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James Allen H&A 0.56 H-VS2

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Soopahmahn

Soopahmahn

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
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20
Hi everybody, I''ve been lurking around and researching diamonds like crazy, trying to pick out the best one for my girl. My budget is a bit more on the limited side, and fortunately for me, my girl has tiny fingers and likes delicate jewelry! I''ve given her a rough education on what importance cut makes, how to balance fire and brilliance with dimensions, and it turns out that an eye-clean stone with a lower clarity grade and a good cut strikes her as "fiery and warm."

She has a huge thing for symmetry! Below is what I think I''ve settled on, but I wanted to get people''s opinions on how high of an H&A grade the stone is. JA does not provide hearts images still, so it''s somewhat limiting, but I picked through their inventory and this stone really seems to have a nice balanced and well-formed arrows image. Click "idealscope" on the link below.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1236875.asp

Depth: 61.4%
Table: 56.2%
Polish: Ideal
Symmetry: Ideal (AGS 0)
Girdle: Thin to slightly thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Negligible
Measurements: 5.31*5.35*3.27

Crown Angle: 34.9°
Crown %: 15.30
Pavilion Angle: 40.9°
Pavilion %: 43.10

What does everybody think? Thank you!
 
JA will provide the Hearts image on request. Give them a call.
 
The stone looks good to me.
 
Thanks for the fast reply, stone-cold!

Holloway cut adviser gave me a 1.8 as well. Unfortunately it looks like JA is closed on weekends but I will call them for a hearts image. I''ll probably save and print them out to present with the AGS report.

Hope this stone doesn''t disappear this weekend before I call them on Monday.
 
i''d agree, i think the numbers and the IS look great. Also the price looks really good too! like stone-cold said, give them a call, they will give you the hearts image and put it on hold for you while you make your decision
 
Good luck.

Send them an email first requesting for the hearts image, just so that at least you get a first look when they open again for biz?
 
Great, thanks! I''ll do that and try to make sure I''ll get it if it checks out like I think it will.

Anybody have any advice on interpreting the HCA #? It gave me 1.8, with Excellent overall performance and Very Good performance in the three individual categories. If I want this thing to really kick butt, do I need to wait around and find a 1.5 or better? Obviously #''s don''t mean much, but I just want to pull the trigger once!
 
HCA do not really matters once you have an IS image, which is your case. It is also a rejection tool, score below a 2 is good for further examination, not necessary that a lower score is better or you will like it better.
 
HCA is an elimination tool and is not used for selection. The purpose is to normally score below 2 with the HCA to see if a diamond is worth further evaluation and getting images, however no need to worry as the diamond looks great and you have a good looking image - normally I would be cautious with that angle combo but the IS proves in this case they work very well together, a hearts image will be the next step as this diamond is sold as h&a.
 
Thanks Lorelei! I really appreciate how people are taking the time to offer educated advice on this stone.
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What is it about the angle combo that is a red flag? How is it that the H&A overcomes your concern?

I've emailed JA to hold it and to supply a hearts image, and to see what they can offer in terms of a palladium mount (nothing shows on their website). I'm not looking forward to the prospect, but I might have to order the stone from JA and then get a mount from Before1910 or Danforth and then have a local set it, perhaps I can get an appraiser to evaluate the stone and also set it?

P.S. in case anybody's curious, I've discovered the source of Danforth Diamond's settings. They are all settings made by Hoover & Strong: http://www.hooverandstrong.com/category/Bridal+Jewelry/

I'll post some details about it in a new thread.
 
Date: 9/6/2009 8:33:58 AM
Author: Soopahmahn
Thanks Lorelei! I really appreciate how people are taking the time to offer educated advice on this stone.
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What is it about the angle combo that is a red flag? How is it that the H&A overcomes your concern?

I''ve emailed JA to hold it and to supply a hearts image, and to see what they can offer in terms of a palladium mount (nothing shows on their website). I''m not looking forward to the prospect, but I might have to order the stone from JA and then get a mount from Before1910 or Danforth and then have a local set it, perhaps I can get an appraiser to evaluate the stone and also set it?

