What is Asha®
Asha is the only diamond simulant in the world that employs a patent pending form of Amorphous Diamond which is man-made and "composed of a multitude of tiny diamond crystals all aligned together*". These microscopic diamond crystals are infused into the Asha crystal through the Amorphous Diamond Treatment (ADT) process to give Asha an upper layer that is both simulant and man-made diamond (SP3 carbon bonds, the same carbon bonds as a diamond). To better describe how the hybrid stone is completed, it is called "Diamond Infused", as atomic force microscope analysis shows that the microscopic diamond crystals literally penetrate into the upper layers of the Asha crystal.
Benefits of the Amorphous Diamond Treatment - A More Diamond Like Appearance
Shown below are comparison photographs taken by the Brilliancescope™. Light views 3 and 4 on the right show how the addition of the Amorphous Diamond Treatment adds to the crispness and focus of the faceting, thus improving the brilliance to the eye.
Asha is the only diamond simulant in the world that employs a patent pending form of Amorphous Diamond which is man-made and "composed of a multitude of tiny diamond crystals all aligned together*". These microscopic diamond crystals are infused into the Asha crystal through the Amorphous Diamond Treatment (ADT) process to give Asha an upper layer that is both simulant and man-made diamond (SP3 carbon bonds, the same carbon bonds as a diamond). To better describe how the hybrid stone is completed, it is called "Diamond Infused", as atomic force microscope analysis shows that the microscopic diamond crystals literally penetrate into the upper layers of the Asha crystal.
Benefits of the Amorphous Diamond Treatment - A More Diamond Like Appearance
Shown below are comparison photographs taken by the Brilliancescope™. Light views 3 and 4 on the right show how the addition of the Amorphous Diamond Treatment adds to the crispness and focus of the faceting, thus improving the brilliance to the eye.
CZ is made of thicker molecules than diamond so more light is impeded while passing through the stone. This pushes light from the non-visible spectrum into the visible spectrum. The first color the human eye can see is blue, and this is the reason many standard CZs have an awful bluish cast or haze. This bluish cast should not be confused with reflection, as an example: looking at a diamond or simulant in sunlight on a clear day and the stone looks blue simply because it is reflecting the blue of the sky.
The ADT of Asha help to filter out this additional light, giving it closer light return to that of a diamond.
Diamond-like Balance of Fire and Brilliance
CZ has less brilliance (white light return) than a diamond but more fire (colored light return). The ADT increases the white light return while toning down the colored light (see graphs below) giving the Asha a diamond-like luster and a beautiful balance of brilliance and fire.
CZ is made of thicker molecules than diamond so more light is impeded while passing through the stone. This pushes light from the non-visible spectrum into the visible spectrum. The first color the human eye can see is blue, and this is the reason many standard CZs have an awful bluish cast or haze. This bluish cast should not be confused with reflection, as an example: looking at a diamond or simulant in sunlight on a clear day and the stone looks blue simply because it is reflecting the blue of the sky.
The ADT of Asha help to filter out this additional light, giving it closer light return to that of a diamond.
Diamond-like Balance of Fire and Brilliance
CZ has less brilliance (white light return) than a diamond but more fire (colored light return). The ADT increases the white light return while toning down the colored light (see graphs below) giving the Asha a diamond-like luster and a beautiful balance of brilliance and fire.
Increased Hardness, Durability and Reduced Need For Cleaning
The outer diamond surface hardness of the Asha is approximately 9.6 to 9.8 on the Mohs scale. Combined with the core of the Asha the ADT increases the hardness of the Asha simulant to slightly harder than that of a Sapphire (9.1 on the Mohs scale). This increases in hardness makes the Asha more scratch resistance and durable compared to other simulants.
All ordinary CZ gemstones measure an 8.5 on the mohs scale (despite what they may claim on their respective websites). How does an 8.5 on the Mohs scale compare to the 9.1 of Asha? Using the Knoop idention hardness test which meausures the amount of force required to penetrate a substance (kilograms per millimeter squared), a cubic zirconia measures 1370 kg/mm2. A sapphire (Mohs scale of 9) measures 2000 kg/mm2. Therefore at 9.1 on the Mohs scale, the Asha is nearly twice as hard and scratch resistant compared to an ordinary CZ gemstone.
Standard CZ is somewhat porous. Skin oils, soap and dirt can stick to and be absorbed into the stone clouding and dulling its appearance with time. Asha’s ADT is non-porous (like a diamond), and with its coefficient of friction less than that of Teflon, non-stick, so skin oils, etc. can be easily cleaned away. This smoothness of the coating means dirt has less of an opportunity/ability to stick to it, reducing the frequency of cleaning needed to keep your Asha beautiful.
Asha® Hearts & Arrows Cut
The latest generation of Asha® is being cut to the exacting standards of the Hearts and Arrows cut, something fewer than 1 in 1000 (thats less than .1%) round cut diamonds will ever achieve! This article is designed to help illustrate the difference between a typical round cut stone, and a Hearts and Arrows round.
The latest generation of Asha® is being cut to the exacting standards of the Hearts and Arrows cut, something fewer than 1 in 1000 (thats less than .1%) round cut diamonds will ever achieve! This article is designed to help illustrate the difference between a typical round cut stone, and a Hearts and Arrows round.
