What is a “hearts and arrows” cut, and is it available in lab-grown stones?

ZKZ Editorial TeamMain answer · Product & gemmology desk

Hearts and arrows is a descriptive term for a pattern of symmetry seen in some round brilliant diamonds when viewed with special tools. A laboratory can offer a separate report for it. We could not verify how widely available such stones are in lab-grown diamonds, and we do not make a claim.

What we verified

Fact IGI lists a "Hearts & Arrows Reports" service among its report types, alongside its lab-grown diamond reports.

Fact GIA says cut grades are given only to round brilliant diamonds, because they are the only cut with standardized facets, and that each grade range represents a range of proportion sets.

Fact IGI says that for round brilliants the overall proportions are compared with its studies of brightness, fire, scintillation and pattern to determine the cut grade, and that polish and symmetry are noted for all shapes.

What to do

Our advice If you want the pattern, ask the seller for a hearts-and-arrows report from a named laboratory, and ask to see images from the viewer.

Our advice Do not assume that the label is a guarantee of overall quality. Check the cut grade, colour, clarity and the report as well.

It depends Hearts-and-arrows stones usually cost more, but we did not verify by how much for lab-grown stones.

What the viewer shows

Our advice The pattern is usually shown by looking at the stone through a special viewer, and the seller should be able to supply the images. If the images are missing or very small, ask for better ones. A pattern in an image is evidence about one aspect of symmetry, not a guarantee that the stone will look better to you.

Our advice If you want that pattern, ask for the supporting report or images and check them yourself when the stone arrives, rather than relying on the word on a listing. Compare more than one stone, as the look depends on the cut, not on the name.

Our advice Decide whether the pattern matters for the piece. In a small stone set in silver, a well cut stone may look the same to most viewers.

Uncertain We did not verify the availability or pricing of hearts-and-arrows lab-grown diamonds, and we did not verify what each laboratory requires for the label.

Related reading: Can a Lab-Grown Diamond Pass a Diamond Tester? · What Are Lab Grown Diamonds? A Plain-English Explanation

Sources

• IGI, Lab grown diamond reports
• GIA 4Cs, Diamond cut

Fact = stated by the cited source. Our advice = editorial recommendation. Uncertain / it depends = limits of what can be said in general.