Hearts & Arrows™

 

WHAT IS HEARTS & ARROWS?

The term “Hearts and Arrows” (H&A) refers to the 8 hearts and 8 arrows that are visible from the top and bottom (respectively) of a round brilliant diamond with a high cut quality.
There are several things one can look for in a diamonds H&A images that indicate whether or not the diamond is of high quality.

An ideally cut diamond should show eight symmetrical arrows when viewed from above (the crown). The eight symmetrical hearts should be visible when the diamond is flipped over and viewed from below (the pavilion). Because an immense amount of skill is required to create perfectly symmetrical H&A, diamonds that exhibit these are considered Super Ideal.

THE ORIGIN OF HEARTS & ARROWS

Japanese jewelers in the 1980’s were the first to discover the kaleidoscope effect of round brilliant diamonds. At the time, diamonds did not yet have perfect H&A patterns. Once the Japanese understood the kaleidoscope effect’s potential, they began to refine their cutting techniques, and other cutting houses around the world followed suit.

IF A DIAMOND HAS AN IDEAL CUT RATING, DOES THIS MEAN IT HAS HEARTS & ARROWS?

NO, it does not.

Not every diamond with an ideal or excellent cut rating qualifies as a Hearts and Arrows diamond. The precision of symmetry actually forms when a cutter takes extreme care in polishing each individual fact to ensure exact proportions and angles.

Below on the left, you can see a typical GIA triple excellent round brilliant. On the right is a round brilliant that has true hearts and arrows. See the difference?


• hearts & arrows example

Be careful when shopping for H&A diamonds because many vendors will mislabel Ideal Cuts like the one on the left as an H&A. Conversely, just because a diamond has hearts and arrows, doesn’t necessarily mean it is super ideal cut. Super ideal cut refers to a diamond’s light performance, while hearts and arrows refers to its symmetry.

HOW TO ASSESS A HEARTS & ARROWS IMAGE

The following criteria will help you determine if a diamond is truly H&A based on its hearts image:

• There is no cleft between hearts
• Two tops of hearts are flat
• The V’s of the hearts are not misaligned
• There is a small gap between the hearts and the V’s
• There are 8 equally sized and symmetrical hearts and V’s

Now that you understand what makes a Hearts & Arrows diamond unique, and exactly what to look for when shopping for one, take a look at our collection of Super Ideal Cut diamonds to find one that’s perfect for you.