ASHA Hearts & Arrows Under The Scope
Hearts and Arrows is an industry term for a specific type of round cutwhere all facets are in perfect alignment, proportion and symmetry. Cut is one of the four major components of diamond grading. Cut controls 98% of the brilliance of a round cut gem or diamond. However, cut is often the least understood of the four C's, and often the most disregarded. It's easy to understand carat weight, color and clarity, but cut is difficult.
The top half of a round diamond is called the 'crown'. It is the crown that dictates the amount of fire of a round cut gem (how much light is broken into its spectral colors). The bottom half of a round cut is termed the 'pavilion'. The bottom half controls how much light that enters the diamond is returned back to the viewer - this is termed its brilliance.
The top half of a round diamond is called the 'crown'. It is the crown that dictates the amount of fire of a round cut gem (how much light is broken into its spectral colors). The bottom half of a round cut is termed the 'pavilion'. The bottom half controls how much light that enters the diamond is returned back to the viewer - this is termed its brilliance.
How the facets on both the top and bottom half of the round cut gem line up (symmetry) determines the scintillation of a gemstone, or the way it plays with
light as it reflects it to the viewer.
By contrast, in a hearts and arrows diamond, 96-98% of all light that enters is reflected back out!
This is a result of a painstaking effort on the part of the cutter to ensure that all facets (mirrors) are perfectly symmetrical, in perfect alignment and perfectly proportioned. It is very easy to see the difference in diamond when comparing a typical round diamond to a hearts and arrows diamond.
The difference is simply a much more brilliant stone!
In order to view how light is being reflected within a stone, various viewers are used that magnify your view of the gem, and tint the light so that the eye view how the light is being reflected. They do under various names depending on what jewelry store you visit, but most high end jewelry stores will have one.
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They look like this (The image on the right). Hearts and Arrows Scope➜ |
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When viewed with the tinted light, patterns will show up on the stone. A typical round gem will show a whirl pattern, with no real symmetry. What this shows is that the facets are not in proper alignment, resulting in a blurred out look as the light bounces around and is leaked out rather than being reflected back to the viewer.
By contrast, the top of a hearts and arrows gem will show a perfect crisp arrows pattern, visually indicating that all the facets are in alignment, and that the light return has been maximized by the cutter.
In similar fashion, you can view the bottom of the Hearts and Arrows gem and see the following pattern below:
By contrast, the top of a hearts and arrows gem will show a perfect crisp arrows pattern, visually indicating that all the facets are in alignment, and that the light return has been maximized by the cutter.
In similar fashion, you can view the bottom of the Hearts and Arrows gem and see the following pattern below:
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Again, the crisp pattern shows that the bottom half of the stone's facets are also in perfect proportion and symmetry.
Any misalignment of any facet will result in arrows that bend at the tips, or hearts that are uneven or other blurring out of what should be a perfect, crisp pattern. |
Arrows - Crown
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Hearts Pavillion
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So why aren't all round diamonds cut to Hearts and Arrows? The reason is simple: time and money.
A typical round cut diamond can be finished in roughly 2 hours. By contrast, a Hearts and Arrows diamond can take anywhere from 8 hours to several days, and even then may not show the perfect symmetry required to produce the crisp Hearts and Arrows pattern. The more cutting time involved, the more the cutter has to charge for his/her time. While cutting an Asha® is simpler than diamond because you have a flawless rough to work with, our cutters have to spend on average 8x as long for the Asha® H&A simulant vs. if they simply wanted to cut a standard round brilliant.
Additionally, in the diamond world, diamonds are often cut to achieve a certain size. Most retail customers are very focused on the size of a diamond -i.e. they want a 1 ct. A diamond achieves a heart and arrows cut by cutting away a lot of original rough. Thus, diamond rough that could be cut into an average round 1 ct. may only amount to a .70 Hearts and Arrows cut. Thus, most cutters will opt to please the typical consumer who is interested in a specific size diamond, and additionally, many cutters do not have the skill necessary or the funding to produce something as rare as a Hearts and Arrows cut.
Amora Gem vs ASHA Explanation Video
video created by Vincent at ProSumer Diamonds
video created by Vincent at ProSumer Diamonds
Stone Size Comparison
Certainly one of the tougher questions to decide upon when buying jewelry is what size stone would look best?
Below is a photo to show you how relative diamond sizes compare while on a model's hand.
Note, that for rings, 1.5ct is by far the most popular size.
We do hope that this type of unique perspective will help you decide what would look best for you to purchase!
Certainly one of the tougher questions to decide upon when buying jewelry is what size stone would look best?
Below is a photo to show you how relative diamond sizes compare while on a model's hand.
Note, that for rings, 1.5ct is by far the most popular size.
We do hope that this type of unique perspective will help you decide what would look best for you to purchase!
Sizes: From left to right: 1.02ct, 1.21ct, 1.51ct, and 2.01ct.
Note: Model's middle finger is a 6 US ring size (used to try and fit more rings on the upper knuckle).
For additional size perspective, or comparisons between different cuts, please download the size chart.