Dark Diamond?

[mgretch]

Like so many others I''ve been a lurker here and am grateful for all the questions and answers everyone has posted. I thought I did my research well and bought a round brilliant diamond online but when it arrived and I took it into a jeweler to get it set for an ering she mentioned that it was "dark". I didn''t notice this until she compared it to another diamond (granted, it cost more than twice as much) but it definitely was much darker when looking directely over the center of it. I guess I didn''t expect this as the diamond has and excellent cut grade per GIA and when I put in the numbers in the cut advisor it was in the ideal area of the AGS too. Did I misread the numbers or is this just something that sometimes happens to diamonds? I''d appreciate your input as I still have 30 days to return the diamond (I was happy with it until it was compared to another diamond side by side). I guess I''m worried that once it is set it may only get darker.

Round Brilliant
H, SI1 .87ct
Cut: Excellent
Depth: 62.2%
Table: 56%
Crown Angle: 34.5
Crown Height: 15%
Pavillion Angle: 40.8
Pavillion Depth: 43%
Girdle: Med to STK
Faceted: 4%
Cutlet: none
Polish: Ex
Sym: Ex
Flourescence: none

Thanks for your advice and help.

Matt

 

[MissGotRocks]

What were the specs of the diamond she compared it to?

 

[Ellen]

Hi mg,

Did the whole diamond go dark, or just the center? The first thing that came to my mind is, a very well cut stone will go dark in certain lighting situations, and jewelers lights are one of them. There''s not a thing wrong in that instance, it''s just what they do.

As for the stones you were comparing to, a lesser cut stone won''t do that, they''ll just appear "nice and white". But that is only because it''s not cut as well. So that could possibly be the reason. As for costing more, since you bought online, you paid a far lower price than you would possibly in a B&M, so that could explain that.


Your stones specs look very nice, and very safe, I would imagine it''s a lovely stone!

 

[mgretch]

She brought out two diamonds to initially compare the color, one a J and one an F. Both weren''t dark like mine but the one we kept comparing it to was the F which I believe she said was a VS1. I don''t know if she was doing that to try and upsell me but I must say that it definitely shook my confidence in my purchase a bit.

 

[mgretch]

Ellen,

I want to say that it seemed to be the whole diamond that went dark when looking directly over it but I must admit I was a bit nervous during the whole process so i may have just been the center. We were looking at it under their special light when she was showing it to me.

Matt

 

[Lorelei]

Matt, how does it look in normal light, i.e around your home, outside etc?

 

[mgretch]

Lorelei,

I thought it looked fine in both office light and outside and I guess that is the most important thing, not when comparing it to another diamond side by side. I guess I am just worried that I kinda blew it with the purchase.

Matt

 

[Kelli]

Sorry if this is a thread jack, but why would a well cut diamond go dark in jewelry store lighting? I thought they were supposed to be the best in ALL lighting, with the exception that they look dark in direct sunlight. If this is also the case in store lighting, then why are they considered "ideal" anyway? Sorry to be ignorant, just trying to understand, since I''m having my not so well cut one "fixed."

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/6/2008 11:36:32 AM
Author: mgretch
Lorelei,

I thought it looked fine in both office light and outside and I guess that is the most important thing, not when comparing it to another diamond side by side. I guess I am just worried that I kinda blew it with the purchase.

Matt

I don't think you did blow it Matt, the proportions of your diamond are great, now it could be perhaps that the diamonds you were comparing with had a different type of personality, maybe a larger table and perhaps a bit shallower, not cut as well as yours, but maybe they looked very bright and white for those reasons. Yet take them away from the jewellery store lighting, and you could notice obstruction issues, lack of fire etc, I am not saying this is the case with those diamonds as I can only guess and I am not an expert, but that it could be possible - and that yours would blow them away in those circumstances. What I would do if you would like another opinion, contact an independant appraiser in your area and get their professional opinion on your stone. That might really help!

Here is a tool you can use to find an appraiser - https://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/6/2008 11:24:53 AM
Author: mgretch
Ellen,

I want to say that it seemed to be the whole diamond that went dark when looking directly over it but I must admit I was a bit nervous during the whole process so i may have just been the center. We were looking at it under their special light when she was showing it to me.

Matt

I have a feeling my instincts may be right here then. Did your stone sparkle though, and look maybe a bit firey?

Why she said something could be for a couple reasons. One, she may just not be familiar with really well cut stones, believe it or not, there are still jewelers out there who aren''t. Or, she could have been trying to make you feel unsure/badly about your stone, (in which case she succeeded

) so you''d return it and buy from her. That still goes on too unfortunately. I''m not saying that was her intent though.

But either way, your stone sounds like it''s well cut and doing what it should. If it would make you feel better, have an independant appraiser have a look at it.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/6/2008 11:39:10 AM
Author: Kelli
Sorry if this is a thread jack, but why would a well cut diamond go dark in jewelry store lighting? I thought they were supposed to be the best in ALL lighting, with the exception that they look dark in direct sunlight. If this is also the case in store lighting, then why are they considered ''ideal'' anyway? Sorry to be ignorant, just trying to understand, since I''m having my not so well cut one ''fixed.''

Hi Kelli,

Here''s one of many threads that sheds some light on it. Doing a search will get you more info if that is not enough.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-well-cut-stones-go-dark.79488/

 

[mgretch]

Lorelei and Ellen,

Thanks so much for your input on this and I feel a lot better about it knowing that it may be just the personality of my diamond. Even when it was dark it did seem to sparkle and have what I believe was fire. Once again thanks for the advice and knowledge.

Matt

 

[Kelli]

Thanks ellen!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/6/2008 11:51:05 AM
Author: mgretch
Lorelei and Ellen,

Thanks so much for your input on this and I feel a lot better about it knowing that it may be just the personality of my diamond. Even when it was dark it did seem to sparkle and have what I believe was fire. Once again thanks for the advice and knowledge.

Matt

There ya go. Enjoy your diamond! And you are most welcome.


Kelli, you are welcome too!