How I choose the diamond:
Firstly, I will look at the Hearts & Arrows precision. Then, I will look at the proportions. It is not hard to understand the proportions a little. In 2D perspective, for the white light to split into rainbow colour, you will need an angle at the crown to split the individual 7 colours of white light. The more "space" at the crown angle, and the more "steep" the crown angle, the better chance the colour is split off, making more fire. So, small table, high crown, and steep angle, will produce better fire. This is the reason why I always look for diamonds that have 55%-56% table, 34.3-35 degree crown angle, and 15% and above crown height, if possible. This will give me a higher chance to buy an excellent performing diamond. This is what I usually do for diamonds for WhiteFlash (affiliate link) and Brian Gavin Diamonds (affiliate link). For Crafted by Infinity distributed by High Performance Diamonds, I am comfortable to say that all their diamonds can perform pretty close to one another due to their proprietary calculation (at least this is TRUE for me, but for others, you may consider to take it with a pinch of salt). So I can actually buy any diamonds from them, as simple as that. I will just choose the one that exhibits the best Hearts & Arrows from their inventory. Read my newest blog post for my experience with them: https://www.myengagementringexperience.com/...experience.html

Now, all these numbers mean nothing if the cutting precision is not good. This is because this number is calculated out based on an average of multiple angles. From the link below, you can see the crown angle and the pavilion angle is actually an average of 8 different areas of the diamond:

https://www.whiteflash.com/about-diamonds/d...id=myengringexp (affiliate link)

So, taking two numbers into consideration, if one crown angle is 33, the other crown angle is 35, you can still get crown angle of 34 degree on the grading report, which is a good number, but in reality, the diamond is not that well-cut.

Hearts & Arrows is a phenomenal that you can observe when the diamond is truly well-cut by skilled cutters. The reflection at the lower half of a truly exceptional diamond will create this Hearts effect.

As for proportions:
The Tolkowsky Ideal Proportion is this: https://niceice.com/tolkowsky-ideal-cut-diamonds/
To me, this is really the REAL IDEAL PROPORTIONS. Some vendors may just throw the word "ideal" for all their diamonds despite missing the target. It is a nice marketing word anyway.

What sellers like BGD, WhiteFlash, Crafted by Infinity did was cutting right in the middle of the sweet spot. Making them a performing all-rounder. To achieve this, the cutter will need to spend more time and sacrifice more carat weight to polish the diamond as close to perfection as possible. Hence, naturally, the price is higher. You are actually paying for the skill and time spent.

I can say that nothing beats the experience of buying diamonds by looking at it. But if you have the set of tools that you can bring along, it is even better. The problem is, if you find out that the diamond is not having excellent Hearts & Arrows, or leaking some light under IdealScope/ASET, will you buy it?

So the next question you may ask is "Are there any differences in real life?" Ok, I can say that for those diamonds that have some weird angles, you can probably see the difference. In fact, there is this 3EX diamond with 41.4 pavilion angle is leaking light and when I put my diamonds with great proportions beside it and see them under handphone light, the difference is very obvious. the 3EX with 41.4 pavilion has no life.

However, if you buy diamonds with pretty close proportions, like the one you saw at Wah Chan under Solitaire Club branding, together with pretty good cut precision, then the differences will reduce, probably to a point that you will prefer to buy whichever that has the best possible price, given other things are the same. And in your case, the one you saw definitely do not have the best possible price. And in this case, I will definitely look at the online vendors I mentioned above.

Also, these vendors actually own all the diamonds, and they do not mind giving you a money-back guarantee within a certain period. Of course, money-back guarantee does not guarantee you will get all single penny back, but you will lose on the shipping cost, the insurance cost, bank charges, and possibly forex exchange rates as well. But then, you don't sink all your money one-shot. And another way of thinking is that these vendors are so comfortable with their own diamonds that they can offer you such service. In fact, High Performance Diamonds offer 80% lifetime buy-back benefit. So you can possibly cash out much more money in case you need to sell your diamonds for any reason and minimize your loses. Try to take it to a pajak gadai house and see how much they can offer you.

Also, both WhiteFlash and High Performance Diamonds have excellent upgrade benefit. You can just trade-in your diamond and they will value it at the exact price you purchase (But again, will probably minus off shipping, insurance, forex exchange, and possibly bank charges as well). But still, that is a huge amount that you can use. For example, I purchase my diamond at USD 2000, let's say after minus off all the charges, I may be still have USD 1900 left, so I then upgrade to a diamond that cost USD 3000, by just paying USD 1100 extra.

Read more here:
https://www.whiteflash.com/confidence/lifet...id=myengringexp (affiliate link)
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/whyus/whyus-upgrades

To compare, one of the brick-and-mortar brand in Malaysia requires you to upgrade to a diamond that is double the original diamond price. So let's say you purchase something at RM 10000, the next item will need to be RM 20000.

