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Please help me pick a better diamond out of two! ASET images available

I

iheartrice

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 16, 2018
Messages
17
Long time lurker, first time poster.

I've narrowed my choices for a round brilliant cut down to two diamonds. Diamond 1 is 1.68 carat with better ASET image (if I had read it correctly), but diamond 2 is bigger at 1.84 carat. I'm torn between going for the bigger diamond or the diamond with better light performance. It's very important to me that the diamond is very bright and shiny. But on the other hand, I'm not sure if the light performances between these two diamonds are significantly different. Which one would you go for without considering price? Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Diamond 1: 1.68 carat, F, VS1, 7.63-7.67 x 4.68mm
table: 61.2%
depth: 57%
crown angle: 34.2%
pavilion angle: 40.8%
HCA score: 1.2
diamond1.jpg

Diamond 2: 1.84 carat, E, VS1, 7.85-7.88 x 4.87 mm
table: 61.9%
depth: 55%
crown angle: 35%
pavilion angle: 40.8%
HCA score: 1.6
diamond2.jpg
 
Can you check the depth and table numbers? Are those reversed?
 
oops, ya they are reversed. I can't seem to edit my post though. Thanks for pointing it out.
 
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First one looks better. The second one does have slight leakage, but it may not be bad. Still, I prefer an ASET image like the first one.
 
First one for me. Not liking the leakage that’s showing up in the second ASET
 
Thank you so much for your responses! Diamond 2 is out then! Do you guys think diamond 1 has excellent enough cut? or should I keep looking?

I found another diamond that has the following specs:
Diamond 3: 1.81 carat, F, VVS2, 7.88-7.92 x 4.76mm
depth: 60.2%
table: 57%
crown angle: 33.7%
pavilion angle: 40.8%
Girdle: medium
HCA score: 0.9

Everything looks good on paper except the crown angle. It's under 34%. I've requested the ASET images for it, but I'm not sure if I should rule it out because of the crown angle not being in the ideal range.

It seems to be a flatter diamond, with diameter being even bigger than the 1.84 ct (diamond 2).
 
The HCA score being under 2 indicates the angles of the pavilion and crown are likely to be complementary and therefore the stone is worth a more detailed look.

The lower crown will reduce the amount of dispersion, which will reduce the amount of fire and mean more white-light return, but the table is within the PS-recommended range so it should still look decent.
 
I would wait until scope images arrive. Based off the numbers, I would usually reject it but HCA does have a mini bias towards shallower crowns. Visual confirmation of the actual stone and scope images would help out a lot.
 
Diamond 1 looks best going by the proportions and the images but if you prefer the size of #2, you could drop your colour grades a bit, say G and H if reliably graded ( GiA/ AGS) without visual sacrifice unless you're one of those very colour sensitive souls, in order to maximise the size. Even some SI clarity grades can be a great buy if you have an expert with the stone in hand to describe the visibility of any inclusions and a solid return policy.
 
Go for D1 the light performance is better than D2. If you can share the heart image would be good, just to double confirm symmetry. Coz theres a bit of missallingment of the facets. =)2
 
YoLaL said:
Go for D1 the light performance is better than D2. If you can share the heart image would be good, just to double confirm symmetry. Coz theres a bit of missallingment of the facets. =)2
Click to expand...
Thanks YoLaL! I don't have the heart image but I can request it. Can you explain what's a misalignment of the facets? Should I be concerned?
 
iheartrice said:
Thanks YoLaL! I don't have the heart image but I can request it. Can you explain what's a misalignment of the facets? Should I be concerned?
Click to expand...

Just jumping in here, IF the diamond is being sold as Hearts and Arrows then facet precision can be an issue, if it's not then it's probably not a concern and nothing you'll ever notice with the naked untrained eye, the stone will still be a superior cut and very beautiful. The vendor might be able to get you a hearts image if the stone is not sold as H&A, if not then they still might be able to produce it but it's nothing to sweat over if not sold as H&A. Looks like the diamond is AGS graded, should be a beautiful stone.
 
iheartrice said:
Thank you so much for your responses! Diamond 2 is out then! Do you guys think diamond 1 has excellent enough cut? or should I keep looking?

I found another diamond that has the following specs:
Diamond 3: 1.81 carat, F, VVS2, 7.88-7.92 x 4.76mm
depth: 60.2%
table: 57%
crown angle: 33.7%
pavilion angle: 40.8%
Girdle: medium
HCA score: 0.9

Everything looks good on paper except the crown angle. It's under 34%. I've requested the ASET images for it, but I'm not sure if I should rule it out because of the crown angle not being in the ideal range.

