H&A vs. GIA Excellent Cut

[nanarama]

I'm looking at round diamonds and I'm hearing such conflicting things. I want a GIA certified diamond, but then I hear that H&A diamonds are the most brilliant.
I don't want to pay the premium of a branded H&A ring (like Hearts on Fire), so it is possible to have one sourced that is not branded AND GIA certified? Are there any vendors that specialize in this?

 

[denverappraiser]

Read through the tutorial a bit and I think it'll be easier. H&A is not a measure of brilliance. For that matter, neither is the HCA score or even the GIA cut grade.

There are lots of 'generic' vendors who sell H&A stones with GIA documentation, including quite a few who participate in the database here as well as this very forum. Search for stones using the PS diamond search function, find dealers that seem like the sort you want to do business with, and then search their websites for ones that claim H&A symmetry. Be aware that they don't all use the same standards for what constitutes a proper H&A stone and there's a fair amount of disagreement in the minute details so if it's important to you, check the jewelers page for their own explanation of what THEY mean when they use this term.

 

[mailcanDOTcom]

I found a chart that gives the parameters for a "Hearts & Arrows Ideal Cut" on this website: http://www.diamondjewellerystudio.com.au/cms/page/view/AGA-Cut-Chart-Brilliant

I searched Blue Nile and found a diamond that fall within those numbers, but it was an "Ideal" cut (not "Signature"). GIA Excellent. HCA 1.3. Does that mean that it will demonstrate good Hearts & Arrows patterning?

 

[stone-cold11]

I found a chart that gives the parameters for a "Hearts & Arrows Ideal Cut" on this website: http://www.diamondjewellerystudio.com.au/cms/page/view/AGA-Cut-Chart-Brilliant

I searched Blue Nile and found a diamond that fall within those numbers, but it was an "Ideal" cut (not "Signature"). GIA Excellent. HCA 1.3. Does that mean that it will demonstrate good Hearts & Arrows patterning?

No, different thing. H&A is a measure of optical symm, not performance which is dependent on the proportion of the stone. A stone can get H&A optical symm with the necessary pattern but still have very poor optical performance and vice versa.

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI nanarama ,
Are you looking at actual stones?
The patterning on an H&A is fairly easy for a seller to demonstrate- either in person, or in an online environment.
As Stone said, H&A, in itself, is no guarantee of getting a stone considered to be well cut.
I'd advise looking at some stones in person to see if you like the H&A patterning.
If you do, I'm sure members here will assist you in finding a nice one.
If you don't ( and a lot of folks don't), then you might want to alter your search.

 

[Lula]

HI nanarama ,
Are you looking at actual stones?
The patterning on an H&A is fairly easy for a seller to demonstrate either in person, or in an online environment.
As Stone said, H&A, in itself, is no guarantee of getting a stone considered to be well cut.
I'd advise looking at some stones in person to see if you like the H&A patterning.
If you do, I'm sure members here will assist you in finding a nice one.
If you don't ( and a lot of folks don't), then you might want to alter your search.

Jewelers who sell hearts and arrows diamonds in retail stores will show you the stone under a special viewer. You'll see the arrows from the top and the hearts on the bottom of the stone. Online vendors who sell hearts and arrows stones will have photographs of the hearts and some of them (GOG, NiceIce, HPD) have photos of the arrows, too.

Just to comment on the part I bolded above: I've owned several H&A diamonds. The patterning in real life is not black like you see under the viewers or in photos. In fact, you have to hold the diamond a certain way to see the arrows (you won't see the hearts when the diamond is set unless the bottom of your setting is completely open). When you do see the arrows, they are either silvery-white and/or appear as a flash of color.

Read as much as you can on the knowledge tab on the toolbar above; that will help to familiarize you with the terminology. NiceIce and Good Old Gold and HighPerformanceDiamonds have good diamond education information on their sites, too. Wink Jones of High Performance Diamonds has a video series called How to Buy a Diamond, but I can't find the link to it. Maybe someone else will see this and post the link to the videos.

 

[risingsun]

Portree is correct about H&A patterns. In addition, vendors selling top tier H&A diamonds also choose or cut stones with excellent light performance. The majority of these diamonds are sent to AGS for performance based grading and receive the highest grade of 0. If you choose your vendor wisely and pick a top tier stone, you should find a stunning example of a H&A stone. Many of us on this board have done so.

 

[yssie]

HI nanarama ,
Are you looking at actual stones?
The patterning on an H&A is fairly easy for a seller to demonstrate either in person, or in an online environment.
As Stone said, H&A, in itself, is no guarantee of getting a stone considered to be well cut.
I'd advise looking at some stones in person to see if you like the H&A patterning.
If you do, I'm sure members here will assist you in finding a nice one.
If you don't ( and a lot of folks don't), then you might want to alter your search.

Jewelers who sell hearts and arrows diamonds in retail stores will show you the stone under a special viewer. You'll see the arrows from the top and the hearts on the bottom of the stone. Online vendors who sell hearts and arrows stones will have photographs of the hearts and some of them (GOG, NiceIce, HPD) have photos of the arrows, too.

Just to comment on the part I bolded above: I've owned several H&A diamonds. The patterning in real life is not black like you see under the viewers or in photos. In fact, you have to hold the diamond a certain way to see the arrows (you won't see the hearts when the diamond is set unless the bottom of your setting is completely open). When you do see the arrows, they are either silvery-white and/or appear as a flash of color.

Read as much as you can on the knowledge tab on the toolbar above; that will help to familiarize you with the terminology. NiceIce and Good Old Gold and HighPerformanceDiamonds have good diamond education information on their sites, too. Wink Jones of High Performance Diamonds has a video series called How to Buy a Diamond, but I can't find the link to it. Maybe someone else will see this and post the link to the videos.

As they said.

Boutiques that sell H&A claim their stones are the most brilliant - and they most often are, but this correlation is NOT causal.

These boutiques choose their stones (or have their stones cut) by a very specific set of proportions that are generally crowd-pleasers. In addition, these vendors require that their branded stones be cut precisely enough to produce those nice hearts you see through the hearts viewer. One fact (specific proportions or perfect hearts) does not cause, suggest, or imply that the other fact is true unless the stones are advertised as exhibiting both.