What to look for in a heart shaped diamond?

[HowardTheDuck]

I am in the market for a heart shaped diamond, and was hoping for some help. Size will be <1ct, F or better color, VVS2 or better clarity (preferably IF). Polish/Symmetry EX/EX. It will most likely be set in a thin platinum solitaire setting.

What I need help with is table/depth/etc. i understand that cut is all subjective and everyone has their own preferences. From what I have read, I have figured the following:

Depth: 60% give or take a few percent
Table: 55% give or take a couple percent (but less than depth?)
Girdle: Medium-Slightly Thick
Ratio: It seems that as close to 1:1 as possible is preferred, but i think a wider stone would look better in a solitaire setting. I don't know how this affects light performance though.

Am I on the right track with any of that?

As for vendor, I have been looking at Blue Nile as I like their Petite Solitaire setting. Their stones do seem to carry a premium over other vendors, but at least they have 6% cashback through the end of the year.

I know that heart shaped stones aren't the most popular, but thy do seem to have their admirers here, and this forum has proven to have a wealth of information and friendly helpful posters.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Circe]

Okay, just to get it out of the way: love the username.

Second: check out this link; https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/heart-cut-diamond. It gives you more specific parameters, which can be useful ... but, honestly, I think your best bet would also be to work with a vendor who has stock in-house, just because it's really tough to judge fancy cuts by the numbers. It would be useful, I think, for you to see a few stones in person just to be sure what you prefer - I mean, I myself love a fat heart, but am left sort of cold by the ones that just look like notched pear-shapes - and also to have access to ASETS and such to judge light performance. I'm not sure which vendor would be best for this sort of thing, as hearts aren't the most common choice, but Mark at ERD is great for other fancy shapes: so too James Allen, and I myself have loved working with Yekutiel at IDJ. So maybe call around and see who has the sort of goods you're looking for on-hand?

P.S. - I will bet money you will get a lot of comments asking if you're sure she likes hearts. So, just to preempt them ... you are, right?

 

[tyty333]

You might also try Diamonds by Lauren. He has a few yellow hearts in stock and could hopefully find you a nice white one.

http://rockdiamond.com/index.php/categories/loose-heart-diamonds

 

[rubybeth]

A friend got a heart shaped stone from Whiteflash which was very nice. They sourced it for him.

 

[LD]

Rather than look at stats, I would concentrate on the shape of the heart. Some like small fat hearts and others like elongated hearts. I bought a yellow heart diamond from DBL and I fell in love with the shape. I've seen other heart shapes that I haven't liked at all! Also, please think about a setting because unless you go the bespoke route, you may be limited.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Two questions. Is this for an engagement ring? Is this the shape she requested?

 

[Rockdiamond]

Hi Howard!
Thanks tyty and LD!
I also loved the shape of LovingDiamonds stone.

A few things stand out to me reading your post:
1) if it's true that she wants a heart, I'd suggest tossing the EX/EX requirement. EX/EX does NOT mean a diamond is necessarily well cut - especially in a heart shape.
2) I'd also toss ANY chart, or "cheat sheet" that purports to provide"the right stats"

When it comes to judging a heart shape, other factors will be far more important. As already mentioned- there are fat hearts, tall hearts- and hearts with that are not well defined. Some hearts look large for their weight, others look small.
Some are incredibly sparkly, others not so much.
Unbelievably, none of this is directly reflected in Pol/Sym stats.

Visuals are everything in a heart shape- photos and videos are your very good friend when shopping for a heart....

 

[beesha77]

I don't know much about heart diamonds but i do know that JBEG has one on sale!