Color enhancement cup

[KKJohnson]

Hello,

I had a question about enhancement cups, my vintage diamond has unique faceting pattern that looks like a cutlet but in reality it is not. It gives the stone the "Eye of Sauron" appearance which by now makes me laugh. David Klass suggested a cup to assist in diminishing the appearance of it and he would add a small cleaning hole on the side of the cup.

But I am wondering, if in theory this application would help? I am curious to hear from those who have had rings with them or any sellers who used them in designs, what type of positive or negative experience did you have?



Since we have decided against recutting the diamond and keeping it as is, should I just skip the cup and continue to love the stone as is or should I go ahead and see what a cup would do? If anyone has any ideas other than the cup please clue me in!

EDIT: My other concern is light performance, would a cup diminish light/sparkle performance?

 

[Victor Canera]

Hi KKJohnson,

In my experience, color enhancement cups, at a minimum, let a cape or fancy colored diamond maintain its color and in most cases help them appear more saturated.

If a diamond has windowing or light leakage, color enhancement cups are more effective since the yellow color of the metal underneath it would be more visible.

Different vendors have different ways of creating color enhancement cups though so their effectiveness might depend on their execution too. Just something to keep in mind.

Good luck

 

[Niel]

Hi KKJohnson,

In my experience, color enhancement cups, at a minimum, let a cape or fancy colored diamond maintain its color and in most cases help them appear more saturated.

If a diamond has windowing or light leakage, color enhancement cups are more effective since the yellow color of the metal underneath it would be more visible.

Different vendors have different ways of creating color enhancement cups though so their effectiveness might depend on their execution too. Just something to keep in mind.

Good luck

I'd first and foremost differ to Victors knowledge on the subject.

For me, you know I've been a proponent of cupping from the onset.

 

[HappyNewLife]

I found this older post about the pros and cons of a color enhancement cup:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pros-and-cons-of-cupping-yellow-diamonds.173138/

Not sure if that helps, but I hope it does

 

[KKJohnson]

I found this older post about the pros and cons of a color enhancement cup:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pros-and-cons-of-cupping-yellow-diamonds.173138/

Not sure if that helps, but I hope it does

Yep! Read through that one along with a few other this morning, the OP wanted color saturation but still choose not to go with the cup. I didn't want to comment on such an old posting about the issue I have. I am just curious how people feel about the rings/pendants they have with cups and if this would be a good solution to my dilemma.

I don't think cleaning it would be too much of a hassle since it will be an open cup but who knows.

 

[SimoneDi]

I have a small fancy yellow stone with a cup..the cup definitely helps color saturation and hides the imperfect cut. It is also a radiant stone which are not exactly known for light performance. Cleaning can be challenging, but an ultrasonic does the job. If I were to select a setting for your stone, I would definitely do some sort of a cup. In your other post, I saw some intricate cup inspirations, I would probably lean toward that type of cup, or something like this:

 

[KKJohnson]

I have a small fancy yellow stone with a cup..the cup definitely helps color saturation and hides the imperfect cut. It is also a radiant stone which are not exactly known for light performance. Cleaning can be challenging, but an ultrasonic does the job. If I were to select a setting for your stone, I would definitely do some sort of a cup. In your other post, I saw some intricate cup inspirations, I would probably lean toward that type of cup, or something like this:

Do you have an open or closed cup?

 

[doberman]

I, too, defer to Victor's expertise. My yellow diamond ring has a partial cup, but I think that's just for colored enhancement. It's open on two sides for cleaning. I had never considered the use of cupping to hide a prominent culet.

 

[KKJohnson]

I, too, defer to Victor's expertise. My yellow diamond ring has a partial cup, but I think that's just for colored enhancement. It's open on two sides for cleaning. I had never considered the use of cupping to hide a prominent culet.

Can you post a photo of the partial cup? This is something that I had thought about but everything I have seen are full cups.

 

[doberman]

 

[rockysalamander]

I think a cup could help. Often, a cup is used with windowed gemstones or those with large unfaceted culets. Using the example below, you can see that window allows you to see the letters below. So, if set into a normal setting, all the stuff beneath the stone would also be seen through the gem making the bottom busy. So, if we cupped the gem on the right, you would see a consistent surface...making the window less apparent. The other part of the illusion is to make sure the surface beneath the gem is consistent with the tone of the gem. If we cupped the gem on the right with yellow gold, you would view that yellow through the gem, so you perceptive the gem as more green. If we used 18k rose gold, the gem would be a bit more purple. So, in your case, I think the cup would have to also be yellow gold. The more yellow, the more you see intense yellow through the stone and that enhances the yellow of the stone.




The problem with a cup is that it can be hard to clear. I REALLY like the cup posted by @doberman. You'd need such a cup to be solid running the length of the marquise allowing it to be open on the sides.

 

[Niel]

I'm realizing now I spelled defer wrong.

 

[KKJohnson]

I'm realizing now I spelled defer wrong.

