Weird inclusion in my diamond - Part 2

[mayerling]

I always meant to follow up on this ([URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/weird-inclusion-in-my-diamond.137901/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/weird-inclusion-in-my-diamond.137901/[/URL]) and now that FI has a better camera I'm finally able to. I managed to capture part of the inclusion I was talking about almost a year ago (though not the entire Y-shape) and wanted to see what everyone thought.

I guess I'm surprised it's so visible given that my diamond is supposed to be a VS1. But I suppose there's no guarantee that it really is a VS1. I've also managed to find somebody to appraise it for me and in a few weeks I'll know whether they agree with the GIA rating.

In the meantime, I'd welcome any thoughts on this matter. The inclusion I'm referring to is at the top right-hand corner of the diamond.

Thanks.



p.s. Please excuse the polish peeling off my nails

 

[afreebird]

Is that an irregularly cut facet?

 

[Circe]

Mayerling, the photo's still a bit blurry to make out detail. Any chance you could capture it on a flat surface and maybe use something to steady the camera, with the macro function in effect?

 

[mayerling]

Mayerling, the photo's still a bit blurry to make out detail. Any chance you could capture it on a flat surface and maybe use something to steady the camera, with the macro function in effect?

The difficult thing is that, as far as I can tell, the inclusion is only visible when looking at the diamond from above. If I put it on a flat surface and took a picture wouldn't it capture the diamond from directly across? If so, I think the inclusion wouldn't be visible (or maybe it wouldn't be visible to me because I don't know about it but it might be visible to others?). But I will try to get a less blurry photo and come back.

 

[mayerling]

OK, I've tried to take another pic on a flat surface. The inclusion (or the part of it that's visible in this pic is on the top right).

 

[slg47]

I would be surprised if that large black thing is an inclusion since it is a GIA VS1? Is it possible your diamond isn't clean? sometimes gunk can get on the underside of the diamond, where it is really hard to clean. I definitely think taking it to an appraiser is a good idea though!

 

[mayerling]

I would be surprised if that large black thing is an inclusion since it is a GIA VS1? Is it possible your diamond isn't clean? sometimes gunk can get on the underside of the diamond, where it is really hard to clean. I definitely think taking it to an appraiser is a good idea though!

I had it professionally cleaned on Monday...

 

[slg47]

weird. i still doubt it is an inclusion, maybe some sort of reflection or something? anyway, seems like taking it to an appraiser is the best bet.

 

[mayerling]

weird. i still doubt it is an inclusion, maybe some sort of reflection or something? anyway, seems like taking it to an appraiser is the best bet.

I probably quite ignorant, but is it normal for diamonds to reflect things in the form of black shadows?

 

[slg47]

again I am not an expert, but I seriously doubt anything that large is an inclusion. Do you see it in all lighting? I think it is more likely that it is some sort of obstruction or facet that is not reflecting like the other facets that is causing the dark effect. Sometimes ASETs of princess cuts will show blue areas that are not symmetric, maybe this is what is happening with your diamond. Again, I am not an expert and someone who knows more (like the appraiser you are going to see!) can likely tell you a lot more.

 

[yssie]

Ditto, there is simply no way that that's an inclusion if your stone is a GIA VS1 and it is in the same condition as it was purchased (ie you haven't put a giant chip in the pavilion since you got it).

Can't see much from the photos (clear closeups would help?) but it could be A) persistent dirt, which a professional cleaning should dislodge) or B) simply an artifact of the inherent faceting pattern. An appraisal will explain if the cleaning does not resolve it.

 

[mayerling]

Ditto, there is simply no way that that's an inclusion if your stone is a GIA VS1 and it is in the same condition as it was purchased (ie you haven't put a giant chip in the pavilion since you got it).

Can't see much from the photos (clear closeups would help?) but it could be A) persistent dirt, which a professional cleaning should dislodge) or B) simply an artifact of the inherent faceting pattern. An appraisal will explain if the cleaning does not resolve it.

Thanks for the input, Yssie. I doubt it's persistent dirt (unless the jeweler who cleaned it on Monday didn't do a good job), but I'm intrigued by the possibility of this being an artifact of the faceting (in fact I'd like to go and read up on this to educate myself).

Something which leads me to believe that perhaps it's not an inclusion and most likely has to do with the facets is that the black spot is there no matter which way I hold my diamond; i.e. it doesn't matter if I look at it top-bottom, bottom-top, east-west, west-east, the black spot is always at the top right corner (pretty stupid of me not to have thought of this before).

Also, is it possible that although the GIA certificate says VS1, the stone wasn't properly graded and should have been given a lower clarity rating?

I'd really like to post clear close-ups but whenever I try to take a picture like that it comes out blurry...

 

[yssie]

Ditto, there is simply no way that that's an inclusion if your stone is a GIA VS1 and it is in the same condition as it was purchased (ie you haven't put a giant chip in the pavilion since you got it).

Can't see much from the photos (clear closeups would help?) but it could be A) persistent dirt, which a professional cleaning should dislodge) or B) simply an artifact of the inherent faceting pattern. An appraisal will explain if the cleaning does not resolve it.

Thanks for the input, Yssie. I doubt it's persistent dirt (unless the jeweler who cleaned it on Monday didn't do a good job), but I'm intrigued by the possibility of this being an artifact of the faceting (in fact I'd like to go and read up on this to educate myself).

Something which leads me to believe that perhaps it's not an inclusion and most likely has to do with the facets is that the black spot is there no matter which way I hold my diamond; i.e. it doesn't matter if I look at it top-bottom, bottom-top, east-west, west-east, the black spot is always at the top right corner (pretty stupid of me not to have thought of this before).

