Chapter 2 - Diamond Education Made Easy (Part 4 - The Significance of Hearts & Arrows)

4th part of this series! Who knew that I would have so much to say about diamonds? By now, you should have a clear idea on the importance of diamond structure in my previous post, and how to utilize the HCA tool to evaluate the cut of the diamond. In this analysis post, I'll be touching very briefly on the significance of Hearts and Arrows, and how you should use them to your advantage when choosing your diamond. 

Missed the first three parts? Here's the link for you to :

Chapter 2: Diamond Education Made Easy (Part 1 - Analyzing the 4Cs)

Chapter 2: Diamond Education Made Easy (Part 2 - Diamond Grading System)
Chapter 2: Diamond Education Made Easy (Part 3 - Diamond Structure and HCA Score Calculator)

So.. what is Hearts & Arrows in a diamond? I am pretty sure that you'd heard this term before at each and every mainstream jeweler: Diamond & Platinum, Poh Kong, Goldheart, Tomei, etc.

But what are hearts and arrows?

Hearts and Arrows (H&A) are a type of round diamond cut (there are many types in the market, such as the Solasfera cut, Octagon cut and many more), that represents the symmetry-ness of the diamond. According to Wikipedia:

"Hearts and Arrows diamonds are precision-cut variations of the traditional 57 faceted round brilliant cut. They are cut to ideal proportions with good optical symmetry, polish and a specific faceting pattern. When all these factors are present, the result is a repeatable, near perfect pattern of eight symmetrical arrows in the face-up position of the stone (called 'crown') and eight symmetrical hearts when viewed in the table-down position (called 'pavilion')."

This type of cut was founded by a Japanese in the 1980s. It is classified by the distinct 8 arrows (when viewed from the top of the diamond), and 8 hearts (when viewed from the bottom of the diamond). I believe that one day when he was cutting the diamond and viewed the diamond through the scope, he must be like: "Oh my gosh, I see Arrows and Hearts! We can totally market this!!". After all, it could represent the guys ARROW of love to the girl's HEART. So perhaps Hearts & Arrows could symbolize his commitment, and love to always take care of her (Sounds really nice and impressive, but dont quote me on this). 

Picture sourced from YourDiamondTeacher

Picture sourced from YourDiamondTeacher

Sometimes in the H&A scope, you'll see either red or blue images. This is just basically coloured paper that is inserted into the scope to give you a better contrast to see the H&A image.

But in all seriousness, the H&A image is one of the key factors in analyzing the diamond symmetry. Using a scope with a 10x magnification on a loose H&A diamond, you would want to see the above image: crisp clear cut arrows and hearts in even proportions.

What happens when a declared H&A diamond is cut in uneven proportions? Take a look at the following example:

Picture sourced from Pricescope

Picture sourced from Beyond4Cs

So why are the diamond images as above not considered a good H&A cut? Well, lets go through the summarized criteria as defined by JannPaul Singapore for a good H&A cut:

Hearts:

• 8 equal uniformed symmetrical hearts.
• 8 distinct 'V's below the hearts
• Check the ratio and symmetry of the heart, and whether is there a cleft in the middle of the heart
• Check the spacing in between the hearts
• Check the symmetry of the V. Are the shafts even, are the lengths the same, etc. 
• If there are more than 2 imperfections, it fails as a H&A diamond. 

Arrows:

• Each arrow (8) must be clearly visible with a shaft and a arrow head.
• The 8 arrows shafts as well as heads have to be straight and in the right position.
• The arrow and shaft must be aligned and should meet at the girdle.
• The arrow heads should be sharp and crisp.
• There must be total uniformity and balance.

Take a look at a real diamond example by Beyond 4Cs:

The above mentioned are samples of diamonds with a poor Hearts & Arrow Cut. 

For the diagram on the left:

• Shaft is not touching the arrow at 11 and 1 o clock
• Arrow heads are not significantly defined
• Shaft is misaligned to the arrow head at 1 o clock
• Center is not well defined
• Arrow shaft has various thickness

For the diagram on the right:

• The hearts at 3, 5, 7 and 11 o clock has a significant cleft in the center of the heart
• V shape are not even 
• Some of the pointed part of the V is longer than the other
• The V are not even
• Hearts and V are irregularly spaced.

OMG, these are so small and minute details. Do they really matter and are they worth my time?

For a hearts and arrow diamond (which we normally pay a slight premium for), we often overlook the small details (well that's because the diamond is way to small to see). But the truth is, just a small shift or a skewed cut would significantly impact the diamond performance. How so? Imagine a diamond as a series of mirrors, to bounce light into your eyes. And all the mirrors are aligned in such a way to reflect the maximum amount of light into your eyes. So if there's a 1 degree misalignment in one of your mirrors, you're going to lose a small percentage of light reflected into your eyes. And when that happens, you're not going to get a good performing diamond (i.e. less sparkly and bright).

It is very important to note, that it is the cut creates the H&A pattern. And not the H&A pattern determines the cut. More than often, the mainstream jewelers will market their diamonds to be H&A, even when they are not up to par as you can see with the diamonds as above. Yes, technically they have hearts, and they have arrows when viewed through the H&A viewer. But are they true H&A diamonds? No, because a true H&A diamond should follow the specification as listed by HRD. 

Now, is it easy to find a perfect diamond with perfect H&A in mainstream jewelry stores? Yes, and no. It depends on your definition of perfect. If you are able to tolerate the slight imperfections, then there are abundance of these kind of diamonds in the stores at a competitive pricing. However if you're looking for a true Idea Cut H&A diamond, you'll definitely need to be slightly more patient, or source from a diamond wholesaler. 

What is important to note from this post is that the H&A cut diamond represents the optimal symmetry of the diamond, just like a mirror to reflect the maximum amount of light for maximum brilliance and fire. 

Are they significant? 

Yes. 

Is it important? 

This is what you as a consumer would need to ask yourself before investing in a diamond. Diamonds with H&A cut is slightly more expensive in the market, compared to non H&A diamonds because of the level of precision required to cut the diamond. However and personally, I feel the H&A cut is something worth investing for, as I'd always mentioned.

What's the point of spending money on a diamond that don't sparkle? ;)

For further reading on how to evaluate a good H&A cut, or simply because you want to learn more bout H&A, I'll suggest that you go to the following sites (cause I found them extremely useful as well!):

YourDiamondTeacher

Beyond4Cs

DiamondsPro

Happy reading!