Don’t worry, I’m learning to proof read my own postings...sometimes the phone likes to change up my words lol

 

[Niel]

Don’t worry, I’m learning to proof read my own postings...sometimes the phone likes to change up my words lol

I think long time posters can attest I have never learned to do that. Lol.

 

[doberman]

I'm realizing now I spelled defer wrong.

We knew what you meant! Blame autocorrect; that's what I do lol.

@rockysalamander I like that I can clean the stone with this kind of cup. And the idea of not being able to clean it ... Leon does nice work.

@SimoneDi Ultrasonic is not recommended for pave settings.

 

[SimoneDi]

@SimoneDi Ultrasonic is not recommended for pave settings.[/QUOTE]

I don't think that she is doing pavè.. it's a three stone. My own ring is just a solitaire. Most of the time, I just clean my rings with Dawn and a baby brush as I don't personally own an ultrasonic.

 

[SimoneDi]

Do you have an open or closed cup?

Mine has a very small hole on the bottom. Frequent cleaning will work better. I do think that it makes a difference, I would just really go for something more intricate with more but smaller openings. I would have it be uninterrupted right under the "culet"/facets so the "opening" is as closed as possible. I also do think that it will help the color nicely.

 

[KKJohnson]

Agreed, I really like the idea of a partial cup to help the color and if the pro says it will help the offending cutlet then I will go for it and see what happens. Since it’s going to be a trilogy setting I think having small openings on the sides is perfect

 

[SimoneDi]

Agreed, I really like the idea of a partial cup to help the color and if the pro says it will help the offending cutlet then I will go for it and see what happens. Since it’s going to be a trilogy setting I think having small openings on the sides is perfect

I am very excited for you and eagerly look forward to seeing your final design

 

[rockysalamander]

Another cleaning tip for a cup would be to dump some rubbing alcohol on the cup after cleaned. Shake out the excess. The alcohol will drive out the water and then evaporation. Clean, dry and disinfected
{do notdo this on foil-back stones or emeralds or other stones such stones that are oil treated}

 

[Rockdiamond]

What a cool looking stone kkjohnson!!
Cleaning is super important with most FCDs. Soaking helps. Also using some sort of compressed air/steaming afterwards.
We use open cups, because in our experience a closed cup will hinder cleaning.
To add to Victors excellent post- in terms of color enhancement- there are indeed differences from one make to another in the effectiveness of the cup based on design and manufacturing.

Based on the size, that's going to be one impressive ring!
I like the small accent trapezoids too.
Good luck!

 

[KKJohnson]

What a cool looking stone kkjohnson!!
Cleaning is super important with most FCDs. Soaking helps. Also using some sort of compressed air/steaming afterwards.
We use open cups, because in our experience a closed cup will hinder cleaning.
To add to Victors excellent post- in terms of color enhancement- there are indeed differences from one make to another in the effectiveness of the cup based on design and manufacturing.

Based on the size, that's going to be one impressive ring!
I like the small accent trapezoids too.
Good luck!

Thank you! I actually have gone with larger step cut I colored traps, the ones photoed above was just a test color to see how the features stone paired with colorless...my husband hated the look so I went with near colorless to make us both happy lol

 

[SimoneDi]

Thank you! I actually have gone with larger step cut I colored traps, the ones photoed above was just a test color to see how the features stone paired with colorless...my husband hated the look so I went with near colorless to make us both happy lol

Yay! congrats on the decision! I think that with the cup under the main stone, there will still be plenty of contrast with the side stones. Your ring is going to be stunning!

 

[KKJohnson]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions on going with the cup to help diminish the window/light leakage. It will be interesting to see how much it affects the color but the main concern was the "eye".

 

[RetroTreeGal]

@KKJohnson- have you been holding out on us regarding forward motion on your project? I can't wait to see that marquis in a finished (cupped) ring!

 

[Niel]

@KKJohnson- have you been holding out on us regarding forward motion on your project? I can't wait to see that marquis in a finished (cupped) ring!

In her other (fairly exhaustive ) thread she said she sent it for final approval a few weeks ago I think it should be done soon.

 

[RetroTreeGal]

Thanks @Niel. For some reason those posts didn't need come up when I searched her comments.

 

[KKJohnson]

Thanks @Niel. For some reason those posts didn't need come up when I searched her comments.

I email DK last Tuesday and he said that he was getting the settings on Wednesday and then will start mounting the stones...so no real update just yet.

 

[Niel]

I email DK last Tuesday and he said that he was getting the settings on Wednesday and then will start mounting the stones...so no real update just yet.

Sounds like a nice update to me setting doesn’t take too long.

 

[KKJohnson]

Sounds like a nice update to me setting doesn’t take too long.

It just would have been nice to have a timeline for completion...but I told him as long as I have it for Christmas then I was good...he said that he was getting it back from his hand forged artist which makes was surprising because i thought it was going to be a cast ring