near you. You could arrange to have several candidates shipped to an appraiser. Then you go and view the diamond in person, side by side, to make the final selection. You would be responsible for paying shipping to return diamonds you do not decide to buy, but that cost is nominal, about $25 or so per stone.

 

[wonka27]

Thank you. I appreciate your comments and encouragement.

Anyone else would be appreciated as well!

 

[msb2ncsu]

It took about 3 months for me to convince myself that buying online was the best thing to do for what I wanted. If you could only see the array of speardheet data, picture files, scope images, etc sitting on my desktop. If online retailers didn't use the same labs for grading and didn't have the tools to prove the quality in the diamond then it would be a different story. When you factor in the deluge of raving reviews for the retailers present on PriceScope, the sensational diamonds people have gotten, and the price difference then its almost a no brainer. Its more than just tax (which is substantial in its own right)... I know the diamond I have on reserve would be a couple thousand more if I went to my favorite jeweler and bought one today (and it wouldn't be as high quality of cut).

You can't go wrong with an 8* or similar high quality cut. However, the quality exhibited by the high-end cuts online, like "A Cut Above" at WhiteFlash, SuperbCert, etc, yield equally im[pressive (and often more impressive) results than the major B&M name brands, like Hearts on Fire and so forth. I agree with what PQ said... I think if you do find a good diamond in a store and take note of the dimensions and angles you could easily find one online to match it and be 100% satisified with plenty of leftover money for the HDTV you deserve!

 

[wonka27]

Thanks Mike for the encouragement. Sounds like you have a good handle on things!

 

[Hest88]

Also, I think you're operating under a common misconception about the HCA. A lower score doesn't necessarily mean a better diamond; only that it may have a different ratio of fire vs. brilliance (white light). Thus, some people prefer a stone closer to the 0 while others prefer stones closer to 2.

 

[wonka27]

Ok, I see what your saying. But then why do both white & colored light rate "excellent"? Am I missing something here?

 

[squirerad]

I can attest to the idea that a lower HCA does not mean much. I purchased an HCA 0.8 ideal cut which although was brilliant, it lacked fire and scintillation. But with my FI's newer stone, which scored a 1.5, the brilliance and flashes of light were much more bold and pronounced.

Don't take this the wrong way, a 1.5 doesn't mean that it's better than a 0.5 since the HCA does not take all 57/58 facets into account. IMHO, anything <2 is likely to look great, and even many <3 on the HCA. As others have mentioned, the most important thing is to compare the diamonds with the best cut analyzers you have: your own two eyes.

squire

 

[katrina_33]

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On 6/22/2004 4:01:18 PM Hest88 wrote:

Also, I think you're operating under a common misconception about the HCA. A lower score doesn't necessarily mean a better diamond; only that it may have a different ratio of fire vs. brilliance (white light). Thus, some people prefer a stone closer to the 0 while others prefer stones closer to 2.----------------

Can I jump in and ask a question about this? On the scale of 0 to 2, which side indicates more brilliance vs. fire? If I want an ideal cut diamond and value fire and scintillation over brilliance, should I stick closer to 2?

Thanks,

Kate

 

[Magnum]

"Can I jump in and ask a question about this? On the scale of 0 to 2, which side indicates more brilliance vs. fire? If I want an ideal cut diamond and value fire and scintillation over brilliance, should I stick closer to 2?"

No. The total score gives no indication of how much brilliance or fire is in the stone. One stone that scores 1.8 could have excellent fire, but poor brilliance, and another stone that scores 1.8 could have excellent brilliance but poor fire. If you go to www.diamond-cut.com.au there's a more thorough explanation of how Garry Holloway set up the HCA, and what the score means. The HCA is not meant as a definitive tool to measure the beauty of the diamond. Instead, it is meant as a sorting tool to weed out notoriously poor performers, when other info is not yet available. Once you've narrowed down your search with the HCA, you can focus on getting more in depth info on stones that have made the cut so far. According to the disclaimer, by narrowing your search down to stones that score under 2.0, there's a pretty small chance that you'll end up with a poorly performing stone. It doesn't mean that a stone that scores 0.8 is better than one that scores 1.5. The HCA just isn't meant to be that accurate, and there are characteristics of the diamond that it admittedly just does not take into account. Furthermore, the final score is made up of individual evaluations of brilliance, fire, scintillation, and spread, with slightly more weight put on brilliance. Brilliance is scored from 0-4, with an excellent being 0-0.8, while the other three are graded from 0-2, with an excellent being 0-0.4. So, any score is just a compilation of those four factors, and there is no correlation between what total score has more fire or brilliance. Garry's personal version actually breaks down how much of the total score is made up of each of the four categories, but at this point it's probably safe to say you're splitting hairs. I hope this clears it up a little bit, and if anything I said is in error, I'm sure Mr. Holloway can shed more light on the subject.

 

[katrina_33]

This clears it up a lot for me, thanks.

And sorry to ask another question on someone elses thread!

 

[aljdewey]

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On 6/22/2004 4:29:29 PM katrina_33 wrote:




Can I jump in and ask a question about this? On the scale of 0 to 2, which side indicates more brilliance vs. fire? If I want an ideal cut diamond and value fire and scintillation over brilliance, should I stick closer to 2?

----------------

The HCA won't guide you that way. You can't ascertain that by the score the HCA produces.....rather, look at the crown/pavilion angles.

Shallow crown angles and larger tables produce more brilliance (white light)........steeper crown angles with smaller tables produce more fire (colored light).

Look at the graphed table of the HCA tutorial.....it tells you what to look for to get an FIC stone......steep crown, shallower pavilion, small table.