P.S. in case anybody''s curious, I''ve discovered the source of Danforth Diamond''s settings. They are all settings made by Hoover & Strong: http://www.hooverandstrong.com/category/Bridal+Jewelry/

I''ll post some details about it in a new thread.
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Very glad to help!

The angle combo is where you can sometimes see leakage in Idealscope images, this is because the angles are entering what we call the steep deep zone, however due to overall cutting precision and GIA rounding this isn''t always the case and some of these diamonds do not show leakage as in this case. The HCA isn''t what is overcoming my concern, the Idealscope image is the reason as it looks great, sorry for the confusion!
 
Hey Lorelei,

Yeah I meant the H&A image. I haven''t been able to define leakage - is that when the table vs. pavilion show different light levels in the H&A image? I know you mean light is leaking from the stone, but how would that show in an image?

I''m super excited by this rock! Hope it looks great in person...
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H&A image? You mean the Idealscope image?

If the hearts image, which you haven''t gotten it yet, that defines the optical symmetry of the stone and has nothing to do with optical performance of the stone. A good hearts image can still have a leaky idealscope image and vice versa.
 
Date: 9/6/2009 9:15:09 AM
Author: Soopahmahn
Hey Lorelei,

Yeah I meant the H&A image. I haven't been able to define leakage - is that when the table vs. pavilion show different light levels in the H&A image? I know you mean light is leaking from the stone, but how would that show in an image?

I'm super excited by this rock! Hope it looks great in person...
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Click to expand...
The arrow images for JA are actually done using Idealscope, you can normally see leakage quite clearly with these images, look at the examples on this link.

http://www.ideal-scope.com/1.using_reference_chart.asp

If you look at these images you can see the leakage from the face up view of the diamond in these examples, if you see the dark greyish areas on the IS images, that is leakage.

If you can post the hearts image for this diamond when you get it ( these show the bottom of the diamond) then this is very helpful in judging the overall cut precision, so once you get it we can take a look.

Hope this explains things clearly, if not let me know!
 
Thanks everybody - hope everybody's Labor Day weekend was fun and safe and calorific. (Lorelei... where is the bunny?!)

Jim Schultz from James Allen got back to me - friendly chap - so I've attached the hearts image. I don't see anything worth getting upset over.

Since I've posted this I've been through many Whiteflash ACA and JA TrueHearts, as well as inquired at NiceIce to see if they might have anything for me. I took what you meant about the deep & steep combo and read up on my pavilion and table angles a bit. Used the HCA a lot to get a better feel for what it's doing.

This stone still strikes me as a pretty solid deal - what does everybody else think? It may not be perfect in every way but it's the best TrueHearts I've seen at JA yet.
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For reference, here's the weblink again - both the Hearts and Arrows images are in the Flash application now, as well as the magnified image.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1236875.asp

56jahearts2.jpg
 
Date: 9/8/2009 3:24:29 PM
Author: Soopahmahn
Thanks everybody - hope everybody''s Labor Day weekend was fun and safe and calorific. (Lorelei... where is the bunny?!)


Jim Schultz from James Allen got back to me - friendly chap - so I''ve attached the hearts image. I don''t see anything worth getting upset over.


Since I''ve posted this I''ve been through many Whiteflash ACA and JA TrueHearts, as well as inquired at NiceIce to see if they might have anything for me. I took what you meant about the deep & steep combo and read up on my pavilion and table angles a bit. Used the HCA a lot to get a better feel for what it''s doing.


This stone still strikes me as a pretty solid deal - what does everybody else think? It may not be perfect in every way but it''s the best TrueHearts I''ve seen at JA yet.
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For reference, here''s the weblink again - both the Hearts and Arrows images are in the Flash application now, as well as the magnified image.


http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1236875.asp
Click to expand...

