Leo Diamond

[beeez]

I have been reading many posts to Pricescope about Leo Diamonds. Almost everyone who posts has something negative to say about them. I just put a hold on a 2.11 caret 66 facet Leo, SI1, I and I must say that the appearance of the diamond in the store and in sunlight and on a cloudy day is jaw-dropping compared to other 58 facet stones. The fact is that the scintilation, and "fire" of this diamond "blows away" the appearance of standard 58 facet stones...even those that have much higher clarity and color and cost a whole lot more than this diamond. It seems to me that this site has many purists who simply do not want to acknowledge that Leo Schacter, the pioneer in non-traditional-faceted stones can produce vastly greater "return of light" than traditional cuts. After all, it is the "return of light" that counts...right?

 

[Superidealist]

I'm glad you found a diamond you love. Enjoy your diamond.

 

[Rhino]

Hi Beez,

Congrats to you dude. The Leo's I've seen have been a mixed bag but I've seen many cut to steep/deep combo's producing a little too much leakage for my taste (whether 66 or 58 facets, when cut to the wrong proportions will still be a leaker). The few I've seen that were cut to excellent dimensions were beautiful stones. Are you having it appraised with someone like RockDoc who can perform BrillianceScope and FireScope analysis? If not you might consider that and it'd be interesting to see the results on just how much light the stone you're considering is actually returning. I know I'd be curious to test it out.

Keep us posted and good luck on your purchase.

[edited to add] We've been recently working with an 80 faceted modified round brilliant and the fire & scintillation in the ones we've been working with have been absolutely remarkable.

Regards,

 

[victorianblue]

Hello,

Congrats on your pending purchase.

I wanted to respond to say that from what I have read on previous postings on this site, I have not seen any particulary disparaging post regarding branded diamond which is known as the Leo by Mr. Schacter. The post have been geared towards seeking information & education.

As a owner of a Leo diamond, I must admit that my concerns regarding my diamond are geared to the IGI grading system, specifications, the cut & information vs what I received and paid for.

I can not dispute that my Leo diamond does not have flash power--indeed it does in the correct light conditions. But I have to say that the diamond is blah in bright overcast lighting and fares not too much better with indoor lighting unless it is can lighting or when I have my warming lights while cooking.

The variances of opinion, taste and preferences are vast. Some folks expectations of what they are looking for may have a narrower field than others. This does not make them a purist,just a person who knows what is important to them with respect to a diamonds-hope that made sense.

I agree with Jonathan, it would be interesting to see the results of your diamond if it were to be examined and tested from a Independant source other than where you purchasing it from.

 

[kevinng]

Personally, I don't think a Leo Diamond cut adds a lot more to a well cut H&A. A local jewellery chain carries both their branded H&A and the Leo Diamonds (marketed under a different name where I come from). I have compared them side-by-side sevaral times... and I think the additional 8 facets don't add much beauty to the diamond... that's not to say that the Leo Diamond is not beautiful. The ones I saw were rather nice. I'm talking about the incremental value of the cutting pattern.

I think, if scintillation and fire are high on our priority, the Gabrielle Diamond is the way to go. I find Gabrielle Diamonds to be very different from H&A diamonds. Again, I am not saying that one is better than the other. I still prefer the H&A... but the Gabrielle does give you a very different effect if that is what you like.