Is H&A that much different?

[wesli]

Obviously the ideal-scope and Aset will look differently, but can you even tell the difference with naked eyes? Will the H&A attribute more brilliance or fire to warrant the price premium?

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.26-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-232625

What is your opinion on this one? Would this be “eye clean” or is there anything that will deter you from buying this?

Pardon me if the question sounds silly for you guys…just a newbie here

Thanks!

 

[Sidius]

I'm also new to these forums and diamond buying in general (joined to start researching diamonds and sources for diamonds to prepare for proposing down the road)... but here's a great video that someone posted, comparing GIA good/very good/excellent/XXX cuts. It's done by GoodOldGold, a reputable source for diamonds that lots of people recommend on these boards. You can clearly see the performance difference between the cuts and based on this, I would say yes. I think it all seems to come down to your taste and whether you think or the person you're buying the diamond for thinks it's worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp94DI3xTA0&feature=youtu.be

 

[wesli]

thanks Sidius for the video! that is an excellent tutorial!

guess we are in the same boat. i have been searching for about a month and am getting close to pulling the trigger.

just need to find the best one within the budget to the lady and this takes HUGE amount of effort!!

 

[Sidius]

Congrats!! I am still about 6 months away from proposing but I'm a researcher lol ... I don't like to go into any big purchase without knowing what I'm buying or the most reliable places to buy. So I'm on here learning about the 4 C's, researching where to buy, getting an idea for how much I'll need to buy her the ring of her dreams. I'm aiming for a H&A 2ct center diamond with pear side stones that total about 0.6ct. Now I just have to hope for a sudden, drastic drop in diamond prices just for the month that I start the buying process

 

[ChristineRose]

I don't think you can really answer that question unfortunately.

First of all there's no agreed-on definition of H&A. Some authorities have written one but you have to know whether the stone you are looking at meets it. Mostly it's just someone's word and they don't even define H&A.

But more to the point, no matter what you call an H&A there will be stones that just barely miss the cut. Can you tell the difference from a near-pass and a near-fail? Probably not. Can you tell a difference from an H&A (no matter how defined) and some stones? Yes.

I think a large part of the appeal is that H&A stones are cut by people with hi-tech instruments and who take special care. It's like the difference between finding a great fitting pair of shoes at Shoe-zee-mart and finding a great fitting pair at Exclusive Handmade All Italian Leather Land. Even if you hate them you know you're they're good shoes, and some people don't have the time to try on all the shoes at Shoe-zee-mart anyhow.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I think the stone would be beautiful! I think you could see the difference between this stone and some others; how much that means to you and how much more of a premium you are willing to pay is really up to you. Having had two ideal cut stones and several 'regular' stones has definitely shown me the difference and it is worth it to me to pay the premium. Had I never known, I might still be in the ignorant is bliss category.

With the G color and VS1 clarity, I don't think you'll see anything in terms of inclusions. You can ask the gemologist at JA to go over the stone and give you their thoughts. It looks very nice to me!!

 

[WinkHPD]

As a vendor, let me say this, which I believe I can without violating the rules. If I am wrong the moderator will kindly remove my post.

I have had many opportunities over the past few years to present diamonds to clients in my office.

My preferred method is to place from three to five diamonds on a slotted tray and ask the person(s) looking to either choose the one that they like best or the one(s) that they like least. I tell them nothing about the diamonds.

Almost always the non H&A diamonds are removed first.

Even when all of the stones are H&A cuts there are always some that are just not as special as others and they are nearly always removed before any of my top cut diamonds.

I had some really nice diamonds for years that I just could not sell that way since they just could not stand up to the head to head competition with my best cut diamonds for which I am well known, even though my best cuts were more expensive. When I finally sold the last one I was super happy to see it gone! It was H&A but it was not the top top top H&A that I like to sell. My clients were the ones that could see it side by side, without any help from me.

Thus, IN MY OPINION, yes, it matters.

Wink

 

[msop04]

I think H&A stones are absolutely beautiful, no doubt -- but you do pay a premium for them -- of course! I've seen some excellent cut stones that I couldn't tell apart from the H&A stones, but that's not always the case. I guess the question you have to ask yourself is if you can tell the difference with your eyes. If so, then you have to decide if H&A is worth the premium. It's really a personal preference/budget issue that each person may have different feelings about...

If money was no issue, then HECK YEAH, I'd get a H&A stone!!

 

[wesli]

Wink is right – that’s how I research in real person. The salesperson lined up several rocks and told me nothing and asked me to rank/give him my thoughts. That’s how I came to conclusion that I wouldn’t go below G on color (personal preference) and below VS2 (was able to spot inclusion/clouds with naked eyes).

With that said, there comes the problem inherent from buying online…

IMO it’s quite difficult to gauge the brilliance and fire on a computer screen. All the ideal scope, aset, arrows and hearts are helpful, only to the extent (at least to me) that a H&A is indistinguishable from a say excellent cut from looking at a pic or 360 pic like on JA. Is there anything I could possibly ask the vendor to provide me to help judge the sparkle??

Bottom line is…if I am able to find an excellent cut that came really close to a H&A, I could use saved money to boost up the size or something else…

 

[WinkHPD]

Wink is right – that’s how I research in real person. The salesperson lined up several rocks and told me nothing and asked me to rank/give him my thoughts. That’s how I came to conclusion that I wouldn’t go below G on color (personal preference) and below VS2 (was able to spot inclusion/clouds with naked eyes).

With that said, there comes the problem inherent from buying online…

IMO it’s quite difficult to gauge the brilliance and fire on a computer screen. All the ideal scope, aset, arrows and hearts are helpful, only to the extent (at least to me) that a H&A is indistinguishable from a say excellent cut from looking at a pic or 360 pic like on JA. Is there anything I could possibly ask the vendor to provide me to help judge the sparkle??

Bottom line is…if I am able to find an excellent cut that came really close to a H&A, I could use saved money to boost up the size or something else…

You have nailed one of the main problems with online buying. The tools are great but they do not help delineate between stones with exceptional scintillation and sparkle and "ordinary" stones that just happen to also be in that top cut grade on paper. To do that you must, gasp, actually see the stone.

Wink

 

[wesli]

so is there anything i should ask the vendor to send me to compare brilliance and fire?

maybe ask them to send me video or pic of rocks lined up under lighting to make it easy for me?

will they do it?

 

[TC1987]

Personally, I always got a lot of information from the animated GemEx BrillianceScope report. Good Old Gold used to post that report for all their signature stones. I could watch it, study it, and determine if there were any dead spots or if I liked the pattern of the faceting and how it reflected light, etc. But it's not used much now, I guess.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Good Old Gold will make you a video of the stones you are considering buying. If they don't have what you want in stock, they can check with their cutters and see if they have it. Aside from their H&A Signature stones, I can also recommend WhiteFlash ACA's. Those are also top cut quality. I have bought H&A stones from both vendors, and I definitely did not need to see them to know they were outstanding. In the long run, I think it is worth it.