What does the BrillianceScope do?

The purpose of the BrillianceScope is to to measure the “wow” effect of a diamond, namely its ability to sparkle, which is often difficult to determine under the lighting in a jeweler's store. It does this by rating a diamond's light performance by measuring the light refractions from a diamond.

What is light refraction?

When viewing a diamond, ideally a light source will enter the diamond, bounce around inside the prism of the diamond's interior, and refract out of the crown, so that the light beam will come out through the most visible portion of the diamond to hit everyone's eye with a brilliant sparkle.

When light leaks through the pavilion of the diamond instead of the crown, it results in poor light performance and a duller-looking diamond. Please refer to the 4c's tutorial for more information.

Why do some diamonds refract light better than others?

It is the skill of the diamond cutter that determines how well the diamond refracts light. This is why the “cut” in the “4 c's” plays a large factor in the quality of your diamond. The diamond cutter decides upon the factors of proportion, symmetry, and polish. If the proportions of the diamond's pavilion are too shallow or deep, light will leak out as shown in the pictures above. DSD prides itself on producing well-cut diamonds.

How do I use the BrillianceScope?

Both consumers and jewelers can benefit from verifying the quality of a cut with the BrillianceScope™. The consumer can see the light performance in-store through the Viewer, and then read objective results with the Analyzer. To produce a report the jeweler begins the process by placing the diamond into the center of the BrillianceScope™ Analyzer's diamond chamber where the measurements are taken in a controlled lighting environment.

What happens to a diamond in the analyzer?

The diamond is placed faced down on a glass template that exposes it to a constant incoming light source. Then it is centered in the exact middle of this glass template. When the reading is about to take place the diamond is totally enclosed by a dome-shaped cover that prevents any lost of emitted light. This allows the emitted light to hit the diamond in all directions (front, back, sides) for the recording. The BrillianceScope then begins moving the constant light source towards the diamond. The basic concept is that moving the light source around the diamond while it is at rest in the machine, produces the same effect as in the real world where the diamond is moving through a constant light source such as sunlight or a lamp. At 6 different distances from the constant light source, the image of the diamond is captured, recorded, and compared. This data is then processed using proprietary, advanced, digital imaging analysis technology. The controlled environment of the BrillianceScope ensures that these are accurate readings of light performance.

How does it measure light?

The BrillianceScope measures the light performance using a spectrophotometer, the same technology used in every high-tech industry (medicine, astronomy, optics, etc.) The BrillianceScope ranks the quality of the light performance by the number of intense pinpoint bursts of light found on the images. Higher amounts of light burst zones result in higher ratings, in much the same way that a human eye rates the brilliance of an object. (uncertain of their quality ranking scheme. The size of the burst zones should also be a factor as well--needs clarification, will contact GemEx PR person)

How do I read the Output Report?

The BrillianceScope translates the measurements into a LPA (Light Performance Analysis)

What are the Light Views?

The 6 light views are actual pictures of one diamond at 6 different light angles. The first 5 are reflectance angles and the sixth is diffuse. The diffuse angle can be used to reveal the craftsmanship and the symmetry of the facets. Each image shows the area of the diamond's crown returning light from that light angle.

What are the Bar Graphs?

For each category, a bar graph represents a diamond's ranking on GemEx's Comparative Light Performance Evaluation Scale which is based upon a comparative ranking to other diamonds of the same shape in GemEx's database of over 100,000 diamonds which is growing by 10,000 diamonds each month.

White light refers to the brilliance (refraction of white light) that you commonly see sparkling from a diamond. High amounts of this light will result in a brilliant sparkle. However, some experts claim that too much white light desensitizes the eye and makes it harder to see the sparkle.

Colored light refers to the fire (refraction of colored light). High amounts of colored light produces the rainbow effect that you see in a diamond.

Scintillation is the movement of both white and colored light within the diamond as it is moved before the observer's eye.

Generally, if the categories are high, it'll be a diamond that will stand out in a crowd. It is left up to each individual jeweler and consumer to decide which combination of brilliance, fire, and scintillation results in a more attractive diamond.

What would a bad diamond's report look like?

Take this dull-looking diamond for example and its corresponding LPA. As you can see, it has very poor light performance marks.

What would a good diamond's report look like?
Now take a look at this high-quality diamond. As you can see, it shows high light performance marks on the LPA.

Why does my SI diamond have better rankings than my VS1 diamond?
Remember, a diamond's light performance is based most upon the cut of the diamond, even if the other 3 C's don't rank as high. This well-cut SI diamond may sparkle better than a poorly-cut VS1 diamond because it has better light performance.

Why doesn't the report have numerical results?

Although numerical results aren't stated on the report, the bar graphs are all based upon real numbers. The fact remains that Comparative Light Performance™ results return "Low", "Medium", "High", or "Very High" measurements of light. There is no accepted "Number" for Light Return. This is because GemEx actually tested a number system with early retailers and consumers. It became clear that numbers did not communicate nearly as clearly as actual descriptions of the Light Performance™. Consumers became too caught up on the numbers, and forgot about the instrument's original purpose to help compare the visual aesthetics between diamonds.

How do I know that I'm getting an accurate report?

Make sure that the jeweler is showing you an actual printed out LPA, and not just the readings on the machine. In order for a LPA to be printed, it must be first sent back to the GemEx headquarters for checking. Twice a day, technicians look at the scans to make sure there are no inconsistencies with the equipment, as GemEx knows where to look for errors and how to ensure the machine is properly calibrated. By doing this, you can ensure that the Light Performance Analysis for your diamond has been certified by GemEx to be accurate.

Can I rely solely on the BrillianceScope measures?

To ensure the quality of the diamond, it's still important for consumers to use the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory Report to verify the accuracy of the 4C 's, but the BrillianceScope provides good supplemental data on the diamond's cut performance and visual aesthetics. When you are in doubt, ask to see the Light Performance Analysis, to help determine which diamond is right for you.
(show LPA's of the two diamonds)

What does this have to do with David S Diamonds?

David S hopes that this tutorial has been useful to you and invites you to contact us if you have any more questions. If you have not done so already, also take a look at our Basic Diamond Education Center. Contact DSD, if you are interested in taking a look at the LPA's of its inventory.