It seems to be a flatter diamond, with diameter being even bigger than the 1.84 ct (diamond 2).
Click to expand...

This could also be a contender, the diamond might favour brightness due to the crown angle being very slightly shallower but this is only an estimate, an expert vendor with the stone in hand and who can provide images is your best bet, it definitely has potential and yes, the spread or diameter will be there due to the proportions, this diamond could be a winner.
 
Lorelei said:
This could also be a contender, the diamond might favour brightness due to the crown angle being very slightly shallower but this is only an estimate, an expert vendor with the stone in hand and who can provide images is your best bet, it definitely has potential and yes, the spread or diameter will be there due to the proportions, this diamond could be a winner.
Click to expand...
Thank you Lorelei! I've requested the ASET images on this one, and I will post it once I have it.
 
iheartrice said:
Thank you Lorelei! I've requested the ASET images on this one, and I will post it once I have it.
Click to expand...

We'll keep an eye out for it and I think it'll be a good one.:wavey:
 
Also if you can ask the hearts images will be better. ;)2
iheartrice said:
Thank you Lorelei! I've requested the ASET images on this one, and I will post it once I have it.
Click to expand...
 
YoLaL said:
Also if you can ask the hearts images will be better. ;)2
Click to expand...
ASETscope images indicate light performance, therefore how the stone will perform day-to-day.

Hearts and Arrows viewer images can show perfectly aligned facets but the stone can still be far too steep/deep, meaning it will perform badly in terms of light return.

The ASETscope tool is therefore the better tool.
 
YoLaL said:
Also if you can ask the hearts images will be better. ;)2
Click to expand...

Not needed if the stone is not sold as H&A. Iheart, don't worry about that.
 
Yes, I agree ASET is the best tool for light performance. The reason I'm asking about the hearts and arrows images, I just want to see how symmetrical this diamond. You know buying diamond does not only measure on how the light performs, but also measure on contrast and pattern. So, therefore, we need to see how symmetrical this diamond right?

No matter how good or how bad that diamond that his/her looking at, most important there that he/she knows what his/her getting. =)2

OoohShiny said:
ASETscope images indicate light performance, therefore how the stone will perform day-to-day.

Hearts and Arrows viewer images can show perfectly aligned facets but the stone can still be far too steep/deep, meaning it will perform badly in terms of light return.

The ASETscope tool is therefore the better tool.
Click to expand...
 
YoLaL said:
Yes, I agree ASET is the best tool for light performance. The reason I'm asking about the hearts and arrows images, I just want to see how symmetrical this diamond. You know buying diamond does not only measure on how the light performs, but also measure on contrast and pattern. So, therefore, we need to see how symmetrical this diamond right?

No matter how good or how bad that diamond that his/her looking at, most important there that he/she knows what his/her getting. =)2
Click to expand...

If you are in the trade as you implied earlier you are required to disclose that fact.

If the poster is not buying a branded hearts and arrows stone, picking apart the optical symmetry and cut precision is going to be a frustrating exercise at best.
 
If the vendor can produce the H&A image, I think it can provide additional information. Even if the stone is not H&A, the image can show a lot of important features that help with online selection (clefts in the hearts, digging & painting, etc.). I would not expect perfection like I would from a super-ideal, but I do that it is valuable to view along with the ASET. I have never found much use of the arrow's view, but the heart's view is quite informative. I would not exclude a diamond from consideration that did not have a H&A Image, but asking for it is only going to add information.
 
rockysalamander said:
If the vendor can produce the H&A image, I think it can provide additional information. Even if the stone is not H&A, the image can show a lot of important features that help with online selection (clefts in the hearts, digging & painting, etc.). I would not expect perfection like I would from a super-ideal, but I do that it is valuable to view along with the ASET. I have never found much use of the arrow's view, but the heart's view is quite informative. I would not exclude a diamond from consideration that did not have a H&A Image, but asking for it is only going to add information.
Click to expand...

Sure it can provide useful info for the informed buyer who's into that sort of thing, but if the stone is not a branded H&A it can cause concern and rejection of a perfectly good diamond even if the buyer is not in the market for that type of precision cut, they might not realise that level of precision is not going to be found in your higher end quality cut for the most part. Although I've seen the odd stone come pretty close over the years, it's not the norm.
 
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