Whiteflash Review

Quality of the Whiteflash “A Cut Above” (ACA)

The ACA diamond is Whiteflash’s signature top of the line super-ideal H&A diamond. It was developed as a response to the Eight Star diamond’s marketing strategy that made them seem like they claimed that there was no other cut possible that could achieve 100% light return.

On their website, Whiteflash markets the ACA as:

ACA MarketingACA Specifications

The picture on the left shows why consumers might really want the ACA. Whiteflash is targeting those who want to seek the best of the best in terms of both cut quality and light performance.

Out of the 8 specifications of the ACA stated in the right picture, the only ones relevant to achieving this goal is an AGS000 diamond with a platinum light performance report. Although there are subtle differences that a prosumer should be aware of before deciding on a diamond with an AGS v GIA diamond certificate, this topic is outside the scope of this review. Whiteflash also promises light performance imaging with each ACA and negligible fluorescence.

Please note that the cut of the ACA is not special, it is a modern 57 facet round brilliant cut diamond, it is the cut quality, that is meant to be special. Unlike Blue Nile who publishes a range of proportions that fit into their signature line, Whiteflash does not explicitly mention their range of proportions. However, the ACA is actually cut to more exacting standards than Blue Nile’s signature.

Comparison Table

I took 6 random GVS2’s from the ACA line to check their proportions. What is immediately clear is that all of them have thin to medium girdles. The next thing I notice is that the table % is between 55-57%, the depth % is between 61.5-62%.

An interesting thing that I have noticed with most ACA’s is that the crown angles are cut over 34.5 degrees, and actually closer to 35 degrees. Also, most ACA’s have a pavilion angle between 40.7 and 40.9 degrees. This actually causes a slight decrease in light return under the table when compared to a 34.5/40.8 CA/PA relationship. For more information on light performance please read my next tutorial.

For now, it is sufficient for my readers to understand that a decrease in light performance is not always a bad thing and it boils down to whether you prefer a brighter diamond that appears more uniformly ‘glassy’, or a slightly less bright diamond that has more contrast which can be seen by a more distinctive arrows patterning. It seems to me that Whiteflash has chosen the latter as more representative of the ACA brand. Please note that the words I have chosen to use is a “decrease in light return” and not “light leakage”.

A decrease in light return under the table will in theory have a negative impact on its fire. However, it is my opinion that the ACA’s minor decrease in light return will not have a negative impact on the diamond’s fire. In smaller diamonds, this is because the facets are so small that the areas in question will be seen as an ‘on-off’ event. In larger diamonds, the advanced diamond optics of virtual facets become the most significant factor determining a diamond’s fire. Without going into depth on either of these concepts since they are prosumer level 3 topics, it is sufficient to conclude that the ACA is cut to enhance the contrast of the patterning of the arrows whilst maintaining excellent light performance in the rest of the diamond. The ACA is therefore cut slightly steep and slightly deep by design, without going over the important thresholds of light performance. As a result, it also benefits the company as this design will retain a higher weight than an Eight Star by having a higher yield of the rough diamond.

ACA actualExpert Selection actual

Without telling you which is which, can you tell the difference? Which is better looking to you? The pictures above demonstrate my point about the ACA. The diamond on the left is an ACA with a CA/PA of 34.9/40.9 and the one on the right is a diamond from Whiteflash’s Expert Selection range with a CA/PA of 34.5/40.8. Neither diamond can be said to be more beautiful than the other. An objective statement would be that the ACA has better optical symmetry. Another objective statement is that the Expert Selection on the right has more light return. Whether more light return = better light performance is a subjective question.

If we just focus on optical symmetry, the ACA’s are in general excellent. Whiteflash strives to set the industry standard on what a true H&A diamond should be. You can see that the lower girdle % of 6 sampled diamonds are between 76-77%, well below the length where you will begin to see a clef between the hearts. Please note that this is by design only and a super-ideal diamond that has the highest precision cutting can have lower girdle % of 80-85 without negative impact on light performance. This changes on the character of the diamond, which is the topic of a later tutorial.

