Photo of Diamond VS Idealscope

[windowshopper]

Question: The pricescope diamond vendors will often supply an actual photo of the diamond as well as possibly the idealscope picture. What information can you gain from the photograph? Obviously the idealscope gives you light return but is there anything of value a photo can offer over an idealscope? OR what can it offer in addition to the Idealscope photo. I ask b/c in my search I would receive photos via email and they all looked the same to me..... Just curious as I continue to expand my knowledge base in Diamond-ology!

 

[oldminer]

A good photo oif a diamond might show you something about the even nature of the sparkle and brilliancy. In lower clarity diamonds it might reveal the visiblity of some of the inclusions as photos are mostly largely magnified images of the actual diamond. Photos are not perfect in conveying the sparkle, fire, or clarity, but they are not generally harmful to consumers provided they have not been digitally altered to make the stone better than it actually is. Beware of places such as e-bay where fly by night sellers abound and rules of conduct are rarely enforced. On those sites, a photo is useful, but is not to be relied upon. Good vendors would not send anyone an altered image, and under those circumstances, a photo might assist you in a decision making process.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Most of the pics are 10X magnified shots. They are especially usefull if you are considering an SI diamond. Take a look and see if you can readily find the inclusions.

Vendors will also provide more highly magnified pics to really zone in on a specific inclusion, or cluster of inclusions. Sometimes the pics reveal things like a feather breaks the surface.

Pics are just another tool in the screening process to help you decide which diamond is right for you.

 

[windowshopper]

thanks pq and dave-

does a GOOD photo demonstrate or at all mirror the light return patterns, banding etc you wold see in an idealscope?

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

No.
There is one person who uses photo''s and refuses to use ideal-scope photo''s.
His round diamond photo''s look terrible and his fancy shaped diamond photo''s look fantastic.

this indicates to me that the lighting environment produces a result that is not realistic

 

[denverappraiser]

Window,

Photos can sometimes help you spot damage that has occured to the stone since the grading date and can give you a good idea of the face up shape on fancys. With good photos, you can also spot some symmetry variations that don't show up on the lab reports. Offcenter table and/or culet comes to mind. In the lower clarity grades you can also sometimes find the grade setting inclusions and decide if this will be acceptable to you. Idealscope photos can be useful for cut grading issues as well as the above. Wth all photos there are some difficulties when you compare two pictures that were taken under different conditions, by different photographers and using different equipment.

The diamcalc program (under tools at the top of the page) can be used to calculate some remarkably accurate cut information from the right photo.

Neil Beaty
Independent Appraisals in Denver