Hearts and Arrows Cut Takes "Ideal Cut"
to a Higher Level

In the early 90’s, in Japan, ideal cut diamonds were all the rage.  In this country, the second biggest diamond market, where quality, status and brand names are in vogue consumers became big buyers of ideal cuts.  Cut grades of "Excellent", "Super Excellent", and "Triple Excellent" were much sought after. Ideal cuts with these grades were known to show the "Cupid effect", or a visual pattern of 8 hearts while looking down through the pavilion and 8 arrows when viewing the stone in the table up position.  A special magnifying viewer is used to show this phenomena.  These diamonds become known in the trade as "hearts and arrows". 

Hearts and arrows viewers, like the one shown here, were developed in Japan for use across the retail counter to show consumers this unique phenomenon.

Romancing the stone…

According to both Roman and Greek mythology a person shot with Cupid'sarrow supposedly fell in love, so the link between the hearts & arrows and love is obvious.   Japanese bridal magazines, featuring these romantic jewels, sent young couples out into the streets shopping for these exciting new diamonds.  Now, for many young buyers, ideal cutting without the hearts & arrows was not good enough.   Gemological laboratories in Japan, realizing a golden opportunity, began issuing certificates with Excellent cut grades with photos showing the hearts & arrows pattern.  To assure accuracy of the new quantifying cut grades, Japanese labs used new computerized automatic measuring systems like the Sarin Dia-mension machine at right.