Questions about diamonds I

[Ross_Keara]

1. Is a round brilliant diamond, a Hearts and Arrows diamond, or are Hearts and Arrow diamonds a specific and rare cut?
2. What's the difference between a Princess cut and a Princess of Hearts cut?
3. In the best value diamonds shops...any idea what the profit margin is for the seller (low I think?) ?

 

[heididdl]

1. Is a round brilliant diamond, a Hearts and Arrows diamond, or are Hearts and Arrow diamonds a specific and rare cut?
2. What's the difference between a Princess cut and a Princess of Hearts cut?
3. In the best value diamonds shops...any idea what the profit margin is for the seller (low I think?) ?

1.hearts and arrows is a cut where you can see hearts and arrows and is believed to be ideal cut but not always true. Not a rare cut.
2. Princess is truly square and princess of hearts more roundish square Good old guys has tube video I am having trouble sharing the link but you can google it
3. Profit margin never a lot in diamonds more bang for your buck online . As you are staring with GiAOr AGS stones and larger amounts of stones to look ar.

 

[WinkHPD]

1. Is a round brilliant diamond, a Hearts and Arrows diamond, or are Hearts and Arrow diamonds a specific and rare cut?
2. What's the difference between a Princess cut and a Princess of Hearts cut?
3. In the best value diamonds shops...any idea what the profit margin is for the seller (low I think?) ?

A hearts and arrows cut round diamond is one that was cut with the 17 main facets set properly to cause this image in a hearts and arrows viewer. To do this it takes a degree of precision that is much higher than was commonly used thirty years ago. Today there are many cutters doing this, not all of them doing it correctly, as there are many diamonds claiming to be Hearts and Arrows that should maybe be called Attempted Hearts and Arrows or in the youth terminology so common today, Hearts and Arrows Fail.

Even among the legitimately cut Hearts and Arrows cut diamonds there are degrees of precision. The best, most precisely cut H&A cut diamonds will have larger virtual facets and crisper scintillation events as the diamond sparkles with every miniscule movement. These result in larger flashes of light and more visible dispersion and to most people a more enjoyable looking diamond. In that respect I think you could say that the top cuts are indeed rare even among the rare stones that make it to the top grade in the AGS Diamond Grading Report. If you are looking for a top cut diamond, you will want to use an AGS report rather than GIA as the GIA system is simply too inclusive to give you even a good starting point for choosing the best cut diamond. Even with AGS you will want to see the diamond to finalize your decision.

I will leave the princess question to someone else who can better answer it for you. As for number three, if you go into a local store armed with great knowledge and a list of available diamonds on the Internet and their pricing you will find some jewelers who will either match or come close to matching those prices. (Others may quickly and with more or less civility show you the door.) And yes, margins in the diamond world today are very small, especially compared to the retail margins formerly enjoyed by Bricks and Mortar stores.

Good luck in your search.

Wink

 

[Bailey_Lou]

^ + 1. Hearts and arrows fail. Good one (snort). I see a lot of jewelers that advertise "hearts and arrows" but don't follow the strict cutting standards originally that defined a true h&a. WF, HPD and BGD both start with a triple ideal diamond as the first determinant I believe? So you know that your diamond is a "super ideal" and perfectly symmetrical to make the h&a. But most importantly it is already an ideal cut diamond, which is ultimately what makes the sparkles that us magpies love in our diamonds. Be careful as some companies use hearts and arrows as a marketing ploy but do not actually have the super ideal diamonds to back up their claims. Sorry that I don't have more information about princesses. On those I would want to look at an ASET and Whiteflash plus High Performance Diamonds have had stellar reviews on their super ideal princesses as well as the rounds. Good luck!

 

[Bailey_Lou]

BTW here is more information on choosing princess cuts below. Profit margins are not high with solid jewelers recommended here but I don't consider "value" to be the cheapest diamonds. Value to me is the most beautiful diamond that I can afford with the best upgrade policy and buy back. In the long run that is what I value in regard to choosing a jewelry vendor.

http://www.ideal-scope.com/using_reference_chart_ASET.asp/[url]

 

[c-k]

1. Is a round brilliant diamond, a Hearts and Arrows diamond, or are Hearts and Arrow diamonds a specific and rare cut?
2. What's the difference between a Princess cut and a Princess of Hearts cut?
3. In the best value diamonds shops...any idea what the profit margin is for the seller (low I think?) ?

A hearts and arrows cut round diamond is one that was cut with the 17 main facets set properly to cause this image in a hearts and arrows viewer. To do this it takes a degree of precision that is much higher than was commonly used thirty years ago. Today there are many cutters doing this, not all of them doing it correctly, as there are many diamonds claiming to be Hearts and Arrows that should maybe be called Attempted Hearts and Arrows or in the youth terminology so common today, Hearts and Arrows Fail.

Even among the legitimately cut Hearts and Arrows cut diamonds there are degrees of precision. The best, most precisely cut H&A cut diamonds will have larger virtual facets and crisper scintillation events as the diamond sparkles with every miniscule movement. These result in larger flashes of light and more visible dispersion and to most people a more enjoyable looking diamond. In that respect I think you could say that the top cuts are indeed rare even among the rare stones that make it to the top grade in the AGS Diamond Grading Report. If you are looking for a top cut diamond, you will want to use an AGS report rather than GIA as the GIA system is simply too inclusive to give you even a good starting point for choosing the best cut diamond. Even with AGS you will want to see the diamond to finalize your decision.

I will leave the princess question to someone else who can better answer it for you. As for number three, if you go into a local store armed with great knowledge and a list of available diamonds on the Internet and their pricing you will find some jewelers who will either match or come close to matching those prices. (Others may quickly and with more or less civility show you the door.) And yes, margins in the diamond world today are very small, especially compared to the retail margins formerly enjoyed by Bricks and Mortar stores.

Good luck in your search.

Wink

I think this answer about Hearts & Arrows is right on!!...all of the vendors that I have searched who sell the true H&A's use AGSL grading reports.