HCA vs CUT

TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others

#46
I just got your message Ali, and honestly I don't think either is particularly great, based on angles, but you need to choose more with your eyes when you're picking from stones within these generally decent ranges. They're both a little deep for the table percentage and the crown angle doesn't play well with that pavilion angle, and light return is going to suffer as a result.

The angles are more of what the HCA is concerned about, vs the girdle percentage.

The biggest thing to pay attention to is which one spoke to you more. IF either really spoke to you, that's a big thing to note. If neither was LOVE, then you know you can keep looking.
 
#47
It is very interesting to see how different people have varying opinions on the ideal or what is considered ideal objectively but what one may prefer and there are different factors that come into mind. I personally would go with color, so there 1. would win, that said my stone is a J. But that was a customer buy up with a history and I fell in love with the entire piece. Then if I was to choose a stone it would at least be an F now.

I too would go down on clarity quite significantly for a larger stone. I would go down to VS2 or even SI1 it truly depends on the particular inclusions and I would enquire about that as well. My stone is a VS2 with two tiny inclusions both under the table but even I cannot see them even with a loupe it is really difficult to detect them and I am trained. That said I recently got a customer an F, SI1 and the stone only had two issues with clarity, one tiny inclusion on a crown facet but the other was an external flaw and one that actually bothers me, it was a burn mark that looks like a rainbow from a certain angle. The stone was beautiful and I consider this a major mistake to ruin a stone like this. I would not buy such a stone but because of this it was priced great. It just depends but do ask and sometimes even the charts are flawed, actually many are very flawed, I noticed several times in particular in the case of HRD certificates the clarity characteristics are really understated and shown much smaller in size than they actually are in real life. Just in case I would likely pick a VS stone as well.

Now as to the other proportions and percentages, I would never pick a thin girdle unless that girdle is protected as it is very easy to chip a thin girdle so that is my biggest problem with stone No. 1, while it may look really nice, it may not be as durable as you want it to be. I would pick a medium if I could,however, in real life it is not always so easy to pick out exactly what you want.

Also, I personally prefer a larger table but then again that is only my personal preference, a larger table will make your diamond look larger though, while it may take away fire, some people, including me, are not so crazy about fire. I would pick brilliance over it at any time. Today though is most definitely in fashion but you have to go with what you like.

All in all I would probably look for something F, VS2, Medium girdle and a bit larger table than 1 but a thick girdle is not so great either. You are the one that has to decide and if you can protect the girdle of 1 with the setting then go for it, but I would most definitely not recommend a bezel.
 
#48
I spoke more in depth with this person, and there is a reasoning for wanting a D FL/IF and that's not negotiable.

I am opposite though on the table thing. I go by AGS cut quality standards typically and stick with the 55% table because it provides the utmost fire and color light return, as well as optimal white light return, and when the stone is cut well and not too deep, you will get a great spread without having to rely on a larger table.
 
#49
Yes, I agree with you Ame, of course there is such a thing as an ideal and then there are personal preferences, I just personally have a thing for antiques and of course they come with larger tables, I still find them charming but one reason is the gorgeous workmanship you can see on those pieces, you rarely find that today. I have had a great mentor who does everything, he is a watchmaker, jeweler, he cuts his own stones and he is a judicial expert, his workmanship is beautiful but where I live they do not teach based on the standards he works with. But I am really not skilled with my hands, I love stones and I love designing but I doubt I could actually make jewelry.:))) That is ok, fortunately there are a couple of good jewelers around that can actually make a dream come true for many.:))) My concern with D, IF is the possible treatments like baking and so on and then beauty can be a bit imperfect but of course a D, IF is gorgeous with the right parameters as to cut, proportions, etc.
 
#51
Yes and no, I have run into problems as to treatments. Baking is practically impossible to detect, call me paranoid but this is one reason I am a bit leery of very white especially D stones. Of course it is highly unlikely to happen but it can. Besides I have had a case with a stone where one gemologist raised a claim about treatment, in this case it was laser drilling, another lab and two other diamond dealers claimed there was no sign of treatment whatsoever. I was on their side, I too thought the stone was untreated, however, you see it is not so easy when it comes to diamonds. True that diamonds are very easy to identify and grade compared to colored stones but at a certain level they can become very difficult. Then again, you may as well not buy diamonds then, 99 % of the time lab reports can be mostly trusted (even if they are somewhat flawed and inaccurate as I have stated in the case of many HRD reports) but they have to be taken with a grain of salt. I feel that the more you know the less you know. I find that pieces with many small diamonds are much easier to trust as to the quality than solitaires, then come the difficulties especially in sizes over 1 ct. Of course I do not want to be negative, everyone has to decide for themselves but when you have a lower than top color and clarity grade it is easy to ascertain you have a natural, untreated diamond. One reason I opt for such stones most the time. Imperfections are natural and beautiful; like a beautiful woman with some imperfections.
 
#53
OVincze said:
Yes and no, I have run into problems as to treatments. Baking is practically impossible to detect, call me paranoid but this is one reason I am a bit leery of very white especially D stones. Of course it is highly unlikely to happen but it can. Besides I have had a case with a stone where one gemologist raised a claim about treatment, in this case it was laser drilling, another lab and two other diamond dealers claimed there was no sign of treatment whatsoever. I was on their side, I too thought the stone was untreated, however, you see it is not so easy when it comes to diamonds. True that diamonds are very easy to identify and grade compared to colored stones but at a certain level they can become very difficult. Then again, you may as well not buy diamonds then, 99 % of the time lab reports can be mostly trusted (even if they are somewhat flawed and inaccurate as I have stated in the case of many HRD reports) but they have to be taken with a grain of salt. I feel that the more you know the less you know. I find that pieces with many small diamonds are much easier to trust as to the quality than solitaires, then come the difficulties especially in sizes over 1 ct. Of course I do not want to be negative, everyone has to decide for themselves but when you have a lower than top color and clarity grade it is easy to ascertain you have a natural, untreated diamond. One reason I opt for such stones most the time. Imperfections are natural and beautiful; like a beautiful woman with some imperfections.
Click to expand...
A reputable lab will detect "baking" and the like under a scope and no reputable lab will leave that unnoted. Since this poster is looking at two GIA graded stones, if they were, in fact, treated in any way, it would be noted on either report. I know there are plenty of online folks who like to freak people out in their videos and posts about stuff of that sort, but it's not something that a legit lab is going to miss.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top