So, those benefit that I mentioned above, are really the main factors and drivers that encourage me to do the online route.

So next - can the diamonds purchased do not meet your expectation. Despite the precision is there, yes, this can happen. So for WhiteFlash, I rely on the proportions and the actual video to judge the performance, but mainly, the proportions is sufficient. Same goes for Brian Gavin Diamonds. Now, this is to play safe when we want to buy diamonds online. As for High Performance Diamonds, I trust that their formula can produce consistent performance. So, I am comfortable to say I can basically buy what they produce by picking the best Hearts & Arrow diamond.

I will also rely on the sales consultant to take the diamonds out from the diamond vault and do comparison for me. And see which one is better, although most of the time this is splitting hair.

And to give you an impression of the diamonds that are in Virtual Inventory, have a look here:
https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/sear...0.8&shape=Round

Regarding getting from ZCOVA
No, you can't ask ZCOVA to get for you, this is because those so-called super ideal vendors own the actual diamond. Their diamonds are in-house. What ZCOVA can provide is diamonds in the Virtual Inventory, whereby the diamond is still with the diamond supplier warehouse, not ZCOVA's. As for transfer risk, I can tell you there is none so far. MoneyMatch is a reputable company that get work done.

The Gem Tribe
The Gem Tribe is a relatively new company. Yes. But same goes for all other companies that they newly started. What I would like to say is do give them a shot and see how you feel about them. To me, I am very comfortable with any super ideal vendors, but for those who are not, then I am giving you some other options and see. In fact, if you read by some earlier posts, maybe 1-3 pages before, there is a person that comment on his/her positive experience with The Gem Tribe.

iDo Jewellery
Oh, and yes, you can also ask iDo Jewellery. Facebook them. They have been in this business for quite awhile.

And two others that sell in-house Hearts & Arrows:
SUEN Diamonds at Bangsar (IGI graded LOVE Diamonds).

Jann Paul at Singapore

Try to compare the prices.

This post has been edited by kambingkoh: May 9 2019, 04:05 PM

Thank you for the informative reply and suggestion.

From the 2 links shared, this seems to meet my budget https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/r...id=myengringexp.

But I have few queries on regards to the recommended stone, the diamond is graded SI1 clarity, does it matter? As earlier my finding is atleast VS2?

And from the pictures I can see that the hearts and arrow is very clear and visible, would u say this is a good buy with such specs? With the measurement quote is within the mentioned ideal spec that u quoted on previous post, hence can I say its a safe bet to go with this stone?

Lastly, if I decide to purchase how can I transact? Possible the use of credit card or pure wire transfer? As its quite a large sum, will need to plan the funds if its wire transfer.

Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thank in advance.

This post has been edited by haru20: May 9 2019, 09:28 PM

For such cut quality, I really won't mind SI1 to stick to my budget. Personally I am always willing to sacrifice clarity for better quality cut. Also, the diamond is readily available at their inventory and you can always ask their consultants and see if they are eye-clean from very close range or not. All these stones are fully-vetted by a few people on the company before being given the A Cut Above stamp. So I am pretty sure this is a good stone.

Now, it seems that Brian Gavin Diamonds haven even affordable ones. I would suggest you to go BGD side to have a look as well. I have high respect for Brian Gavin because his stones produce extreme great Hearts most of the time. Even if shipping is not free, I think their price may be lower than Whiteflash now, such as this:

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds...?a_aid=myengexp (affiliate link).

Or you can even get higher colour and slightly bigger with this:
https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds...?a_aid=myengexp (affiliate link).

Both of them within your budget.

Now, if you don't prefer SI1. It is understandable.

If you can top up your budget, you can get this:
https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds...?a_aid=myengexp (affiliate link). It is not cheap compared to a typical GIA 3EX, but it is definitely cheaper than those signature line in brick-and-mortar.

You can still go higher clarity with this:
https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds...?a_aid=myengexp (affiliate link), which is what I prefer among these 2.

There is also the a higher D colour with VS2:
https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds...?a_aid=myengexp (affiliate link), but this is not Black category though. Anyway, the differences are subtle. However, one might see some differences if they are 2 side-by-side.

OK.. So you actually have plenty of options for an excellent stone. If your budget can sustain to slightly more than RM 16k, then it is good to go with the Black by Brian Gavin F VS1. If not, then SI1 is certainly a good choice to save a 4 digit figure. It depends on your priority and preferences.

As for payment, I strongly suggest Money Match. They are very trustworthy and I have no issue transferring any money over there before. Also, they already know the details needed to transfer the money over. Besides, you can get RM 30 off using my referral code REF_ACOO if you are transferring for the first time.

Also, you get to save some money if you pay via wire transfer instead of credit card. Besides, most Malaysian credit card cannot be used for some reason.

