Fluorescence, A Jubilee, and my story - need guidance

[IslandStone]

We’ve all heard the proverb “it takes a village to raise a child”. Well, I’m convinced that it too takes a village to buy a diamond, so here I am, seeking counsel from you, the village. I’ve been lurking on PS for many months, soaking up as much as possible and contacting individuals whenever necessary to ask specific questions. All of that has led me to where I am now, which is in pursuit of a 1-1.25, D, VVS Jubilee. And, wouldn’t you know that Jonathan at GOG has just the stone – a 1.09/D/VVS1 Jubilee that, as far as I can tell, is a marvelous stone. Here is the link:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/jubilee_1_09_ct_d_vvs1.htm

The only thing preventing me from buying this stone is that this particular Jube has a strong blue fluorescence. I have read as much as I can get my hands on about fluorescence, including the 1997 GIA study, and countless posts on this site.
That education about fluorescence means that I don’t “fear the fluor” or anything like that and can even appreciate the impact that fluor can have on stones. However, for this particular stone, I can’t seem to get my head around the matter. Part of that the problem has to do with the fact that I haven’t seen the stone in person. Another factor is that I haven’t seen enough diamonds, with and without fluor, to really understand how the fluor impacts this particular stone in terms of look and feel. I realize that, ultimately, it is a personal preference, but I’m wondering if there’s anything (advice, guidance, experience, knowledge) that you all can share to help aid my decision making process. Thoughts?

So, my questions to you are these:

1) Does anyone who has seen this stone have any thoughts?

2) For people who are familiar with Jubes (Wink, Jube owners, etc.), are there any general observations or comments about fluorescence in Jubilees in general? For example, does the cut magnify of diminish the fluor, in any way?

3) Jonathan assures me that the fluor does not make the stone oily, milky, or cloudy, in any light, including in direct/indirect sunlight.. In fact, he said that only a trained observer would notice and even that….slightly. I believe in Jonathan’s assessment. However, for those of you familiar with fluor and/or fluor in Jubes, I’m wondering if this stone will have characteristics (a color, hue, etc) that I will notice. In other words, do I need to learn to love the fluor in this stone or will I hardly notice, save for near a blacklight?

I’ll start with those for now. This community has been invaluable to me thus far, so I have my fingers crossed that you all will come through once again. Also, once this process is wrapped up, I will write a full review. For now, suffice it to say that everyone, including Jonathan and his team at GOG and Wink Jones (we spoke on the phone), has been outstanding to work with.

Thanks.
Island

 

[belle]

island, i just love this stone. i don''t have any expert advice on the fluoro, except that i tend to like diamonds that have it. as you mentioned, it is a personal decision. i have one diamond (marquise) that has "strong blue" fluor and i think it''s only really noticeable when it is in direct sunlight. i am certain that if you decided to purchase this particular stone, you would love it. the jubes are a very nice cut. best of luck!!

 

[valeria101]

Short of calling in that one form Jonathan and looking at it

what could I say ? Fluorescence looks (or doesn't) just the same regardless of cut. "Strong" is a wide class - this one could glow in the dark or make you question if fluorescence ever shows at all without intentional exposure to UV.

As far as I can imagine...

Now, it doesn't seem that anyone bothered to produce refference photos of fluorescent diamonds showing their mettle. There are 30X clarity shots and al sorts of intricate recipes for making super diamond photos, but no account of fluorescence I can remember.

The cloudy bunch does exist - those are rare allright, but not inexistant.


About this diamond, fluorescence might be more of an economic decission: it's D/VVS after all and prices seem to follow some slight disenchantment with fluorescence (perhaps underserved, but there nevertheless). If you ever want to sell this, the high grades would make the exercise hard enough, even without the fluorescence bit. But then, dimamonds do not hold value anyway, and this one started with a serious premium on the fancy cut... so such concern might well be just academic. Thought I'd better mention than not

 

[Rhino]

Thanks for the kind words Islandstone.

I think I may have suggested this on the phone with ya but in case I didn''t ... the best advice would be to *see* this stone and compare it with non-fluorescent stones. If you don''t like what you see ... don''t buy it. You have a full 30 days to return it and if you have enough credit on your card I will send you that stone along with another non-fluorescent Jubilee for comparison which you can view in the convenience of your home.

BTW... good idea posting your question on the forum.

Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established. Proverbs 15:22

 

[valeria101]

Date: 1/31/2005 7:58:40 PM
Author: Rhino

... the best advice would be to *see* this stone and compare it with non-fluorescent stones...

Like this one !

Do you get many customers making such a choice, Jonathan ?

I would bet the fluorescent stone would win for looks alone if there wasn''t the awkward fame.

 

[Lynn B]

I don''t have much to add here, except that I LOOOOVE jubes, and I think Jonathon''s offer is more than fair and very generous! Whatta guy!

So what have you got to lose?! I say, go for it and LOOK at those babies! (Just keep telling yourself that you will only buy one of them... you will only buy one of them... you. will. only. buy. one...

)

Lynn

 

[Carolina Girl]

Island, I am with you on "it takes a village to buy a diamond".I tend to like diamonds with fluor-just my opinion.Good luck on your decision.

 

[chrono]

You have been given excellent advice by the PS village so I have nothing else to add except to agree with the rest.

1. Fluoro can be your friend if the stone isn''t milky or cloudy. Some people like the effect in strong sunlight while others don''t. Do take up Jon''s offer so that you are 100% sure whether you like the look or don''t like it.

2. Selling/trading this will be very tough as you have extremely high colour + clarity then have this fluoro too but I think Jon has an excellent trade in so it shouldn''t be too difficult. In any case, I think you''ll be very happy with the Jubilee for many years to come.

