Is This True?

[nelsonmuntz]

Can anyone tell me if this is TRUE, I understood the diamond has to be cut
a certain way to display hearts and arrows. I sent an email looking for a specific diamond and also asked if they had hearts on fire diamonds. This is the response I received.


Dear Nelson,

Any RB diamond with Excellent Symmetry will display H&A.
The branding (Hearts on Fire) is just a marketing issue to increase prices.

Have a look through our stock here to see if there is any stone that interests you.
Let me know which ones and I can e-mail Sarin reports and GIA reports to you.

Kind Regards,

Ariel Friedman
IceStore, Inc.
http://www.icestore.com/
[email protected]
800.276.5301 toll-free
310.550.0307 direct line
310.943.3330

 

[kevinng]

Read about H&As here... Pricescope has an excellent writeup:

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/hna.asp

Aren't all branding a 'marketing issue'? Why then do we choose Coke over Pepsi?

It is not true that ANY RB with excellent Symmetry will display H&A. It must have excellent symmetry... and cut to a certain proportion before it will display H&A. If it is cut like an ice cream cone... no matter how symmetrical it is, no H&A patterns will be seen.

Besides a diamond's general proportion.. there's also a question of the minor facets. How you cut these minor facets (how long/short they are) affect the look of the diamond. HoFs cut theirs in a certain way... quite consistently. They will look different from say a Venus by Infinity Diamonds. Whether they are better or worse... is a matter of taste.

 

[pyramid]

I am just a consumer but from what I have read it seems that it is easier to see arrows in diamonds which are cut for symmetry but to see hearts is more rare.

But there again hearts are seen from the pavillion side of the stone which is set unless you are buying a loose diamond therefore if buying a set diamond you may think it is a hearts and arrows and it is not.

There are also very tight tolerances like the cleft in the heart should not be a certain length. As the other poster said there is a a good tutorial on this site and also many many posts here discussing Hearts & Arrows which you can do a search on.


It is also agreed by the many professionals on this site including vendors that a Hearts & Arrows pattern does not make it a good diamond, you need to study the angles of the crown and pavillion facets and the minor facets apparently do make a difference.

There have been people who have bought branded hearts & arrows diamonds but have returned them to look for another stone so looking at the stone with the naked eye is also important.

Another tool which many find a Great help is Garry Holloway's 'cut adviser' which can be accessed from a link at the top of the screen here on Rocky Talky. Again there is a particular vendor which seems to want to state that the cut adviser is of no use and you should go with your eyes and the opinion of a trusted professional but as buying on the internet is sight unseen I would say it is the best thing we have got at the moment along with the brilliantscope images which some vendors post if they have access to that very expensive machine.

To get the angles measurements of a diamond you will need to ask your jeweller to provide you with a sarin report. AGS certificated diamonds also give you measurements on their reports.

Just one other thing the GIA which is seen as the God in grading are at the moment doing a very long study on ideal cuts and how a diamond can be best cut, is there more than one ideal, so this may take a while - if you are not in a hurry to buy.

I am saving for a diamond at present and do not want to buy and then find out the ideal cut standards have totally been turned upside down.