AGS Aset Scope 10x – Diamond Cut & Light Performance Evaluation Tool

The AGS ASET® Scope (Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool) is a professional diamond cut assessment tool designed to evaluate how a diamond collects, returns and leaks light. Developed for use with the performance-based American Gem Society diamond cut grading system, ASET provides a detailed visual representation of a diamond’s light performance.

The tri-colour viewing system displays different angular sources of light as red, green and blue, while white areas indicate light leakage. This makes it easier to compare diamonds and identify areas of strong light return, contrast and unwanted leakage.

ASET is particularly valuable for evaluating fancy-shaped diamonds, where light performance can change significantly when the stone is tilted. A diamond may appear strong when viewed face-up but reveal leakage or dark areas with only a slight change in viewing angle.

This 10x ASET Scope features two lenses in a metal housing and is compact enough for professional diamond buying, grading, comparison and retail presentations.

Key Features

• Genuine ASET® – Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool
  
• 10x magnification
  
• Professional diamond cut and light-performance assessment
  
• Particularly useful for fancy-shaped diamonds
  
• Tri-colour system shows different light-return characteristics
  
• Helps identify light leakage and contrast
  
• Two lenses in metal housing
  
• Useful for face-up and tilted diamond examination
  
• Allows quick visual comparison between diamonds
  
• Suitable for diamond dealers, jewellers, gemmologists and buyers
  
• Useful professional and educational diamond sales aid
  

The ASET Scope uses different colours to represent how the diamond is interacting with light:

• Red: Light returned from higher angles; generally the most desirable light return.
  
• Green: Light returned from lower angles. Some green is expected, although strong red return is generally preferred.
  
• Blue: Represents areas where light is being blocked by the observer, creating contrast within the diamond.
  
• White: Indicates light leakage, where light passes through the diamond rather than being returned to the viewer.

The overall pattern and distribution of these colours are more important than simply looking for one particular colour.

ASET is particularly useful when examining fancy diamond shapes, which can have more complex light-performance patterns than round diamonds.

A fancy-shaped diamond can produce an attractive ASET pattern when viewed perfectly face-up but show significant white leakage or dark blue areas when slightly tilted. For this reason, evaluating the stone from more than one viewing angle can provide useful additional information.

For fancy shapes, an Ideal-Scope can be used for an initial face-up comparison, followed by more detailed evaluation using the ASET Scope.

Recommended Way to Use the ASET Scope

For practical diamond comparison:

Backlight the diamond for easier observation
Examine the stone face-up
Gently rock or tilt the stone from side to side
Tilting to approximately 15° can help reveal changes in performance
Compare the brightness and distribution of the ASET colours
Look for significant or large areas of white leakage
Compare several diamonds under the same viewing conditions

Both the face-up appearance and behaviour during slight tilting can be considered when comparing fancy-shaped diamonds.

ASET vs Ideal-Scope

Both tools help evaluate diamond light performance, but they provide different levels of visual information.

The Ideal-Scope provides a relatively simple way to observe light return, leakage and contrast and is particularly useful for evaluating round diamonds.

The ASET Scope provides additional angular information using its red, green and blue viewing system, making it particularly useful when evaluating the more complex light behaviour of fancy-shaped diamonds.

Specifications

• Product: ASET® Scope
  
• ASET Meaning: Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool
  
• Magnification: 10x
  
• Optical System: Tri-colour diamond light-performance viewer
  
• Lens Configuration: Two lenses
  
• Lens Housing: Metal
  
• Colours Displayed: Red, Green, Blue and White/Leakage
  
• Primary Application: Diamond cut and light-performance assessment
  
• Especially Suitable For: Fancy-shaped diamonds
  
• Viewing: Face-up and tilted observation
  
• Design: Compact / hand-held
  

The ASET Scope provides more information than simply viewing a diamond under normal lighting. By showing how light is being returned from different angular regions and where leakage occurs, it gives professionals and buyers a practical visual method for comparing diamond cut and light performance.

It is especially valuable for fancy-shaped diamonds, where observing the stone both face-up and while gently tilted can reveal performance characteristics that may not be obvious from a static view.

Important: The hand-held ASET Scope provides a visual assessment and does not supply all of the quantitative information available from optical measuring equipment and dedicated performance-grading software. It should be used as an assessment and comparison tool rather than as a replacement for a complete laboratory diamond grading report.