idealscope foolproof?

[diamondgirl2]

hi all -

in lieu of being able to accurately determine crown & pavillion angles i am wondering if examining the stone w/ an idealscope is an acceptable substitute. will a great idealscope result invariably mean the stone is great and vice versa? in deciding between stones that look very similarly, should the best numbers win out (like according to hca or AGS), or should the best idealscope image win out assuming both would lead to different results.

thanks for any & all opinions!

 

[Richard Sherwood]

The nice thing about the IdealScope is that it is a visual reality. There's no guessing when you use it. The image is what it is, and directly correlates to visual results.

If you compare 2 stones and one performs much better under the IdealScope, then it's going to perform much better to the eye.

I'm a professional appraiser, and an appreciator of brilliant stones. Over the years I have encountered many cuts which "by the numbers" weren't supposed to be such great cuts, but visually they were stunning.

This is what the IdealScope picks up. It can tell you if a "by the numbers" stone is performing like it's supposed to, or if a "not by the numbers" stone is performing better than it's supposed to. I've been using one for several months now, examining every diamond I appraise through it. It definitely gives a realistic picture of the light performance of the diamond.

It's a great tool for the lay person (and expert alike), allowing the easy elimination of poor performers. I would rely on it's reality image over the theory of numbers.

Rich, GG
Sarasota Gemological Laboratory