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Newbie in search of answers...Plesae Help!

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k_howard

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 22, 2010
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I have been lurking around the site for the past couple of weeks getting educated on the diamond buying process. I want to start by thanking you''ll in advance for your assistance Everyone seems very knowledgeable when it comes the the 4C''s and beyond. I had never heard of a DiamXray, Aset Imagery or IdealScope analysis so needless to say this has all been an eye opener. The information that I have obtained in the forum and other websites, particularly Good old Gold, has been invaluable. I took the weekend to go to a couple of B&M establishments and was blown away by the lack imagery that they provide. For example, I asked about Aset and DiamXray imagery at Jared and the women looked at me as if I was speaking a different language.

Now for the crux of the issue...

I have obtained some spec of round H & A''s that I''m considering. I ran them all through the HCA and they averaged between 1.1 - 1.7 So good so far, however this begs another question, how to choose b/t diamonds that are so similar? But I digress. Two of the diamonds were from blue nile and they come out at .7 and .8. Am I missing something here? Why did they receive a score that is so much lower? If anyone can assist I would appreciate it.
 
HCA is a rejection tool not a selection tool, lower score below 2 does not mean it is a better performing stone.

If idealscope/ASET image is available, then HCA score is not that important.
 
Date: 2/22/2010 11:53:56 AM
Author: Stone-cold11
HCA is a rejection tool not a selection tool, lower score below 2 does not mean it is a better performing stone.

If idealscope/ASET image is available, then HCA score is not that important.

Actually I think of all the devices which we commonly discuss here on PS, such as the HCA, Ideal Scope, ASET, Gems Fantasy Scope, etc. as "rejection tools" in that we use them to eliminate diamonds with lower levels of cut precision and cut performance
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The diamonds which remain on the table at the end of the evaluation process are flat out gorgeous! I think the PS vendors who specialize in diamonds of exceptional make will agree that we use these tools more for their rejection value than their approval value... The diamond either looks phenomenal when viewed through these devices or it doesn''t and if it doesn''t - see ya!

What really perplexes me is how some vendors rely on images from the ASET, Ideal Scope, GFS, etc. when they''ve clearly never "put an eye" on the stone? i.e. "drop ship vendors" who ask their supplier for images of the diamond as seen through ASET, Ideal Scope, GFS and then forward those on to the client... And when the client says "how do the inclusions look?" the vendor has to say "uh, I don''t know - hold on, I''ll call the cutter..." and then the customer is supposed to buy the stone off of that assessment? If only I had a nickel for every time one of the diamond cutters assured me that a stone was gorgeous! Those little suckers LIE
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True, I never said other tools are selection tools either... :P
 
Date: 2/22/2010 12:12:03 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
True, I never said other tools are selection tools either... :P

Nope you didn''t. Just clarifying
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Date: 2/22/2010 11:47:55 AM
Author:k_howard

I had never heard of a DiamXray, Aset Imagery or IdealScope analysis so needless to say this has all been an eye opener.

Now for the crux of the issue...


Two of the diamonds were from blue nile and they come out at .7 and .8. Am I missing something here?

I think you''ll find BlueNile does not offer any images for you to assess light leakage whether for selection of rejection. So, you might be missing images to help you make your decision
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Thanks for you input so far. I understand that I should not base my decision solely on the HCA, rather it should be a "tool" used to assist me in the process. I am just leery of including these two in my "final four" without any additional idealscope/ASET images.
 
Date: 2/22/2010 12:29:29 PM
Author: k_howard
Thanks for you input so far. I understand that I should not base my decision solely on the HCA, rather it should be a ''tool'' used to assist me in the process. I am just leery of including these two in my ''final four'' without any additional idealscope/ASET images.

Exactly. If I were a consumer trying to purchase a diamond online and/or in a brick and mortar jewelry store, I would begin by reading as many of the diamond grading tutorials which I could get my hands on... There are many articles to be found here in the Price Scope journal and on the individual web sites of PS vendors which are quite insightful.

Then I would use the HCA as an evaluation tool to reject diamonds from the list of diamonds which I was considering based on the estimated potential for visual performance...

Then I would look at the diamond details pages for the diamonds remaining on my list and eliminate those diamonds which exhibit inclusions which may be unattractive and/or potentially detrimental to the longevity of the diamond - working with a vendor who already does this as part of their evaluation process can be quite helpful at this point... Look at the clarity images of the diamond provided in the online diamond details page and determine if anything looks disturbing - keep in mind that a one carat ideal cut diamond has an outside diameter of about 6.5 mm and has probably been blown up to the size of a basketball in order to provide you with a detailed view of the inclusions, so it''s easy for things to look disturbing!

Look at the ASET, Ideal Scope and GFS images - for your purpose, what you''re primarily looking for is symmetry of the patterns exhibited within the images and you want to avoid diamonds which exhibit large amounts of leakage - see tutorials on this.

I recommend working with vendors who actually bother to look at the diamonds that they sell, read the forum and you''ll be able to figure out who these vendors are (I can''t specify because I am a vendor) but it''s pretty easy to figure out because they''re the ones offering very detailed diamond details pages... And if you''re working with a vendor who doesn''t offer this stuff, ask them why not and ask them to provide the images for you - even if it is an exception to their normal mode of operations. Most vendors have the equipment to provide a detailed evaluation of a diamond, it''s just faster, easier and more profitable for them not to have to do so...

And finally, if the vendor is not able or willing to provide the images - ask another vendor if the diamond is one which they have access to - if the diamond is not owned by the original vendor and is merely being mirrored off of the multiple listing service, then practically any vendor here on PS will be able to source the diamond from the cutter and provide you with answers to your questions. On this note, why not ask one of the vendors who is already providing you with the ASET, Ideal Scope, etc. images for the other two diamonds to look over the details for the two ''unknown'' diamonds and help you sort it out?
 
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