Am I being crazy/paranoid? WF ACA AGS0 now looking lackluster?!?

[Palmxp3]

Hi all,

I purchased a WF ACA AGS0 1.55 G-SI1 diamond 2 months back with the help from several forum member recommendations. Here are the diamond''s specs:

. Depth %: 60.90
. Table %: 55.70
. Crown Angle: 34.60
. Crown %: 15.30
. Pavilion Angle: 40.70
. Pavilion %: 42.90

When I received the diamond, it looked absolutely stunning to me(bear in mind I had zero experience on diamonds other than reading from this forum). I brought the diamond to a very reputable appraiser and he was in awe saying it''s a top notch cut. I felt good about my purchase now that it was confirmed so I decided to keep it. I then had the stone set by Leon Mege and he also mentioned that it was a very nice diamond.

During the 8-week wait time to get it set, 2 other friends got recently engaged and I was absolutely stunned by the brilliance and fire/sparkle of their diamonds. I asked them for the diamond cut specs and entered it into the HCA and both the scores were in the 4.5 range

My diamond scored a 1.1 on the HCA. I recently got the ring back (Leon did an amazing job on the setting btw, but that''s for another topic) and it didn''t really sparkle like I had remembered on the other 2 diamonds. I also compared my diamond to a cheap 2.0 Carat CZ that sparkles much more than the real thing!

I''m beginning to believe that numbers aren''t everything and I may have made a bad mistake. Or are there too many variables that the comparison isn''t accurate: different time, lightning, memory could be off, etc. I have not compared all 3 diamonds together at the same time. Please offer advice or comments, thank you!

 

[decodelighted]

I wouldn''t panic. Different lighting environments, how recently the stone has been cleaned etc can all affect how a stone looks at the moment. Some poorly cut stones still show brilliance & sparkle -- but don''t perform well under any & all lighting environments. Just because something looks good once doesn''t mean its a well cut stone.

Also, you don''t know how much the other folks spent. Paying retail they might have spent 2x what you did ... and have a less ideally cut stone to boot.

There''s a period after buying something, after imagining for so long how it will look -- that nothing can live up to the mental expectations. Its an adjustment period and very normal.

If it makes you feel better you can take your ring to Tiffany''s and compare to their rings under their lighting environments. Or confirm with another appraiser. It would be really hard to go wrong with a WF ACA in a Leon Mege setting. REALLY HARD. I''m 99.9 sure this is all in your head.

 

[sofi]

Please forgive me if this is obvious - but have you cleaned your ring since you got it back? Just a little bit of dust or grease can make a diamond look dull.

 

[stone-cold11]

lighting conditions and probably the stone is not clean properly after the setting is done.

 

[cheradrian]

Or are there too many variables that the comparison isn''t accurate: different time, lightning, memory could be off, etc. I have not compared all 3 diamonds together at the same time. Please offer advice or comments, thank you!

Sounds like you already have your answer.

The best way to compare diamonds (in my humble opinion from a consumer-perspective) is to look at recently-cleaned stones side-by-side in multiple lighting conditions (direct, indirect, halogen, incandescent, low-light, etc) to determine light performance across the board, not just in jewelry store spot lighting.

 

[Regular Guy]

maybe somebody knows where there''s a board comparing cruise ship? You know...Carnival vs...(tries to think what the top of the line is...?...)...Disney?

Clean, and take to where they sell Hearts on Fire...or Tiffany. Be brave.

I don''t think the world''s coming apart (but report back...!...)...

 

[Palmxp3]

Actually, I have not cleaned the diamond at all when it came back. With that said, the stone doen''st look dull at all and is still very bright, I''m just not seeing the fire that I was expecting to. I can only get it to sparkle somewhat under direct sunlight or under my kitchen recessed lights. I will go home tonight and clean her up to see if that makes a difference. Maybe I am expecting too much out of what a diamond can do. But from what I can recall, looking at the other rings, (once inside a dark bar and once outside) they sparkled like a disco party..

