Best lighting to see fire?

[dach2k3]

I got my diamond on Saturday. AGS-0 Princess from exceldiamonds. I took my first peek at it indoors in my bedroom and was a little underwhelmed. The shades were all drawn and I have a single light overhead in a ceiling fan. I've been looking at some other diamonds at jewelry stores and there's always a lot of sparkle there with the many overhead lights. I then took it into the bathroom where there's a row of strip lighting w/ 5 overhead lamps... lots of sparkle. Finally i viewed it outside in sunlight... WOW, tons of fire all over the place as i angled the ring. Is sunlight the best lighting to see fire? Any other lighting conditions to show off a well cut diamond?

Thanks, Mario.

PS I'll try and get some pics up as soon as possible. My girlfriend has the good camera and I won't pop the question until friday night.

Here's a link to the diamond:

http://www.exceldiamonds.com/diamond/23175.html

PPS, i am a bit dissapointed in the setting. I got a simple Tiffany style solitaire in platinum which I have a seen a lot of great reviews for. The head seems to be slightly askew and angled on the ring. If I lay the ring on its side on a flat table you can see that it is clearly at a slight angle. Slight, but noticable. I hope that i will have no problem getting it fixed. I assume that this is not considered "normal".

 

[belle]

as you have found high overhead light, preferably multiple light sources, is a great viewing environment. if you really want to see a show, go to a big gymansium or warehouse store (costco) and you will see the best sparkle you can from your diamond. there are definitely ''underwhelming'' environments but there are many more great ones.
enjoy your new diamond!

 

[oldminer]

We use a multi-led deak lamp to induce sparkle. Sparkle is best observed from direct, multi-pinpoint lights.

Diffused lighting diminishes sparkle.

Any lighting that is indirect is less effective in creating sparkle. Diffused, indirect is the least likely to make sparkle happen. That''s the kind of lighting I use in my lab in order to see body color and inclusions, but not beauty.

 

[dtnyc]

The elevator in my office building is great because there are multiplie lights on the ceiling and the inside is all brass so the light bounces around like crazy.
Also while driving during the daylight is awesome-
last night I was on amtrak from DC to NYC and noticed that the overhead train lighting was doing v. good things for sparkle and the color of my stone- I actually took pictures because it looked soo good!

 

[Ellen]

If you search on here for "best lighting for fire" and "best lighting for sparkle", some good threads should come up.

But the sun IS good, check out the Fire Thread, almost all mine were in sun.

 

[kzx87]

yea, a stone i recently got looked pretty bleh when I originally opened the box in a room with a single floor torch lamp with a white glass fixture. then I walked into the bathroom with the 6 bulbs on the vanity mirror and it turned into a fireball and i was like

 

[dach2k3]

I''m extremely pleased w/ the stone itself. It''s really beautiful and i think it looks pretty large in a simple Tiffany solitaire setting. I''m glad i took the effort to get an AGS-0 diamond. I hope she appreciates the quality of the cut.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/8/2007 5:02:03 PM
Author: dach2k3
I''m extremely pleased w/ the stone itself. It''s really beautiful and i think it looks pretty large in a simple Tiffany solitaire setting. I''m glad i took the effort to get an AGS-0 diamond. I hope she appreciates the quality of the cut.

I''m glad you did too, and I''m sure she will.

 

[strmrdr]

moving sunlight
under a tree on a bright day with a breeze.

 

[Idealistic]

dach2k3, does your princess cut faces up white? i was also looking at an i color, princess triple AGS0 from excel too. i was just a little concern that the i color would be a little warm.

 

[dach2k3]

Idealistic, I can only tell you that i can''t notice any "warmth" to the stone. I was also a little concerned w/ an I, but I''m not any more. I placed the ring against white paper, note cards and a white laminate countertop and i still couldn''t notice any yellowness from the top.

I spent a lot of time yesterday viewing the stone in a lot of different light conditions and i''m very happy with it.

I heard back from Barry this morning at excel and he said they''d be happy to adjust the ring as well so i''m pleased as punch so far w/ my purchase.

After reading this thread and a few more fire threads I need to get my girl to a Home Depot or Costco soon after proposing .

Thanks to everyone who has provided some input on my purchase.