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Diamond looks dark and cloudy

jhoshopgirl

Rough_Rock
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Hi All-
I am beginning to not like my diamond. It is a G VS2 EX EX EX but it looks dark and cloudy under certian lighting (ie: direct sunlight and low lights at bar and etc). I have done some research on this website and people say it is because of the triple EX cut, but when I asked a local jeweler, they said it is due to the clouds that are inherently in diamond.
Do you think I should take a cut to try to sell this diamond to get one that doesn't have any clouds? Also, the GIA isn't very good at showing where the clouds are. They just say, it may contain some clouds. Help needed.

Thank you!

2016-03-29_14.jpg
 

telephone89

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What kind of help do you want? You posted this exact thread 5 years ago. What kind of help are you looking for?
 

MissGotRocks

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Can you post the cert for the diamond? Ideal cut stones go dark in direct sunlight and cannot reflect light that isn't there (in a dark bar). I don't know about the clouds in the stone. Some have clouds that are mentioned on the cert, and smaller ones may be noted but not plotted, but not all cut stones have clouds. You may just be seeing things that are normal in certain lighting conditions.
 

jhoshopgirl

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Whether or not I should take a price cut and sell it because I am not happy with how it looks. Or am I just being picky.
 

telephone89

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Have you gone and looked at other diamonds?

TBH I think your diamond looks lovely, however if YOU aren't happy then you can certainly start shopping.
 

MissGotRocks

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jhoshopgirl|1459287996|4012729 said:
Whether or not I should take a price cut and sell it because I am not happy with how it looks. Or am I just being picky.

I think you are expecting it to be bright and white all the time and that is not true of most well cut diamonds. Diamonds are reflectors that reflect light. If the light is too bright or too dim, they will not perform well. I looked at the cert from your post five years ago. The numbers were good and your picture looks good - very normal. I think you are overanalyzing the stone. If you were to sell it buy another, what exactly would you be looking for? I don't think it is the clouds that are your problem - particularly in a VS2 stone. Have you gone to look at any other stones in comparison to yours?
 

HappyNewLife

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I have a GIA XXX (G/SI1) and it goes black in certain lights. I think some ideal cut diamonds just do that. Oddly, my wife's diamond with the exact same specs (same carat/same shape/GIA XXX/G/SI1) doesn't do this!

Here's a pic:

ick.jpg
 

jhoshopgirl

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I was talking to a store that sold diamonds and firmly believe in the light leakage testing. He said that if the diamond has no light leakage, then it should be white and bright in all types of setting. I don't know how much light my diamond leaks since I have never put my diamond through the leakage machine. Can anyone opine on this?
 

jhoshopgirl

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HappyNewLife|1459288439|4012742 said:
I have a GIA XXX (G/SI1) and it goes black in certain lights. I think some ideal cut diamonds just do that. Oddly, my wife's diamond with the exact same specs (same carat/same shape/GIA XXX/G/SI1) doesn't do this!

Here's a pic:

ick.jpg


Thank you for the pic. I just want to understand why some diamonds do and why some don't.
 

kenny

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jhoshopgirl|1459287996|4012729 said:
Whether or not I should take a price cut and sell it because I am not happy with how it looks. Or am I just being picky.

What's wrong with being picky?

This is Pricescope.
 

MissGotRocks

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My ideal cut stone does that and so do many others. You can buy an idealscope to look at the stone for light leakage. You might have some but not enough to completely destroy the look of the stone. I think that what you are seeing is completely normal. A jeweler might try to tell you that a diamond should look bright and white all the time to sell you another diamond but that is simply not true. Expectation has to meet reality in all things. A shimmery paint job on a car will not shimmer in the dark because of the same absence of light. You'll read here about folks going to Home Depot or the grocery store with their rings because that lighting makes a diamond literally glisten. Step under a leafy tree on a sunny day and you'll see the light dance off of the facets. It just can't be on all the time and the larger the stone, the more noticeable it will be.
 

AdaBeta27

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Did you ever have the diamond checked by an independent appraiser to see if the actual diamond matches the GIA report? If not, hten that might be a place to start. The report number that you posted in your earlier thread won't load a report for me, so I can't comment on the inclusions. 80% lower girdle facets will give a more "splintey" look due to slim arrows, and perhaps you prefer fatter arrows or chunkier facets? Maybe the diamond is just dirty? Or maybe, with GIA rounding of dimensions and other measurements, the HCA cut adviser tool overestimates the performance of this diamond and it isn't as good as some other GIA Exs.

Dave Atlas sells ASET and Idealscopes. You could buy your own ASET scope and check your diamond for leakage, too.