Let me know if you have other questions.

Hi, would like to ask is below is worth with RM 3, 300 together 18k gold ring..

GIA 1327329530

Thank you

The proportions is good and the price is fair. Not sure about cut quality. Can you view the actual diamond? If yes, try to look at the arrows from the top view using a Hearts and Arrows scope. Also, try to look at the diamond under different lighting.

Since this is an SI2 stone with feather, it is always best that the seller who sell you this diamond sets the diamond for you too. With this, they will be accountable for anything bad that can happen.

https://segoma.com/v.aspx?type=iframe&id=N8EGECHRWY

Thx for reply xD
Not sure if able to look at this link.
The quote is from Zcova..

This post has been edited by ruipeng: May 10 2019, 10:25 PM

Looks very eye clean to me even at such magnification. Besides, ZCOVA is providing the setting, so I won't be worry too much about it. Of course, you can ask for a few more options to compare, and at the same time, shortlist this one first.

OK. But do possible to find such level of diamond in store such as Tomei, Wahchan, Love&co etc. as I plan to tight budget around 3k.

I am sure you can find similar 4Cs or even cut at competitive prices at Tomei and Wah Chan, but my guess is that your chances may be slimmer as they their inventory is smaller than ZCOVA's extensive virtual inventory. Wah Chan seems to throw a pretty good deal especially during stock clearance. But to be able to view so many diamonds at high magnification, ZCOVA will be the better choice. And ZCOVA's branding is more posh and luxurious as well. If that stone is chosen by Zi Yin, their co-founder and in-house GIA Graduate Gemologist, then I am certainly comfortable about it.

And Love & Co prices should be higher. Unless they carry those diamonds from some lesser known labs, which I won't encourage personally.

This post has been edited by kambingkoh: May 11 2019, 10:40 AM

Really appreciate on your reply.
Do have any other recommendations? As Zcova seems only have this diamond on this budget.

You can try The Gem Tribe and Tailored Jewel and see what they have in-stores for you. Facebook them.

Alright. Thanks for your advice and will have a look on that
But might stick to the Zcova which can meet my propose day

This post has been edited by ruipeng: May 11 2019, 07:24 PM

Alright. All the best to you!

@kambingkoh

1. Do you see any importance in HCA scores?
2. What do you think of "Sarine" method of grading? Is it a good tool to measure performance of a stone? Something like this https://api.sarine.com/viewer/v2/CW3B1MBVDJX

Sarine Whitepaper attached below.

Thanks!

This post has been edited by tzehan_dk: May 13 2019, 06:12 PM


Attached File(s)
 Sarine_light_white_paper__1_.pdf ( 643.29k ) Number of downloads: 9

1. According to the creator, Garry Holloway himself, if you got the performance image - Idealscope, then the image will be more useful. Always remember that the HCA is a rejection tool to reject diamonds that most likely can't peform as well as a truly good one. It does not mean that a particular diamond can really perform as well.

2.Sarine report will provide more detail of a particular diamond by showing you the measurements on various similar angles, but some said it is not too useful as it gives different measurements each time. But to me, it should be good enough to gauge how well the stone is cut by looking at how balance the numbers are.

Hi there,

Would like to ask your opinion on the following diamond (0.36 carat, VVS2, G, Triple Ex, No fluorescence). Do the proportions look good?

Firstly, the diamond has HCA 3.8, so most people will reject it: https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca. Ideally, it is taught that anything below 2.0 is the better choice. But remember, HCA is a rejection tool, not a selection tool. And if you decided not to reject this stone, then read below.

35.5 crown angle is usually best paired with a 40.6 pavilion angle. And to some people, even 35.5 crown angle is too steep, but to me, it is acceptable, as long as know how well the light return is. For this case, without the IdealScope image, I will assume at this pairing the diamond will leak some light. If I am buying blind without images, or actual diamond to look at, I won't consider this diamond anymore unless the price is too attractive, but sometimes, there is a reason for a great price, and the reason might not be what you prefer. I am not saying this stone is no good, but by PROPORTIONS ALONE, I will reject this stone. I can accept it if the images look promising though.

So as you can see, proportions alone can't be the final decision maker. More info is necessary.

And what is your budget and price offered to you for this stone? If you don't mind.

Thank you so much for your answer. And what an eye opener, oh dear I wasn't even aware of this new guy HCA. Budget is 3.5k for diamond only, price offered 3.4k.

Perhaps you can check this out: https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds...?a_aid=myengexp (affiliate link). It is not their top of the line collection, but it is still possess very top-notch cut quality. You can try to ask for free delivery to Malaysia, most likely you can get it. If can, then this stone may stretch your budget a little bit only.

Any advice on this stone?
https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds...detail/7837867/

This post has been edited by mrkeann: May 20 2019, 10:12 PM