It has been more than 3 years that I wrote about how to pick a Modern Round Brilliant diamond.
http://www.myengagementringexperience.com/2017/01/simple-steps-to-select-round-brilliant.html
Actually not much has been changed since then, just that my preference has become wider and broader as there are diamonds that are still consider good in the wider range.
Of course, I may be a bit bias here because I am selling diamonds myself and my selection will include those in the wider or broader range. Hence, you may want to take it with a pinch of salt.
Ok, let's look at this example, a 0.54ct E VVS2 diamond:
The table is 59%. Seems like a pretty good diamond to me. This is one of the example that the table size can go wider than the original suggested value.
Also, if you see a 34 crown angle that pairs with a 40.8 pavilion angle, it can be considered too, and it is very much a safe pairing itself. (Note: Not referring to the diamond above)
How about this?
35.5 crown angle pair with 40.8 pavilion angle? Actually still seem fine. Just that personally feel that 35.5 crown pair with 40.6 pavilion angle is the best pairing. This is a steep crown pair with a shallow pavilion combo, which is good.
How about the 62.5% depth? It is actually nothing much. Still okay. In fact, 62.5% is still consider a super ideal diamond depth to some vendors.
The problem with steeper crown angle and more total diamond depth is that the diamond might look smaller than what is meant to be for its carat weight. For example, this 0.56ct may look like a 0.55ct if we use a "special calculation" I read before:
Width 1 x Width 2 x Height = 5.26 x 5.23 x 3.28 = 0.5504 ~ 0.55ct <- Take this with a pinch of salt as well, but personally, I do use it, especially for diamond at exact carat weight border.
Let's compare with some other diamonds at this carat weight, which may not have cut that is as good (according to the supplier), but still pretty good.
See the dimension?
While this is not a huge problem for the 0.56ct as even dropping to a 0.55ct will make sure this diamond still within the 0.5x ct range, but as a consumer, if the diamond is dropped from 0.5ct to 0.49ct, I may feel a bit upset I guess. Guess is a mentality thingy. Despite this, I don't see there is a huge price jump between a 0.49ct and a 0.5ct when purchasing from my supplier, so I may say that the cost difference between a 0.49ct and a 0.55ct is insignificant as far as base price is concerned. Perhaps this may bring some consolation. However, whether the seller will implement a markup for the 0.5ct will be another story.
Before I get drifted off further and further, let me just say images or videos are important. Get those from the seller. Also, please don't be lazy to register yourself at PriceScope to utilize the daily 3 times HCA tool:
https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca
It is only available to registered members only. As far as the Internet is concerned, rule of thumb is to get a diamond that scores below 2. Personally, I won't really be bothered by the statement "Scores of 0-1 are usually not best for rings." but if you are, then try to look for what other people are looking for "Most people prefer stones that score 1-2, or even top Hearts & Arrows symmetry stones up to 3.0."
I did not make up that statement, it is written by Garry Holloway, the creator of HCA and IdealScope himself.
With images/videos & HCA, you are more or less be able to see whether the stone is good enough for you. This is the simplest way, but may also be the hardest. How would you know how see whether the diamond is good enough you may say.
Well, the easiest way is to compare the image or video to a really well-cut diamond. You can actually find plenty of those on WhiteFlash, Brian Gavin Diamonds, or High Performance Diamonds website.
To be fair, different camera, environment, lighting, etc, may result in different picture quality, but overall, you may be able to identify how well the arrows are aligned, and whether they are excessive blockage behind the arrows.
It is really not that hard. Of course, the seller may say that it is nothing major, won't affect performance, etc. For this, what I will do is to use a give and take method, for example, it is much cheaper than what I can get from super ideal vendors, what sort of difference will be significant enough for me to opt for this diamond compare to another one which has a better cut.
I can't answer this for you, unfortunately, so you have to ask yourself.
Anyway, if you really want diamonds that are really affordable for its quality, check out the few diamonds that I am selling. (Yes, I know, some marketing here, but well, please bear with me. If you interested, please check out my Facebook page. Thank you.)
Don't bother to expect that you will be able to obtain Hearts & Arrows image from most seller. If they are able to provide, consider you are lucky. If not, consider it normal. If you can't accept, consider vendors that are able to provide, as simple as that.
One thing you may consider to request is to ask the vendor to take a picture of the Hearts & Arrows of the diamond AFTER you purchased it but BEFORE it gets set into the ring setting.
They don't really need super expensive imaging device to take because a normal smart phone and a Hearts & Arrows scope will be more than enough. The scope is like few Ringgit only.
Also, may also try to request IdealScope and ASET AFTER you purchased the diamond and it has arrived. But the chance is EXTREMELY slim. Both of those scope costs much more - A few hundred Ringgit for 2 pieces of plastic, and not really a standard that most jewellers may want to follow. But again, Hearts & Arrows should be something easy to get.
It won't be something as good as those high-res camera, but it will be good enough to know whether the diamond is eligible enough to become a Hearts & Arrows diamond, especially when the vendor claim it to be so. To be fair, there is really no such thing as perfect diamond with perfect Hearts & Arrows, but rather, whether the price is good enough for the quality of the stone provided as well as the service provided. And also whether the diamond is perfect enough for you and your loved ones.
