Stones that are brandname vs. unbranded, does it matter?

[crashprime]

All things being equal, does a "branded" cut have any effect on an appraisal?

I have been looking at round brilliants, and I have found various ideal sym/polish/light performance stones, and some have been given a branding like "TrueHearts" or "A Cut Above". Usually the reason they are branded is because they have a proprietary cut, or fall within a smaller range of positive attributes in their own assessment of the stone.

Does this impact the stones value at all?

The reason I would ask this is ... it seems to have an effect on retail pricing. I am wondering if it's a nike swoosh type thing, or possibly a real measurement of quality and worth.

 

[Dancing Fire]

No, if all the stones are well cut with identical specs.

 

[John P]

"Identical specs" is impossible to tell from a grading report. Any laboratory exec will confirm this.

All things being equal, does a "branded" cut have any effect on an appraisal?.

The most significant aspect is this: Your insurance company (depending on your insurer and policy) is typically bound to replace a lost or damaged diamond with "like-kind-and-quality." When you have a branded stone...whether proprietary or conventional...they are obligated to replace it with another diamond from the same brand.

In the interest of Full Disclosure: My company produces a name diamond-brand (but we produce other stuff too)...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

On the other hand, you won't be likely to find hearts and arrows level diamonds just mixed into the virtual databases, either. It all depends on what you want! You can find excellent/ideal cut diamonds that are very beautiful. But if you want top cut quality, you might want something like an ACA or other signature stones.

 

[teobdl]

All things being equal, does a "branded" cut have any effect on an appraisal?.

The most significant aspect is this: Your insurance company (depending on your insurer and policy) is typically bound to replace a lost or damaged diamond with "like-kind-and-quality." When you have a branded stone...whether proprietary or conventional...they are obligated to replace it with another diamond from the same brand.

THAT is good to know!

I will say that I compared side-by-side a branded diamond to a non-branded diamond that had great hearts, and in a "blind-test", I chose the branded diamond every single time. This included different lighting environments, different angles, etc. It was close, but I did like the branded diamond better because it somehow had better contrast and dynamic movement. The reason for this is beyond me.

That's not to say that you should absolutely buy a branded diamond. I say this for a few reasons:
1. the choice was close, and to choose, the diamonds really had to be next to each other. in real life, diamonds are rarely compared next to each other. usually they're just seen in isolation, and someone will just notice if it's really nice or just mediocre.
2. not all brands are the same!! i've seen JA "true hearts" with some funky monkey hearts. definitely wouldn't pass the test at brian gavin, crafted by infinity or white flash.
3. You can probably find a super well-cut diamond that is nearly indistinguishable (except in a critical side by side comparison with a discerning eye) from the select inventories at Brian Gavin or White Flash or Good Old Gold.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I have had bought both branded and unbranded true H&A stones,to tell the truth ...I can't tell the difference b/t them.