New to Lab Diamonds! Help me!

[BeautyForAshes_]

Okay so I have no clue about Lab Diamonds and want help. I hear a lot of people talk about HCA and everything but I’m clueless can someone tell me the basic things I need to know to figure out if the lab diamond I decide to choose will be great?

TIA!

 

[BeautyForAshes_]

Bump

 

[Kim N]

If you're looking for a round diamond, I would look at ones with close to these parameters and ask for an Ideal-Scope image to check light return.

table 54-58%
depth 60-62.4%
crown angle 34-35 degrees (can go up to 35.5 or 36 if paired with 40.6 pavilion)
pavilion angle 40.6-40.9 degrees

You can link your top choices here for others to help evaluate. Alternatively, let us know your budget, size, color, and clarity requirements and we can help you find a good one.

 

[monipod]

Specific to lab stones, you may want to look at vendors that consistently provide good quality stones with minimal inclusions/issues that are unique to lab stones. There's a sticky at the top of this thread I think?

I'm sure someone else can correct me but HPHT stones can have blue nuance, which you may or may not like. CVP stones from some labs have a more pronounced brown tint over yellow. Other than that, I didn't have any concerns when choosing a lab stone. I'm not even sure stria is worth worrying about as the quality of lab stones continually improve.

As for the cut, a lot of vendors offer 'Ideal' cuts but that's where you need to run the numbers through the HCA tool for rounds. As for other cuts, you'd need to do the research as per mined stones.

Happy Hunting!

 

[sprinklesparkles]

Same as regular diamonds, but I think color grades can get a bit sloppy in the MMD world, so I'd recommend going a color up from what you'd want in the mined world. Unless you're getting a GIA report on the diamond.

 

[BeautyForAshes_]

Specific to lab stones, you may want to look at vendors that consistently provide good quality stones with minimal inclusions/issues that are unique to lab stones. There's a sticky at the top of this thread I think?

I'm sure someone else can correct me but HPHT stones can have blue nuance, which you may or may not like. CVP stones from some labs have a more pronounced brown tint over yellow. Other than that, I didn't have any concerns when choosing a lab stone. I'm not even sure stria is worth worrying about as the quality of lab stones continually improve.

As for the cut, a lot of vendors offer 'Ideal' cuts but that's where you need to run the numbers through the HCA tool for rounds. As for other cuts, you'd need to do the research as per mined stones.

Happy Hunting!

Thanks! Where can I find to do the HCA tool?

 

[Kim N]

Thanks! Where can I find to do the HCA tool?

This is the HCA tool: https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]