on the HCA... TIC? BIC? or FIC?

[blastdoor]

Hi,

I have been using the HCA while looking at stones and realised so far almost all of the stones I have seen are TIC.. I have so far only seen 1 BIC and no FIC...

From the HCA tutorial I understand the following: -

BIC - Crown Angle
TIC - 32.5o
FIC - Crown Angle > 35.5o have "more fire or spectral color and appear to have more facets and scintillation"

But my question is... what does all these mean visually? I have seen an actual HCA 0.7 ex/ex/ex/ex TIC stone and all i can say is it sparkles, and I have never seen any BIC or FIC in real..

Are there any photographic or pictorial comparisons around that shows the difference between the 3 different kinds of Ideal Cuts?

Another silly question, thanks for reading and even more for replying...

 

[Lorelei]

I think the differences are subtle Blast and you need the right lighting to be able to discern the fire properly in the FIC etc. I can''t think of any direct comparison pics or videos of the top of my head, but Garry might know of some.

 

[blastdoor]

Hi Lorelei,

Once again thank you for the reply.. you have been so kind to guide me all the time... you are just like my diamond mentor...

if the difference between the 3 Ideal Cuts is subtle, can i then deviate a little and ask... what do people mean when they say something like...

"certain diamond is full of fire.."

or

"you'll get a whole lot of scintillation on this one.." etc etc?

you know about my "fire dance cheat" under the blanket with an orange touch light... but i'm sure its nothing like that... right?

ETA: you ARE my diamond mentor...

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/11/2009 6:40:19 AM
Author: blastdoor
Hi Lorelei,

Once again thank you for the reply.. you have been so kind to guide me all the time... you are just like my diamond mentor...

if the difference between the 3 Ideal Cuts is subtle, can i then deviate a little and ask... what do people mean when they say something like...

'certain diamond is full of fire..'

or

'you'll get a whole lot of scintillation on this one..' etc etc?

you know about my 'fire dance cheat' under the blanket with an orange touch light... but i'm sure its nothing like that... right?

ETA: you ARE my diamond mentor...

You are too kind Blast, it has been my pleasure to help you!

Ok when someone describes a diamond of being " full of fire", this means it shows a good display of coloured light if the lighting conditions are right. This is why some seek out FIC's for this reason as they enjoy the extra fire that may be seen at times. There can be tradeoffs however when looking at a certain type of diamond such as the FIC, sometimes they can be cut a little deeper which can result in a smaller spread or face up size. These FIC's usually have a smaller table and a steeper crown angle which are features of the FIC.

BIC or brilliant ideal cut, may be as the term implies bright and brilliant diamonds, but may not show as much fire due to the shallower angles you can find with these diamonds. These can make excellent earring or pendant diamonds due to their bright and brilliant appearance, as these are not scrutinized in the same way as rings, however no reason that a BIC cannot be a ring diamond.

The TIC or near Tolkowsky type diamonds are a good balanced diamond which many prefer.
Scintillation - relates to the on off flashing effect of the facets as the diamond is in motion - read more here.

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

And I am so pleased to be able to help you Blast. I may not know much compared to some here but I willingly share with you what I have learned and if I don't know the answer to a question I can point you in the direction of someone who can help!

Do you know what I recommend? If you have a jewellery store near you, go along and see if you can have a ' play', some jewellers will be pleased to show you what they have! Take note of the proportions of the diamonds they have ( keep a cheat sheet with you to refer to) and although it will be limited as to what you can see with their lighting, you might be able to see some different types in action a little bit.

And I almost forgot, check out Wink's videos on his website -

www.highperformancediamonds.com

And there are some in the PS video gallery also - http://diamondscope.pricescope.com/