who''s right? Tiffany or HCA

[greenriver]

At dinner time my husband and I went to Tiffany to compare what they have with what we have in our mind...
WOW#*&^% the sales person really amazed me with their shiny diamonds!! I am very impressed since I haven''t seen any diamonds can spark like what I saw today. My husband said"o.. It''s the lights." The sales person answered: "Oh NO!! It''s the diamond. It''s the cut"then she covered the diamond under a book,oh yeah, it still shines a lot

It is a 1.34 carat, G, VS1, $19000+ with the classic tiffany setting.

I am so so so amazed and can''t forget that diamond star, until I check its proportion with HCA. 57% table, 61.6% depth, then 35.2C angle and 43.2P angle. Guess what?? HCA score 5.o

Light Return Good
Fire Poor
Scintillation Fair
Spread
or diameter for weight Very Good

So it''s still the lights, not the "cut and the quality" as the sales person said. Or HCA is not always accurate??

 

[whatmeworry]

you probably misread. Tiffany normally uses pavillion % not pavillion angle. Re-run the numbers using %

 

[greenriver]

OH yes!! you are right. It is the % not the angle. You are good!
Then I have no way to find out the HCA score about that stone.

 

[whatmeworry]

You can! Where it says angle, it''s a drop down menu. Click on it and choose %.

 

[strmrdr]

43.2% pavilion is around 40.80 degrees.
AGS1
Well cut it could be a very nice looking diamond but not up too PS standards for a great cut



Selected: 61.6% depth, 57% table, 35.2° crown angle, 43.2% pavilion, 0% culet
The result is for a symmetrical diamond with a medium girdle and very good polish
HCA scores were adjusted Dec. 15, 2001 and Feb. 6, 2003.


Factor Grade
Light Return Very Good
Fire Very Good
Scintillation Very Good
Spread
or diameter for weight Very Good
Total Visual Performance 2.2 - Very Good - Worth buying if the price is right

 

[strmrdr]

It would qualify for GIA EX most likely.

 

[whatmeworry]

Seems solidly in the middle of AGS0 country (per PGS 1.1.2 .November 2007)

http://www.octonus.com/oct/mss/gia-agspgs.phtml

 

[strmrdr]

for 1487 you could get this much better cut 1.81 H si1 assuming its eyeclean(check)
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-770679.htm

4 prong tiff in plat for $600

http://www.whiteflash.com/Engagement-Rings/Styles/Solitaire/4-Prong-tiffany-style_994.htm

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/28/2008 3:21:09 AM
Author: whatmeworry
Seems solidly in the middle of AGS0 country (per PGS 1.1.2 .November 2007)

http://www.octonus.com/oct/mss/gia-agspgs.phtml

only with a long lgf% otherwise it would be an ags1 ish.
The percentages are almost always rounded so it could really go either way... but the ACA I linked is a ton bigger for far less money and better cut.

 

[strmrdr]

sticking with G/vs1 this one is better cut than the tiff, the one above is better cut by a small amount than this one, 1.71ct and $17404 + $600 for the setting.
http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-283314.htm

 

[strmrdr]

1.37 E/vs2 is the closest comp I could find and is from www.winkjones.com setting would likely be about the same price and it is $13503

=245&src=loupe:2o8h065d]http://www.craftedbyinfinity.com/index.php?pid=63&lang=eng&sid[]=245&src=loupe

So roughly $14.1k... better cut, better color, down 1 clarity grade, slightly larger, save almost $5k

 

[Skippy123]

Hello, I found this an interesting read on Tiffany''s https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/a-day-at-tiffanys-with-the-i-scope.69733/ hope it helps

 

[Isabelle]

Date: 3/28/2008 2:45:37 AM
Author:greenriver
At dinner time my husband and I went to Tiffany to compare what they have with what we have in our mind...

WOW#*&^% the sales person really amazed me with their shiny diamonds!! I am very impressed since I haven''t seen any diamonds can spark like what I saw today. My husband said''o.. It''s the lights.'' The sales person answered: ''Oh NO!! It''s the diamond. It''s the cut''then she covered the diamond under a book,oh yeah, it still shines a lot

It is a 1.34 carat, G, VS1, $19000+ with the classic tiffany setting.


I am so so so amazed and can''t forget that diamond star, until I check its proportion with HCA. 57% table, 61.6% depth, then 35.2C angle and 43.2P angle. Guess what?? HCA score 5.o


Light Return Good

Fire Poor

Scintillation Fair

Spread

or diameter for weight Very Good

So it''s still the lights, not the ''cut and the quality'' as the sales person said. Or HCA is not always accurate??

Hi Green River! You are going to get competing opinions about this, but I would say to follow the advice of Bee and Ty Cobb, and "USE YOUR EYES". If you love the stone, are you going to let some mathematical equation talk you out of buying it? That doesn''t make any sense. Take it over to the window and look at it in natural light. They will let you do that. If you LOVE that ring, and you go in a different direction, you might end up with a diamond that is supposedly "better" but that doesn''t speak to you. I think Tiffany uses a different cutting technique than others so maybe a Tiffany diamond could differ from what HCA says is the "best" but that doesn''t mean that HCA is right and your eyes are wrong. It also doesn''t mean the HCA is right and Tiffany is wrong. I would go with what YOU SEE when you LOOK at that stone b/c all equations aside, every diamond has its own intrinsic personality. Anyway, if you get an HCA "perfect" or whatever, I am sure it will be incredibly beautiful, but that doesn''t mean it will be more pleasing to look at than the Tiffany diamond you saw today.

 

[bee*]

ditto what Isabelle said. Definitely look with your eyes.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Why not look with your eyes and let your eyes choose from stones that also cost $5000 less? Unless it is the tiffany cache she is after, which is valid, there's no reason to pay $5000 more just because she fell in love with one stone without looking at less expesive comps. But that's just my 2c.

I hope you find somrthing you love in every way (looks, numbers--if that matters--and $$, again if that matters)
DD

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/28/2008 6:37:51 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Why not look with your eyes and let your eyes choose from stones that also cost $5000 less? Unless it is the tiffany cache she is after, which is valid, there''s no reason to pay $5000 more just because she fell in love with one stone without looking at less expesive comps. But that''s just my 2c.

I hope you find somrthing you love in every way (looks, numbers--if that matters--and $$, again if that matters)
DD

yea for the same money you can get a better cut almost 2ct that is a no-brainer to me to go with the bigger diamond!

 

[Isabelle]

I do agree that you can''t hurt yourself by looking at what others have to offer. If you can get your hands on an HCA that is supposedly "cream of the crop", then you can compare. And, all things being equal, with a RB, I would go for the bigger diamond. In fact, not only *would I* go for the bigger diamond, I DID go for the bigger diamond. LOL I was loving a 1/2 carat center stone at Tiffs, but I got a 1.15 elsewhere and it is so sparkling and dazzling. I love it. If you were looking at at Lucida diamond or a Legacy diamond I would tell you to definitely buy it at Tiffany b/c you can''t get those cuts anywhere else. But a RB can be found elsewhere.

None of this is meant to contradict my earlier post. I am just saying that if you found the ring you want, don''t let an equation talk you out of it. OTOH, if you simply hadn''t seen high quality diamonds before your Tiff experience, then you might want to look at some that are comparable and then decide.