When choosing an ACA, you will note that there are not many choices depending on your other 4C’s criteria. However, if you are looking for the best of the best, it is still prudent to try to search for an ACA with no discernable yaw. If you are one of these prosumers, then I urge you to contact me about this topic as it may take me a while before I reach that topic in my tutorials.

Quality of Whiteflash’s Expert Selection

Whiteflash claims that their Expert Selection diamonds are those that narrowly missed the cut to become an ACA. Whether Expert Selection stones were those destined to be ACA’s but failed is a mystery. What I can tell you that there are two ways that diamonds can miss the mark. First is the optical symmetry, second is the light performance.

Don’t try to find an Expert Selection stone that has both perfect optical symmetry and light performance, you won’t find one. I would recommend looking for one with excellent light performance with no obvious defects in its optical symmetry. These are what I consider to be near H&A. Purchasing from the Expert Selection range may save you some money but be more careful when choosing one because unlike the ACA, there is no typical look to them. I have come across both stones with no light leakage as well as stones that have very obvious light leakage.

Whiteflash also has a Premium Select line that is basically a non-signature line that they have in-house. I will not be reviewing the Premium Select line.

Price

The first thing to note is that Whiteflash offers a 5% Pricescope discount. They also a one-time offer $50 for registering with them on your first purchase. The prices at Whiteflash are a bit confusing to me because there is really not much difference between the Expert Selection and the ACA. Just for comparison, I randomly found a 1.047 HVS1 Expert Selection for US$8,678 and a 1.020 HVS1 ACA for US$8,548. Neither stone had fluorescence. In comparison, a 1.05 HVS1 Blue Nile Signature Ideal diamond with no fluorescence was listed at US$8,611. Its clear to me that Whiteflash offers great value for the quality, selection, and information that is provided.

Information Provided
ACA diamonds comes with an AGS000 platinum light performance report, an actual picture of the diamond under magnification, idealscope, ASET, hearts image under a Hearts and Arrows viewer, and also a simplified Sarin report. The simple Sarin report does not add much value, since a comprehensive Sarin report will show the variances in all the measured proportions. Whiteflash will also tell you whether the diamond is eye-clean. Remember, eye-cleanliness is a subjective matter. However, Whiteflash’s definition of eye-clean is:

“No inclusions visible to the naked eye of a person with 20/20 vision when viewing the diamond in the face-up position at a distance of approximately 10 inches under normal overhead lighting.”

Unlike an ACA, the Expert Selection diamonds will not have a hearts image. Therefore, any signs of yaw will have to be discerned from the idealscope image. Please not that unless an idealscope image is taken under a highly reproducible environment, there are too many factors that make discerning optical symmetry from the idealscope image impossible.

Ease of Searching for a Diamond

Perhaps the biggest problem I have with Whiteflash is the actual experience of looking for a diamond from them. Although the website provides a lot of information including the option of seeing thumbnails of the actual pictures of the diamond on the search screen, the site is much slower than Blue Nile, which can get annoying on your diamond search. Whiteflash must be commended for their photography. The benefit of having high quality actual pictures outweighs all the disadvantages because it allows a trained eye to quickly find those diamonds that fit your specifications without even clicking into the diamond. Because of this, after apply our filters; I can go through the entire inventory on Whiteflash in very little time.

One thing they must fix is their user interface. They have a searching function available in a sidebar, which is very confusing. Also, there seems to be a bug where I have to check an ACA in order to filter it out, which is counterintuitive.

Value Adding Company Policies

Whiteflash has a 30-day return policy on all in-house loose diamonds. They have an excellent lifetime trade-up policy where you can have 100% credit for full purchase price upon spending an equal or greater value.

Conclusion

Whiteflash offers great value for the quality, selection, information provided. On top of that, they have an excellent trade up policy. Unless you have access to similar quality stones at a better price, I highly recommend purchasing from Whiteflash whether you are looking for the best of the best, or the best way to spend your money.