3. I think the stats on the Jubilee is awesome. It''s depth is a nice 65% compared to the rest that are in the 70% range so it''ll face up pretty big.

 

[IslandStone]

I very much appreciate the help so far.

In the end, I think it would be ideal to take up Jonathan on his offer and see 1.09 Jube and, if possible, next to another jube without fluor. However, because I live overseas, that process of obtaining the stone(s) and sending them back is significantly more difficult than for those of you in the States. Therefore, I am hoping to gather as much knowledge and insight as possible from this village, before I go to any great lengths to visit the States or otherwise arrange to see the Jube in person.

I believe that GOGs excellent trade in policy eliminates any concern of this stone being difficult to trade in or exchange in the future. As long as GOG is around, I know that I''ll have that trade in option.

The added difficulty for me in this is how I can see the stone, before it is set, to see whether not I want it. I suspect that no amount of pictures can do the stone justice, right?

 

[Iceman]

Yes, you need to see the stone. But I know Jonathan, you can take his word for it.

Fluorescence can enhance the color . See the diamond first, you dont have to be a gemologist to say this looks great!

 

[IslandStone]

I am making arrangement with Jonathan to see the stone this weekend. The short of the story is that a friend is coming to visit from the States and will carry the diamond with her.

Once I have the stone, are there particular lighting conditions in which I should definitely try to evaluate the diamond? I live in the Caribbean, so sunlight is aplenty. And I''ve read that the impact of fluor is most apparent in direct sunlight - is that correct?

Any other tips for how I should observe the diamond during my test drive would be appreciated.

 

[Shay37]

Island, my advice would be to ALWAYS look at a diamond in as many different lighting environments as possible. Having said that, only light which carries an element of UV will cause the flourescence to do its thing. How strong? Depends on the UV in the light. I have MB in my stone, and I love it. It looks just ever so slightly perwinkle in the sunlight. As far as club or blacklight, I am an "old" married fogie, don''t club much.

If Jonathan said it doesn''t hurt that stone, you can believe it. Just be sure to wear sunglasses when it gets to you.

Shay

 

[IslandStone]

Sunglasses are a must down here, so I''ll definitely have them on when the jube gets to me! I''m actually very excited to see the stone. Whether I like it or not, I''m looking forward to seeing a jube in person for the first time, particularly one that appears to be a high quality stone.

I will put the stone through its paces and inspect it in every light possible. There''s even a restaurant here with blacklights, so perhaps I''ll swing by there too. If anyone can think of other "must do" things to inspect the stone, please let me know. And, of course, I''d love to hear from any jube owners out there, especially if you have a fluor jube.

 

[diane5006]

HI I don''t have a Jube I have a Regent (a slightly cushier Jube) and it has med Blue flour and is a D VVS2...and it is awesome...it looks grest in every light but really great in the littel halogen reading light we have on our bed ...I have only seen it once wiht black light and it showed blue...it was in one of those Del SOL stores...

I am sure you will love your stone

 

[ep6585]

Hi. I bought a jubilee with medium blue fluorescence from GOG. It''s an H color and the fluorescence gives it a very, very, slight blueish tint when looked at outside in direct sunlight. My fiancee and I both like the effect it gives.

Jonathan and GOG were great to work with. You can''t go wrong with them.

 

[IslandStone]

Your positive experiences with fluor in Jubes (or regents) is very helpful. Last week, after weeks of consideration, I sent Jonathan an email saying that I had decided against the Jube because of the fluorescence. Then, after a sleepless night and after realizing that many of you actually seek fluor in a stone, I reconsidered and decided to post this thread here.

Like you guys have said, this was something I had to see for myself...And, now, the stone is on its way here. I''ll get it on Friday and will report back on what I find. Who knows, maybe I won''t like it all. But something tells me that I''ll be impressed. Either way, I''ll let you guys know. And, of course, if you have any thoughts or guidance on what I can expect or how best to view the stone, I''m all ears/eyes.

IslandStone

 

[IslandStone]

Just thought I''d provide an update, in case anyone is interested, but also because I owe it to the folks who were kind enough to offer their time to my original post.

To refresh: I live in the Caribbean so Jonathan couldn''t send me the Jubilee directly. I had him send it to a friend who was coming to visit. I got to spend 4-5 days with the stone, evaluating it in every way that my untrained eyes could think of. My main objectives while I had the stone were:

1) Appreciate the Jubilee cut in person (I had never seen one before with my own eyes)
2) Determine whether I liked the stone''s blue fluor.

As you all suspected, the stone was beautiful and Jonathan was correct in his assessment that the fluor had no negative impact, as far as I could tell. In fact, I even enjoyed the faint blue-ish tint that would come over the stone in certain sunlight. And, for those of you considering Jubiless, the cut is absolutely terrific.

Ultimately, I decided against that Jubilee because I wanted a larger stone. For my eye, the stone was too small (6.07x6.0 to really appreciate/notice the fact that the stone wasn''t round. To me, the stone looked round from any distance (outside of a few inches), which defeated the purpose of the wonderful Jubilee cut (not to mention the price and availability premium I was dealing with to get a Jube).

So now, I''m back to my hunt for an RB, which is where I began this process some time ago. I''ve not yet settled on a stone (I''m hassling Jonathan to assist me once again), but I will certainly keep you posted on my progress. Once again, thanks for everyone who encouraged me to see the Jube for myself. That advice was invaluable. I would''ve been satisfied had I purchased it and had it set sight unseen. However, I''ll be much happier with where I go from here.

 

[belle]

thanks for the update! best of luck in your search for a rb, i''m sure you will find something perfect!!