Determining sparkle factor

[Noahsmom]

When looking for a stone online what do you look at to determine sparkle factor?
I am looking at Whiteflash (thanks to this site!) and they all look amazing! Judging by testimonials they are gorgeous stones with lots of sparkle. A lot of the specs that I''m reading are starting to make sense. What is the best indicator for sparkle?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/21/2009 1:52:44 PM
Author:Noahsmom
When looking for a stone online what do you look at to determine sparkle factor?
I am looking at Whiteflash (thanks to this site!) and they all look amazing! Judging by testimonials they are gorgeous stones with lots of sparkle. A lot of the specs that I'm reading are starting to make sense. What is the best indicator for sparkle?

Cut quality is what gives the sparkle factor!! Those of us who frequent Rocky Talk spend most of our time helping posters judge the cut of a diamond, without a good cut you won't have a pretty rock. There are various standards of cut, most commonly seen here are the Superideals which are cut to the highest standards ( like the diamond I posted for you earlier) and what we call a nice make of diamond, which is a well cut stone but not to superideal standard.

In order to judge cut we look at the proportions of a diamond such as depth, table, crown and pavilion angles which are critical, girdle thickness, polish and symmetry, diameter measurements. If the proportions are outside of a well known and proven range, then we use the Holloway Cut Advisor to let us know if a diamond is worth further evaluation or not. We also like to use reflector images such as Idealscope and ASET, to determine if there is any light leakage and to judge the quality of light return. Sometimes additional info is needed and considered such as a Sarin report which gives detailed measurements of a diamond. If the diamond is a hearts and arrows cut, then we also look at the hearts images and arrow patterning.

When evaluating fancy shapes we take a different approach, you can't tell much by numbers with these so reflector images and detailed photographs are essential in order to get a good idea of cut. The AGS0 cut grade is very popular with buyers as these diamonds can be considered a safe choice, however I prefer not to assume anything in my consumer capacity but to evaluate each diamond carefully in each case.

I hope this gives you some insight into what we do!