1. Estimating the mass of the stone and calculating cut parameters
2. Support for different cuts and a large set of parameters
3. Support of external cut designs and diamond 3D-models- GemCad, AutoCAD and Sarin files import (registered version only)
4. Working with different types of gemstones
5. Finding unknown parameters (mounted diamonds, estimating proportions of diamonds before they are cut) and parameter fixing
6. Selecting measurement units and parameters to show
7. Appraising cut quality (GIA, HRD, AGA, Russian TU systems) and estimating the price of the diamond
8. Different visual presentations of diamond, fine-tuning images to produce realistic view of a diamond
9. Detailed description of DiamCalc appraisers
10. Appraiser file format
11. OctBrill.txt file format
12. Price list file format

Finding unknown parameters (mounted diamonds, estimating proportions of diamonds before they are cut) and parameter fixing

DiamCalc allows to recover values of diamond proportions that cannot be measured directly (e.g. because stone is mounted)

Diamond Calculator was designed to give maximum flexibility in a wide range of situations. Mounted stones can be difficult for direct measuring, and in different cases some parameters may or may not be available.

Another challenge is to estimate a parameter in a diamond that does not exist yet, given proportions of a rough diamond, a semi-cut diamond or a polished diamond that will be re-cut. With Diamond Calculator, this task is as easy as the previous one. Any set of existing limitations can be entered into DiamCalc to find missing parameters of a future diamond without any tables or formulas.

The following topics are available in this section:

1. Ways to estimate unknown parameters
2. Parameter fixing

1. Ways to estimate unknown parameters

The simplest way to estimate unknown parameters with DiamCalc is just to enter all known values. DiamCalc will produce a reasonable estimation of other parameters.

In practice, the process can be a bit longer due to the fact that the parameters can affect each other. For example, changing crown angle will lead to a change of either the table diameter or the crown height. Relationships between parameters can be quite complex. To neutralize this effect, it may be required to adjust parameter's value once more after it was automatically recalculated due to a change of another parameter. One more option of handling this problem is parameter fixing (see below).

Another way to find parameters that cannot be measured directly is to examine the diamond image produced by DiamCalc, adjusting parameters until the computer image looks similar to the real stone. See section controlling visual representation of the stone for more information. Note that a computing-intensive Photoreal mode is the most suitable for the purpose, so that a powerful enough computer is required to quickly display the image when parameters are changing.

2. Parameter fixing

Some parameters have a small button with a lock on it on the left of the parameter's name. These Lock buttons allow to fix the parameter value to avoid an accidental change or a change due to interrelation between parameters.

Example of using Lock buttons (measuring parameters of mounted diamonds).
The user measures diameter and total height of the diamond and enters them in Diamond Calculator, then fixes total depth with Lock button. After that, measuring the crown height and entering it into the software will cause an automatic adjustment of current pavilion depth and girdle thickness in such a way that the total height will not change.

Parameter fixing is also very useful in diamond marking for maximizing the diamond mass with respect to restrictions imposed by a diamond with old cut, a semi-cut diamond, or a rough diamond.

Note: If a proportion allows a choice of units of millimeters or percents of diameter, only the value in percents will be fixed when Lock button is checked, even if a value in millimeters is displayed currently.

Quick guide on Key operations (How to..)