 

[Palmxp3]

Haha, thanks for the reassurance. I''m not sure how I would approach that, seems like an awkward situation that the sales rep woudln''t be too happy about. I''m just feeling a little under pressure and nervous since I''m planing the proposal very soon! We do spend time with the other couples and I would to know our stone underperforms. Especially after I spent weeks doing research and picking out what I thought was an excellent stone.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 8/7/2009 3:19:50 PM
Author: Palmxp3
Actually, I have not cleaned the diamond at all when it came back. With that said, the stone doen''st look dull at all and is still very bright, I''m just not seeing the fire that I was expecting to. I can only get it to sparkle somewhat under direct sunlight or under my kitchen recessed lights. I will go home tonight and clean her up to see if that makes a difference. Maybe I am expecting too much out of what a diamond can do. But from what I can recall, looking at the other rings, (once inside a dark bar and once outside) they sparkled like a disco party..

GO CLEAN IT. Oils can make even the most gorgeous stones lackluster.

Use a baby toothbrush and some dish soap and rinse well.

 

[glitterata]

1) Clean it. Mix a little dish soap in a cup of water, soak the ring for a few minutes, scrub it gently with a baby toothbrush, rinse (WITH THE PLUG IN THE DRAIN!!!), and dry it back and front with a paper towel.

2) Check it out in different lighting conditions. Under a leafy tree on a sunny day. In a restaurant with lots of halogen lights in the ceiling. Under a chandelier. The lighting makes a huge difference.

 

[chrono]

Sounds like it needs cleaning. Not matter how well cut, if dirty, a diamond will not sparkle as much. Almost all the PSers clean their diamonds everyday.

 

[Lula]

Ditto the others on cleaning -- a little dish soap and warm water bath every day will make a huge difference.

Also, I have owned 3 AGS0 stones since April (I caught the PS "upgrade fever," shall we say) and I can tell you that all three stones were gorgeous, and all three stones had slightly different personalities. But all were excellent "sparklers."

I did notice that my friends'' non-ideal-cut stones also sparkled under bright lights (where we tend to notice diamonds the most) but the difference is that their stones do not perform as well in low light, or in office light. My AGS0 looks good even under incandescent light when most other diamonds don''t do much.

Fire is best seen, to my eyes, when I''m looking at the reflection of my ring, in a car window (blinding) or in a mirror. It''s hard to make out the fire when I''m just staring at the diamond under bright sunlight unless I move the diamond farther away from my eyes.

 

[Allison D.]

No worries, Palm; it likely just needs a good cleaning.

Diamonds are oil/grease magnets, so cleaning them is important.

I'm guessing a big part of it with yours is head obstruction. When your're looking at your own ring, your head gets in the way of most direct light sources, so you tend to see the fire less.

If someone else were to put the ring on and you were to stand opposite them, you'd likely see much more of the fire because you're not close enough to obstruct the light source.

 

[Lorelei]

By the way a daily cleaning isn''t excessive, diamonds are grease and muck magnets.

 

[Palmxp3]

No kidding! Thanks for the suggestions all. I cleaned her up yesterday and WOW, what a difference. I''m completely happy now and can''t wait for the big day. I''ll be back to post pictures and reviews for both Whiteflash and Leon Mege. Thanks again everyone!

 

[Ellen]

Yay! Remember, a clean diamond is a happy diamond!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/8/2009 12:01:43 PM
Author: Ellen
Yay! Remember, a clean diamond is a happy diamond!

Tis true!

 

[Moh 10]

It is so sad most diamonds are dirty and most pianos are untuned.

Neither can produce the beauty you paid for.

 

[John P]

Do you think there is a future for piano tuners who will steam clean your jewelry when they visit?

 

[WinkHPD]

I was going to post and tell you to find a loupe and look under the prongs. While rare, it is possible for rouge or other "yucky" stuff to get trapped between the back of the prong and the diamond or if the tourch is used without proper cleaning of the diamond for something to get fired onto the back of the diamond.

Reading your post above it sounds as if it was completely fixed by a good cleaning which is wonderful.

Wink

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/8/2009 12:49:40 PM
Author: John Pollard
Do you think there is a future for piano tuners who will steam clean your jewelry when they visit?

Saaayyy, you might be on to something here....

 

[Moh 10]

Date: 8/8/2009 12:49:40 PM
Author: John Pollard
Do you think there is a future for piano tuners who will steam clean your jewelry when they visit?

Hmm, I''m sure there is a piano tuner in LA who will be providing lots of referrals to good diamond vendors.

Piano people recognize and love beauty.

 

[Stephan]

When I was younger I played the harpsichord.
Tuning the instrument was what I hated about it, but in fact I did it well.