Carbon spot, my first experience...

[Wrenny]

I just bought my fiance a pear shaped ring and it has a carbon spot VISIBLE to the naked eye but its on the underside of the ring. We didn''t find that out until we bought it and brought it home.

Since its hidden by her finger its fine but anther one showed up a few days later thats barely visible unless in the right light on the bottom top side.

I guess my main question is will these keep showing up? Its 3/4 carrat and I bought it for around 2500. I don''t know any of the V2 or stuff questions.

Thanks for the help.

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 10/29/2005 6:26:45 PM
Author:Wrenny
I just bought my fiance a pear shaped ring and it has a carbon spot VISIBLE to the naked eye but its on the underside of the ring. We didn''t find that out until we bought it and brought it home.

Since its hidden by her finger its fine but anther one showed up a few days later thats barely visible unless in the right light on the bottom top side.

I guess my main question is will these keep showing up? Its 3/4 carrat and I bought it for around 2500. I don''t know any of the V2 or stuff questions.

Thanks for the help.

Black carbon spots are not just going to ''pop up''...they either were already there and you didn''t notice them, or more likely they''re dirt that needs to be cleaned out from under the ring.

To my knowledge, stone clarity is graded when the stone is facing up. SI1 and SI2 grades can have visible inclusions, and an I1 stone definitely will. Do you see the first carbon spot when she''s wearing the ring, or only when it''s tilted? Did you not notice it when you purchased the ring?

Clean the ring and then tell us what you see. Better yet, pictures would be great.

 

[Wrenny]

I did not notice it when we purchased the ring. We sent it back to get resized and they said they would steam it to see if that would make it go away.

The carbon spot is on the bottom side so when we were trying on the ring and all that, we really didn't look at it upside down. We put it on her finger and inspected it that way(newbie mistake).

The one on the front is only visible when staring at it and tilting it whichever way till you can find it, which usually takes awhile.

But if they don't just pop up then we really won't be worried. We just didn't notice this one on the top until she cleaned it.

I'm not too sure on how to get pictures of it so close. Its too blurry with a digi cam and from far away where its clear you can't see it.

 

[FireGoddess]

Have you tried the macro setting on the digicam? That''s the flower icon usually - it helps you get better pictures up close.

Lumpkin recently looked at an F color, I1 pear that had a carbon spot easily visible from the top...here''s a picture of it.

 

[DiamondExpert]

It''s possible the clarity grade of the stone is incorrect, either through loose grading or misrepresentation.

What grading report does it have?

On the other hand, it is common to see inclusions (albiet not necessarily/frequently VS inclusions) at 10x from the side or bottom angles, which are not visible face up.

 

[Wrenny]

Thats pretty much exactly it but its thinner but longer. At the underside, on the top of the diamond. But if you angle it and tilt it you can notice it from the front.

The jeweler never spoke up about it and we never noticed it. They steamed it and it obviously didn''t work.

 

[Wrenny]

When we originally looked at the ring itw as marked at 3000 which was way too much and she was obsessed with it. A year later it was marked down to 1799 so after talking and they knew they wouldn''t sell it(be it from the pear shaped or the carbon spot they didn''t speak about) i bought it for 1200.

The only papers I got with it was my life insurance program but nothing about the grade or clarity. I purchased on a whim before doing any research, so I do take the blame. Only thing the receipt says is 14yg bridal ring.

 

[Wrenny]

Was I supposed to get some papers?

 

[portoar]

When did you purchase the ring? Can you return it?

 

[kenny]

Wrenny
We recommend doing a lot of learning *before* buying.

At this point we don't know if $1200 was good price or not.
At least you didn't pay $3000.


You could send it to an appraiser to get more information.
There are some listed above under vendors that I feel are very reputable.
They prefer you have the diamond taken out of the ring to do a thorough evaluation, but they may be able to still give you some information if you don't want to remove the stone.
After you get independent evaluation you may learn that it was a good buy and want to keep it.
Or not.

Have a friend go into the store and ask about their refund period/policy asap.

BTW, many many people buy diamonds with visible carbon spots.
They are more affordable.
But is nice to know about the carbon before you buy the diamond.

I'm not sure I would be too mad at the jeweler for not mentioning the carbon spot.
Especially if it is in plain view to the naked eye.

 

[Wrenny]

90 days to return it but she doesn''t want too. She loves it too much. Shes just sad that the spot is there but won''t fall in love with any other diamond.

 

[snuga]

It''s terrible that you didn''t know before hand, but if she''s truly happy with it, then I think it''s a success!

Even with the spot, it''s a very nice looking diamond!

 

[stretch4]

Well if she loves it, then it was worth whatever you paid for it in her eyes. I would just leave it at that.

Here on PS, we usually like to see grading report from a major lab, such as AGS or GIA. These reports will list color and clarity, among other things. Or getting it appraised by a reputable independent appraiser (loose stone).

Some people don''t mind being able to see inclusions. Think of the carbon inclusion as a "birthmark" so to speak. It is what makes your diamond different from every other diamond. Also, it makes identifying your diamond much easier in case you need to leave it at the jewelers for repair, resizing, etc.

However, if the visible inclusion is going to bother her, or you not knowing whether your $1200 was well spent, then you might want to arrange with the original jeweler to have the stone removed from the setting and then sent to a major grading lab or an independent appraiser chosen by you.

Did the jeweler represent the color or clarity at all to you??