Also, is it possible that although the GIA certificate says VS1, the stone wasn't properly graded and should have been given a lower clarity rating?

I'd really like to post clear close-ups but whenever I try to take a picture like that it comes out blurry...

Rock your stone back and forth slowly, looking at it face-up. Does the area ever lighten? Is it a group of dark facets close together (can you see the facet outlines) or just a splotch? It is not unusual for a group of facets to stay light or dark (not turn 'on'/'off') over a surprisingly large range of tilt angles.

I very, very much doubt it's a misgraded VS1 - a VS1 might be misgraded as a VS2, not an I1/2.. so there is some other explanation for this.

To take close-up pics try putting the camera on a tripod and using the "macro" feature on your camera (on many cameras this is a button w/ a flower picture) - it will let you focus at very close range.

 

[mayerling]

Rock your stone back and forth slowly, looking at it face-up. Does the area ever lighten? Is it a group of dark facets close together (can you see the facet outlines) or just a splotch? It is not unusual for a group of facets to stay light or dark (not turn 'on'/'off') over a surprisingly large range of tilt angles.

I very, very much doubt it's a misgraded VS1 - a VS1 might be misgraded as a VS2, not an I1/2.. so there is some other explanation for this.

To take close-up pics try putting the camera on a tripod and using the "macro" feature on your camera (on many cameras this is a button w/ a flower picture) - it will let you focus at very close range.

The black spot is never there when I look at the diamond face up. It only shows up when I look at the diamond at an angle. So in the last picture I sent, the diamond was on a flat surface but the camera was not placed directly across from it; I had the camera tilted so that it looked at the diamond at an angle.

Unfortunately I don't have a tripod at the moment. And given how the diamond or the camera needs to be at an angle for the spot to appear, I'm not sure the tripod would help anyway.

 

[blackshadow]

Hi Mayerling,

We have noticed the same thing with our newly purchased ring. We just arn't sure if this black shadow is an inclusion or not? I will post a pic of our black shadow type inclusion for you to view. Of the 3 pics I've posted, one of them is of a black carbon spot seen on the profile of the ring and the other two are of the possible black shadow inclusion. Our Jeweler said this is a normal black carbon deposit that all diamonds have, even for our VS2-SI1 clarity.

Our questions are:

1. Is the black shadow seen from the top of the diamond normal? Like Mayerling's diamond, it can only be seen at an angle, and also, only at certain angle, more so in a darker setting.

2. Is it normal to see black carbon spots on the profile of a ring? Even for a VS1-SI1 clarity?

3. Is it possible that the black carbon spot on the profile of the ring is causing the black shadow spot only seen at certain angles? Or is it a possible facet flaw, as earlier mentioned in the thread?

Any advice would greatly be appreciated

 

[blackshadow]

One more thing, the black carbon spot can only be seen from the profile and not the top view.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yes, it is possible to see black carbon spots from the side of a diamond in the VS2-Si1 range. I always try to tell diamond buyers to ask if the stone is eyeclean from the top and sides unless the stone is VS or higher. Is your stone GIA graded? if so, is it VS2 or SI1?

Dark reflections have more to do with cut than anything else. I can't tell what shape your stone is. With rounds, it helps to get Excellent cut. With fancy shapes, it helps to have an ASET image before buying.

 

[blackshadow]

Darn, we just watched the video on this website "The consumer's guide to purchasing a cushion cut diamond" and the diamond we paid good money for is the definite crushed ice, light lakage diamond I wish I could get my money back but it's too late for that

There is no red and blue colors in our ring either. We are alittle bummed right now.

Who makes these crappy cut diamonds??? Newbie diamond cutters out of diamond cutting school???

 

[blackshadow]

Need your guys/girls honest opinion about the ring now that we know there's a good possibility that the cut is not very good. Here is a pic of it that shows more the natural sparkling look. Is it such a bad thing that it dosent have the red and blue colors that show up on the better cut diamonds? Is the crushed ice look a very bad thing with the whiter appearance?

Thanks

 

[SweetAsscher]

Need your guys/girls honest opinion about the ring now that we know there's a good possibility that the cut is not very good. Here is a pic of it that shows more the natural sparkling look. Is it such a bad thing that it dosent have the red and blue colors that show up on the better cut diamonds? Is the crushed ice look a very bad thing with the whiter appearance?

Thanks

What do you mean you are not seeing red or blues? Did you look at your diamond with an ASET?
It's not a bad diamond if you like how it looks. It seems white and sparkly and you were happy with it befoe you saw the video right?
Crushed ice is not necessarily bad. It's just a matter of preference... Many people love the crushed ice look.

ETA: mmm, maybe also open a new thread regarding your cushion? You'll probably get more help that way with an appropriate title as this is mayerling's thread...

 

[blackshadow]

sweet asscher,

Thanks for the feedback. I feel alittle bit better about your comment about some people perfer the crushed ice look. After watching the video we were afraid that the crushed ice look is very undesirable.

We just might start another thread aswell. Didn't mean to highjack this thread but it was very old and very similar to our situation.

 

[SweetAsscher]

sweet asscher,

Thanks for the feedback. I feel alittle bit better about your comment about some people perfer the crushed ice look. After watching the video we were afraid that the crushed ice look is very undesirable.

We just might start another thread aswell. Didn't mean to highjack this thread but it was very old and very similar to our situation.

No worries on the threadjack, I only meant that you might get more help with a new thread and different title?
I'm glad you feel better about your diamond. You should be able to look at it and love it, not feel doubt every time you see it.