Diamond - keep or exchange?

[Krista Williams]

Taken in my bathroom just now of the H VS2 (I'm zooming in on the pic then screenshoting

 

[distracts]

Is your stone super clean in those pictures? It doesn’t look grainy to me but oily/dirty. Get a diamond dazzle stick or Lavish cleaner and go to town on it, dry it with a microfiber cloth, and do NOT touch the diamond at all. Once you touch the diamond with your finger, you will put that texture/dirt/oil on. Diamonds collect dirt SO fast.

 

[Krista Williams]

Is your stone super clean in those pictures? It doesn’t look grainy to me but oily/dirty. Get a diamond dazzle stick or Lavish cleaner and go to town on it, dry it with a microfiber cloth, and do NOT touch the diamond at all. Once you touch the diamond with your finger, you will put that texture/dirt/oil on. Diamonds collect dirt SO fast.

Very well could be extremely dirty, I did clean it once, but that was days ago..... (dish detergent, hot water and a baby toothbrush)

 

[sledge]

Do you have a local jeweler where you could have the ring steam cleaned?

I bought my wife's stone from BGD and had the setting designed in LA, CA but utilize a local Diamonds Direct for cleanings, their high powered scopes, etc. I always offer to pay but they never accept my money.

Anyhow, after you get a good clean then snap new photos. Also try NOT to use digital zoom as that will sometimes degrade picture resolution and introduce artifacts/noise. Some cameras have a macro feature that helps take close up pics.

I still struggle to get good pics of diamonds but there is a thread here about how to do it. May the force be with you, lol.

How to take good photos of your diamonds.

Several people have asked this and I thought I would put together something a bit more comprehensive than "use macro mode". If anyone has anything else to add or information below to edit, please feel free to weigh in. CAVEAT: This how-to is geared towards people using point and shoot cameras...

www.pricescope.com

 

[SouthernElle]

Taken in my bathroom just now of the H VS2 (I'm zooming in on the pic then screenshoting

Is this the diamond you originally posted? Like a picture in the first post? If so, I think its dirt or hard water spots. The clarity looks completely fine. Maybe have it cleaned or get a jewelry cleaner. If you are going to use water, use distilled or purified and maybe gently blow dry it. Also, it will probably be hard to take pictures like you describe wanting. Diamond sellers / grading agencies / jewelers have cameras, lighting and setups that are designed only to photograph and film diamonds well. Even then sometimes the camera is too close or the angle is off and a well performing diamond doesn't look good. I wouldn't decide on keeping it or not until you know its nice and clean. I think its a beautiful stone.

 

[Krista Williams]

Is this the diamond you originally posted? Like a picture in the first post?

Yes, that's the diamond that I have right now that I want to exchange.

I just noticed my 0.76 G SI1 is available for purchase on BN now..... I kinda feel sad. It was a great diamond, but I wanted bigger. I purch6it for $3221 CAD, and they have it up for $4132 CAD

I could take the ring to one of the chain jewellery stores and have them put it in the ultra sonic....

 

[distracts]

Very well could be extremely dirty, I did clean it once, but that was days ago..... (dish detergent, hot water and a baby toothbrush)

If it was days ago that you cleaned it, it is DEFINITELY dirty now. Not “extremely,” but enough so you can see the dirt. You can rinse it with distilled water to avoid water spots. Like I said, even just touching it once is enough to add some of those marks, and if it is sitting around several days, lots of dust will get on it and stick to the oil, etc.

I recommend cleaning it yourself because I have varied results when having rings cleaned at stores. I’ve gotten them back even dirtier on several occasions. One time my engagement ring came back to me basically covered in grease and I have no clue what the deal was and why the jewelry store person didn’t notice!

 

[SouthernElle]

Not sure if you would ever consider an “I”, but this one is totally and completely “mind” clean. Faint blue fluorescence, falls into AGS Ideal, is GIA XXX, 1.6 HCA and the right price.

Just a thought! Disregard if you aren’t wanting to consider anything lower than an H. We all have our preferences and when spending this much, its hard to expect or accept less than perfection. I have an “I“ with almost identical dimensions and it’s a sparkle bomb and an SI2! But no clouds, I could see why clouds would concern you. But I also like G/H/I. I don’t prefer D or E as they are too cool to me.

1.01-Carat Round Cut Diamond | Blue Nile CA

www.bluenile.com

Here is an H that is IF and a little bigger. Numbers aren’t quite as good, but still very good. Faint blue fluorescence, falls into AGS Ideal, is GIA XXX, 1.7 HCA.

1.07-Carat Round Cut Diamond | Blue Nile CA

www.bluenile.com

 

[Krista Williams]

Im actually not against an I diamond.... I guess it depends on the diamond..... the 1.01 above wont work because now that I did the upgrade, the stipulation for an exchange is it needs to be equal or greater value then the 1.05 H VS2 that I have right now which is $8514 CDN.

The H IF would work for price, but I want the best cut I absolutely can afford... I have been searching strict proportions.....

....... but clearly I am not having an easy time with the searches.... I am almost ready to give up and just keep the 1.05 H VS2 ... maybe I am just crazy with seeing things that dont exist....

 

[SouthernElle]

Im actually not against an I diamond.... I guess it depends on the diamond..... the 1.01 above wont work because now that I did the upgrade, the stipulation for an exchange is it needs to be equal or greater value then the 1.05 H VS2 that I have right now which is $8514 CDN.

The H IF would work for price, but I want the best cut I absolutely can afford... I have been searching strict proportions.....

....... but clearly I am not having an easy time with the searches.... I am almost ready to give up and just keep the 1.05 H VS2 ... maybe I am just crazy with seeing things that dont exist....

Ah! The price point is good to know, so looking at an $8550-8600 on the low end. I totally get wanting the best cut you can afford, what is the high end of your budget?