I can understand not liking a vague something about a particular diamond. I bought a superideal and it was a G and very white, a very high G that looked colorless. Nice stone, no doubt about that. But there was just something "bland" about it, and it lacked contrast and broad flashes of either white ot colored light. It had loads of unusual pinfire, and that must have been kind of a cutting mini-fad with that particular cutter. The same vendor had several diamonds with similar characteristics at the time. I kept that diamond a couple of years, never used it or set it, then finally traded it in on an upgrade that I am still 100% happy with. There are differences in character and performance and "looks" between even superideal and excellent cut diamonds. It's possible that you might find one that you like better.
 

diamondseeker2006

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jhoshopgirl|1459288540|4012743 said:
I was talking to a store that sold diamonds and firmly believe in the light leakage testing. He said that if the diamond has no light leakage, then it should be white and bright in all types of setting. I don't know how much light my diamond leaks since I have never put my diamond through the leakage machine. Can anyone opine on this?

That is one of the dumbest statements I have ever heard from a jeweler. Duh! Excellent cut stones can go dark in certain lighting. Like mine went a little dark in spotlighting, yet it is bright white in other lighting, and most sparkly of all in halogen. Honestly, it is amazing what jewelers tell people to try to get them to buy from them.

Clouds are not a problem in a VS2 stone.
 

John P

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jhoshopgirl said:
Hi All-I am beginning to not like my diamond. It is a G VS2 EX EX EX but it looks dark and cloudy under certian lighting (ie: direct sunlight and low lights at bar and etc).
You said "I am beginning to not like my diamond." However, I see that you posed the same question some years ago. My question: Has this been a problem the entire time, or does the problem come and go? If it comes and goes it may be happening when some residue like hair spray (or many other possibilities) adheres to the surface and interferes with refractive index and light transmission.

If it has always been an issue it could be gemological, or it could be cut-related. There's simply no way to say, decisively, without more information. Posting a photo of the GIA Report could help.

...when I asked a local jeweler, they said it is due to the clouds that are inherently in diamond.
That's curious. A GIA VS2 with normally plotted clouds should not have such an issue. Does the comments section of the GIA Report stipulate: "Clarity grade based on clouds not shown." ? And did the jeweler use the term haze at any time?
 

jhoshopgirl

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John Pollard|1459291119|4012789 said:
jhoshopgirl said:
Hi All-I am beginning to not like my diamond. It is a G VS2 EX EX EX but it looks dark and cloudy under certian lighting (ie: direct sunlight and low lights at bar and etc).
You said "I am beginning to not like my diamond." However, I see that you posed the same question some years ago. My question: Has this been a problem the entire time, or does the problem come and go? If it comes and goes it may be happening when some residue like hair spray (or many other possibilities) adheres to the surface and interferes with refractive index and light transmission.

If it has always been an issue it could be gemological, or it could be cut-related. There's simply no way to say, decisively, without more information. Posting a photo of the GIA Report could help.

...when I asked a local jeweler, they said it is due to the clouds that are inherently in diamond.
That's curious. A GIA VS2 with normally plotted clouds should not have such an issue. Does the comments section of the GIA Report stipulate: "Clarity grade based on clouds not shown." ? And did the jeweler use the term haze at any time?


The GIA report does show "Clarity grade based on clouds not shown"
 

John P

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jhoshopgirl|1459292022|4012801 said:
The GIA report does show "Clarity grade based on clouds not shown"
There is your answer.
 

jhoshopgirl

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John Pollard|1459292300|4012806 said:
jhoshopgirl|1459292022|4012801 said:
The GIA report does show "Clarity grade based on clouds not shown"
There is your answer.

So the reason why the diamond goes dark is due to the clouds?
 

HappyNewLife

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jhoshopgirl|1459288540|4012743 said:
I was talking to a store that sold diamonds and firmly believe in the light leakage testing. He said that if the diamond has no light leakage, then it should be white and bright in all types of setting. I don't know how much light my diamond leaks since I have never put my diamond through the leakage machine. Can anyone opine on this?

both our diamonds had excellent Idealscope and ASET images, so there's minimal leakage in both diamonds. Why mine goes black in some lights is a mystery, but I kind of like that now ;-)
 

jhoshopgirl

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John Pollard|1459292300|4012806 said:
jhoshopgirl|1459292022|4012801 said:
The GIA report does show "Clarity grade based on clouds not shown"
There is your answer.
Actually it shows: "Additional Clouds are not shown"
 

John P

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jhoshopgirl|1459292735|4012818 said:
John Pollard|1459292300|4012806 said:
jhoshopgirl|1459292022|4012801 said:
The GIA report does show "Clarity grade based on clouds not shown"
There is your answer.
Actually it shows: "Additional Clouds are not shown"
Then it's not necessarily your answer.

First: When "Clarity grade is based on clouds not shown" it's more serious. It implies a diamond where clusters of pinpoints (clouds) are so populous as to be the primary grade setter. In such cases, even VS grades, that may interfere with light transmission.

