What are hearts and 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. Though there is no official industry standard for hearts and arrows, 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 and 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 and 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.
Be careful when shopping for H&A diamonds because many vendors will mislabel Ideal Cuts like 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.
Hearts and arrows are very uncommon to find in 8 carat diamonds, but if you are choosing a round diamond for your ring then cut quality should still be a concern for you – aim for ‘excellent’ or ‘ideal’ wherever possible.
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
- To 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