I absolutely don’t think you should settle, but I also would caution that at some point we’ve all looked at so many diamonds it’s easy to start thinking that there MUST be something better out there.

I color diamonds can definitely go either way, I’m surprised by some that GIA grades because it seems like to should be lower, at least to my eyes.

 

[Krista Williams]

Ah! The price point is good to know, so looking at an $8550-8600 on the low end. I totally get wanting the best cut you can afford, what is the high end of your budget?

I suppose Ive been looking at diamonds up to $11,000 but I'd rather not spend that much. The $8514 is good..... up to $9500 fine, but I wouldn't want to spend much more then $8514 for something exactly the same..... If that makes sense. .....

I've definitely looked at too many diamonds....

 

[SouthernElle]

What about this one? Great stats, looks gorgeous to me. A teeny bit deep, but doesn’t seem to affect the light performance in a negative way. If it was me, I’d want to see this one in person enough to go ahead and order it.

1.06-Carat Round Cut Diamond | Blue Nile CA

www.bluenile.com

 

[ringo865]

When taking pictures of diamonds and you want the arrows to show, you need to put like an empty toilet paper tube (or somehow block some of the light) over the stone so that the arrows will be contrasted. If you just try and shoot it in light, the arrows it won’t show up. Nothing to do with clarity.

 

[Krista Williams]

I haven't exchanged my diamond yet. This week I've been thinking of just keeping it but I keep looking ....
Thoughts on this diamond??

1.02-Carat Round Cut Diamond | Blue Nile CA

www.bluenile.com

As a refresher, this is my current diamond https://www.bluenile.com/ca/build-your-own-ring/diamond-details/LD12566890

 

[Krista Williams]

Im sure you are all sick of hearing from me but I wanted to let you know I just came back from sending my H VS2 back....... I'm going with the diamond above (1.02 F VVS2 with med blue fluorescence).....

I hope I love it!!!! It is $700 more, but I am going up two colour grades, and two clarity grades, but taking on the fluorescence.

@AV_ @tyty333 @OoohShiny @whitewave @whatamilookingat @KKJohnson @distracts @lydial @SimoneDi @sledge @Garry H (Cut Nut)

Thank you for all the help and comments!

 

[AV_]

Im sure you are all sick of hearing from me

Never on this forum ,)

 

[sledge]

I am glad to hear you may have found one that checks all your boxes.

Doubtful the medium fluor will be an issue, but like always, assume the worst and check to confirm it's nothing but pure delight. Then rest easy.

Oh yeah....lots and lots and lots of pictures, lol. And a diamond forum tired of talking diamonds.....seems unlikely.

 

[whatamilookingat]

Congratulations! I hope you love it. I think medium blue fluorecence is beautiful! It adds such a pretty hue to the diamond in sunlight. I hope that by hitting above that carat mark, and getting a high color and clarity, this diamond will be mind clean and that you will enjoy it for a long time.

 

[Krista Williams]

A few weeks ago I noticed my original G SI1 0.76 was back up for sale at BN .... I paid $3221 for it, and it was listed for just over $4000 ... I wanted to see if it had been sold yet, and it appears it has been but its listed for $2810!!!! How in the world did this diamond go from $3221, to $40XX, to $2810????

 

[whitewave]

Awesome! Can’t wait to see hand shots

 

[SimoneDi]

You will love it! It’s a gorgeous stone and medium flouro is absolutely nothing to worry about! Can’t wait for pics.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Those marks in the photos look like dried water droplets or dust and dirt. I suggest that you do not evaluate your diamonds at 40x magnification and stick to using your naked eyes. You have paid a lot to upgrade clarity to solve a "problem" that did not truly exist!

If you want to see arrows, hold your hand up in front of a window with the light streaming in. But again, seeing arrows in photos is not how you enjoy and live with your diamond. Use your naked eyes!

The prices can change as the actual owner of the diamond changes the price. Who knows why they would do that.

 

[SimoneDi]

@dreamer_dachsie it’s $700 more than the current, same-sized H diamond. $700 is hardly “a lot”.

 

[yssie]

Well, it is 22% more - I would probably consider that to be a lot as well.

The diamond was a beautiful stone - just dirty and photographed poorly (camera was wayyy too close to the stone). The new diamond won't be an improvement if it's similarly dirty and subjected to the same style of photography!

Actually, the new diamond has a shallower pavilion - it'll show even more obstruction up close than the original. Agree that this new stone is not an improvement in cut over the old, but certainly higher colour and clarity may provide peace of mind.

 

[SimoneDi]

Well, it is 22% more - I would probably consider that to be a lot as well.

The diamond was a beautiful stone - just dirty and photographed poorly (camera was wayyy too close to the stone). The new diamond won't be an improvement if it's similarly dirty and subjected to the same style of photography!

Actually, the new diamond has a shallower pavilion - it'll show even more obstruction up close than the original. Agree that this new stone is not an improvement in cut over the old, but certainly higher colour and clarity may provide peace of mind.

It’s around 8% actually. We are comparing these 2:

1.05-Carat Round Cut Diamond | Blue Nile CA

www.bluenile.com

1.02-Carat Round Cut Diamond | Blue Nile CA

www.bluenile.com

Even if it has a little bit of obstruction, I’d personally still take an F/VVS2 over H/VS2 with clouds as the grade setting inclusion, especially as a “forever” diamond, but that’s just me.

 

[yssie]

Oh, I was looking at an earlier post - I somehow missed that ~$3200 was for a different stone entirely. Thanks for catching that error!

I don’t think OP made a poor choice with either stone, I just don’t think the new stone will be a visible improvement unless he is sensitive to the colour upgrade. Certainly an 8% increase in cost is much less to swallow than 20%+.