Second: When "Additional clouds not shown" appears, it usually implies that they're a non-factor. But your jeweler referred to them specifically. It would be irregular for just "additional clouds not shown" to mute transmission. However, if the diamond also has numerous or large plotted clouds (along with that comment) it could merit that reference.

...While it's stimulating to try and problem-solve "in the dark" (haha), posting a photo of the GIA Report would be more helpful, so we are not guessing at things.
 

jhoshopgirl

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Here is the GIA. Thanks!

2016-03-29_22.jpg
 
Q

Queenie60

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Hi - just an FYI, sometimes my stone will look a bit cloudy. I clean it up real well, getting the brush on the bottom part of the stone. After cleaning it up to remove the oils from my skin, and probably other things it's picking up in my environment, hairspray, etc. It's new and sparkly again. Could it just need a good cleaning?
 

John P

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jhoshopgirl|1459354017|4013133 said:
Here is the GIA. Thanks!
Thank you. That's helpful.

It appears that two plotted clouds or small crystals (at 9:00 under bezel and star facets) are setting this diamond's clarity grade. There is also a tiny feather or needle at the edge (9:00 under upper girdle facet).

Question: What clarity characteristic is listed first on the report?

If that grade setting inclusion is a cloud - followed by crystal, feather or needle - then, based on your observations and the jeweler's comments, that could be significant.
 

jhoshopgirl

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Sorry, I don't know if I know the answer to the question.
 

John P

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jhoshopgirl|1459355933|4013149 said:
Sorry, I don't know if I know the answer to the question.
The image is cut off so I can't see the clarity-characteristic details underneath the plot.

What does the report say down there; where the arrow is pointing?

grade-setter-jhoshopgirl.jpg
 

jhoshopgirl

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John Pollard|1459356931|4013158 said:
jhoshopgirl|1459355933|4013149 said:
Sorry, I don't know if I know the answer to the question.
The image is cut off so I can't see the clarity-characteristic details underneath the plot.

What does the report say down there; where the arrow is pointing?

I'll retake the picture when I get home. Thanks!
 

kenny

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I got the report # from the pic.
Then I used GIA report check to look at the PDF of the whole report, but for some reason this diamond has no link to the PDF file ... but this is.
(Maybe because the report was 2007, which might be before they took pics for PDF files :confused: )

Perhaps these two Clarity Characteristics, Cloud, Needle, are the same as what is listed under the plot.
No? What say you, Sir John. ;-) :wavey:

screen_shot_2016-03-30_at_11.png
 

yasssss

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I've got to drop in to add, your ring and stone are STUNNING in that pic! and it looks like a boulder on your finger! huge!
 

RockBrat

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All well cut diamonds will have periods of time where they exhibit darkness, which I describe more as looking silver or like a mirror. But you shouldn't see cloudy in a vs2, g, no flour stone. If you clean it with dish soap or 409 then that could be the reason, a film. Also, there could be dirt or fingerprints under the setting that create this effect. The setting itself might have something to do with it also, if it is blocking where the light needs to come in. You might see less darkness in a solitaire setting.

What I assume is going on is that the angles of the stone, even though within good proportions, might be causing your eyes to reflect or see the light in a way that makes your stone appear dark to you. Choosing a diamond is not all numbers or paper, the eyes see things a certain way and reflect lights a certain way and I assume that's what's going on here. I personally prefer deeper stones with larger crown angles. My eyes receive the light much better in a stone like that, even though a stone like that is not what is recommended here.

My suggestion is if you think you want a different diamond definitely compare some to yours in person first. Make sure yours is very clean. Tiffany is a good place to go for a comparison like this, they have a nice range and variety and even though they all look similar, and are all within a range, you should be able to detect differences in proportions and angles enough to get an idea of what you'd like better. It's very important to compare your ring to stones that are mounted which is also why I suggest Tiffany. Comparing your ring to loose stones will give you false results. My guess is you will prefer a more shallow stone with a smaller table.

During your comparison your eyes will tell you if you like different proportions and if so you can then seek out a different stone. But swapping for another stone of similar proportions is probably not going to solve the issue.
 

wildcat03

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OP - your ring is lovely. I, too, have a VS2 where the grade setting inclusion is clouds. I can't tell from your certificate where your clouds are plotted - mine are not under the table and unless my diamond is perfectly clean I have a hard time finding them using my 30x loupe. It's certainly possible that they are impacting your stone's performance. I'd honestly suggest giving your stone a good solid cleaning first. I like to soak mine in dawn dish detergent with some warm distilled water (I have hard water where I live) and then give it a good going-over with isopropyl alcohol to make sure it's really clean. If I've neglected cleaning my diamond for a few days (or, um, a week...not that that ever happens!) it makes it bright and sparkly again.

FWIW, I think ideal cut stones DO go dark in direct/harsh sunlight. It's something I've noticed in a number of diamonds over the years.
 
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