regular diamond or hearts and arrows

[spyder16]

I''m trying to decide which is a better buy a reg. diamond or hearts and arrows. If you guys can give me some pros and cons. Thanks

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, to me, the hearts and arrows stones carried by these vendors are going to be superior diamonds, so it does help to narrow the field as to what you''re looking at. They are usually examples of the highest cut quality which translates to exceptional beauty. Just looking a a cert on a regular diamond is okay, but you don''t have all the information on them such as idealscope pictures, brillance measures, etc. So you might get lucky and get a great stone and you might not, although AGS0 (new certs) are probably a pretty safe bet if you want to search by certs alone and don''t care about the additional information.

 

[ilovesparkles]

After seeing H&A stones, simple rounds just don''t cut it for me anymore. They are dull and lifeless in comparison. Good luck!

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome to PS

Both can be very beautiful diamonds, far more chance of a H&A being beautiful ( the safe choice) unless you are prepared to do some homework to find a very well cut diamond which is a great performer. With a non H&A you need to particulary study the tutorials to find a diamond which falls within the best proportions for a round Ideal Cut. You can find this info under knowledge. Then with your carat, clarity and colour requirements you set about finding the best cut diamond you can. Some non H&A diamonds can also display an arrow pattern, doesn''t mean they are a H&A cut though. There are some beautiful diamonds out there, it is a matter of preference if you want a true H&A or just a great cut or " nice make" of diamond. It is up to your own eyes what is beautiful and that is the only thing that matters. Also WF do their Expert Selection diamonds which just missed the ACA grade, these can be a fabulous choice you could consider. I have a plain Ideal Cut diamond which could give many of the ACA diamonds etc a serious run for their money in the performance department, however I knew what to look for and got lucky with mine. Hope this helps.

 

[^]

I''ve had a tough time even finding well cut diamonds from a PS vendor that isn''t H&A. I''ve yet to see a magnified picture of one to even know what it would look like, though I''m assuming it''s the crushed ice look. Can anybody post some pics of magnified shots, or links to somebody selling one?

Thanks,
^

 

[strmrdr]

H&A to me gives the diamond the greatest potential to get all the performance the crown/pavilion/minor facet combo is capable of providing because every facet is working as well as possible.
In other words the relationship between the angles is more important but the optical symmetry lets you get the most from it.

Also see:
http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/11/1/Hearts--Arrows-Diamonds---Its-not-all-about-light-return.aspx

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 6/5/2006 10:26:16 AM
Author: ^
I've had a tough time even finding well cut diamonds from a PS vendor that isn't H&A. I've yet to see a magnified picture of one to even know what it would look like, though I'm assuming it's the crushed ice look. Can anybody post some pics of magnified shots, or links to somebody selling one?


Thanks,

^

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1615/

he has others also:
go to this page:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamondSearch.php

click advanced search
check optical symmetry
click save
Then search checking common for optical symmetry.

He stocks them at his b&m store for in store comparisons and once in the while someone from the net buys one but not often.
We are a little cut crazy around here so most people get h&a diamonds to near h&a diamonds.

 

[spyder16]

I went to downtown in Miami, fl where they have many diff. jewelry stores. There was one where they had the nicest diamonds and where very friendly. Anyways, 1 diamond in particular is a .73 f SI1 Cut:ex Polish:ex and Symmetry was also excellent. there is another diamond in goodoldgold that is a .62 E vs2 Cut:ex Polish:ex Symmetry:ex fluorescence: faint. They both look good, i guess my question is which would be a better buy/investment considering i havent seen the one online in front of me? How safe and how trustworthy are these online vendors?(goodoldgod) I''m leaning towards them they have the best pictures of the actual diamonds and the best info, they dont seem to be hiding anything. Has anyone bought from them and what advice can you give me? Thank you guys again for ur help.

Spy,

 

[Arcam]

spyder, do a search for good old gold, whiteflash, james allen etc in the search field. You''ll find a lot of people''s experiences with the various vendors. You''ll find many people have had good experiences with the ones I''ve mentioned, along with quite a few other ones.

 

[JulieN]

I don''t think perfect H&A is necessary. "near" H&A is good enough for me.

Example http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2169/ you see the hearts are not very well formed.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 6/5/2006 5:49:40 PM
Author: spyder16
I went to downtown in Miami, fl where they have many diff. jewelry stores. There was one where they had the nicest diamonds and where very friendly. Anyways, 1 diamond in particular is a .73 f SI1 Cut:ex Polish:ex and Symmetry was also excellent. there is another diamond in goodoldgold that is a .62 E vs2 Cut:ex Polish:ex Symmetry:ex fluorescence: faint. They both look good, i guess my question is which would be a better buy/investment considering i havent seen the one online in front of me? How safe and how trustworthy are these online vendors?(goodoldgod) I''m leaning towards them they have the best pictures of the actual diamonds and the best info, they dont seem to be hiding anything. Has anyone bought from them and what advice can you give me? Thank you guys again for ur help.

Spy,

I trust Jonathan at Good Old Gold more than any local vendor I''ve visited. He is a great guy and very honest. I have no hesitation about buying from him and many people here have done so in the past. I don''t have any question about his diamonds, but I wish I would visit the store to try on settings!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/5/2006 6:17:09 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006

Date: 6/5/2006 5:49:40 PM
Author: spyder16
i guess my question is which would be a better buy/investment
Spy,

I just wanted to point out Spyder that diamonds in general AREN''T a good investment if you mean from a resale point of view. If you think you might want to trade up in the future, get a diamond with GOG etc which comes with a trade up policy. I don''t know if this is what you were thinking, but reselling diamonds can be a pain and often you are lucky to get 50% of what you paid.