I highly suggest you contact James Allen via telephone or through their online chat to place your diamond on hold in case someone is lurking. You don''t have to put any money down or anything, just provide some contact information.

I''m only a newbie so I can''t really comment on the images..
 
looks great to me!

-ted
 
Thanks!

For reference, I had asked him to pull up Hearts and Arrows images of this stone also:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1241652.asp

He sort of made a vague comment that he thought the first stone was superior. They both show excellent symmetry - am I confused, or does this 0.51 stone show less pavilion leakage? Its cut gets a 1.5 from the HCA, possibly because of the shallower pavilion angle. Whichever one everyone seems to think will perform better, I''m probably going to pull the trigger on.

Thanks again for all the help!

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What a tough decision, i don''t think you could go wrong with either. They are both very very similar. I''m going to put my vote in on the first one, the slightly larger and 1 grade up in color :)
 
Both look good to me.
 
Yeah I''m feeling the original 0.56 carat stone as well. There''s also a 0.66 carat that came out recently, it''s nice too, but I''ll analyze that one myself with what I''ve learned here. w00t!

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Alright, I thought everyone should know I purchased the alternative - a 0.66-J-VS1 TrueHearts. I'll post the H&A images. The cert is a bit fuzzy, but I believe the vitals are 62.3% depth, 55.8% table, 35.1° crown angle, 40.8° pavilion angle. This works out to a 1.8 HCA and seems tilted to the fire-y side which would be preferential. Love the Pricescope discount at James Allen!

The Arrows:

1260175_arrows.jpg
 
The Hearts.

1260175_hearts.JPG
 
looks dam good! congrats and good luck!

-Ted
 
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Fantastic! Can''t wait to see the diamond. Did you decide on a setting?
 
Have not decided on a setting. There are a few palladium options, including settings from Danforth Diamond (Hoover & Strong) and Artcarved. I will probably be buying one of them soon. Scott Kay settings seem super nice to me, but the price is too steep. I''ve talked it over with the lady and we believe the stone should be the most important part - the setting could easily be changed later down the road if we so chose.
 
I''m torn between these two settings, for those of you still curious:

http://artcarvedbridal.com/productmatchselector.do?pid=911&cid=57

http://artcarvedbridal.com/productmatchselector.do?pid=1002&cid=57

I would have to choose a different wedding band for the 2nd link because she thinks knife edges are uncomfortable.

I think the 2/3 carat will look awesome in either! Glad I was able to get another 10 points and clarity grade within my budget.
 
When I get the stone on Monday, should I post a camera shot here or in Show Me The Ring? Any advice on shooting a stone? I have a Nikon D40 so I can adjust exposure parameters a lot.

Todd @ NiceIce.com wasn''t able to find a diamond for me, so he invited me to show him the 0.66 I bought. He commented that he wasn''t sure he liked the angle combos. Any reason for this? I thought the 40.8 pavilion wouldn''t be too steep, though perhaps the higher crown angle might be slightly sub-optimal (too high)? We all know the H&A images are pretty fantastic.

I''m asking more for educational purposes here. I''m not returning this stone unless there truly is something disappointing about it. Does anybody recommend (or not recommend) taking it in to some jewelry stores and comparing them to "the best they have to offer"? Thought it might be a nice way to reward myself for all the research and selection I''ve put into this :)

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Post a picture on this thread...you should have asked Todd why or what about the angles he doesnt like. The
numbers look right on to me according to what most of the prosumers (experts) on PS say.

Here is the thread for how to take decent pictures. Good luck! Cant wait to see them.
 
To paraphrase, Todd thought it was a little bit deep for his tastes (62.3%), with a corresponding higher crown angle, which is basically the hallmark of a cutter who wants to end up with an ideal cut but wants to eek a few more points of weight out of the rough. He''s probably right to a degree and he was very helpful in his explanation. I told him I''d gone ahead and made the purchase and would evaluate it carefully, and he said he knew it would be a beautiful diamond and not to get worked up.

Love Pricescope!
 
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