Diamond With Feather or Diamond With Carbon?

[zooroy]

Hello all-
I’ve been following the boards here for a while and now that I have a decision to make, I figured I would get some advice!

I currently have a diamond ring (Diamond 1 (Feather)) but have the option to swap out the main diamond at no cost. I love the current ring but it has a feather that is noticeable when outdoors in bright sunlight, inside – I cannot see it unless I shine a flashlight through it, to me its perfect inside, but the feather bothers me outside. The feather is the larger thumbnail shape at the end of the green line.




The other diamond has no feathers but has a few black carbon inclusions (Diamond 2).




Does anyone have any experience with similar diamonds and what would you choose if it were between the two? Will the black inclusions be magnified in any condition? I am thinking the feather will only be seen in certain situations where the carbon may be always seen? Any insight would be much appreciated! Thank you in advance.

 

[D_]

Diamond #1.
The black carbon can be more easily visible.
But are the 2 diamonds comparable otherwise though? Proportions etc.
From the pictures diamond #1 somehow looks better.
If it bothers you, do you have to settle with #2 or can you keep looking?

 

[zooroy]

Yes the two are very comparable beside the type of inclusions. I have a very difficult time seeing the feather unless I am in direct sunlight. With that said it becomes fairly big at that point. It's difficult to capture via camera. In the exaggerated light photo the entire piece that looks like a shark fin is how it appears in direct sunlight. I will see if I can get additional photos.

My jeweler said I can wait a bit then swap it out so something else may come up in my spec-range and budget.

When the feather does appear I feel like it would be bigger looking than the carbon, but I have don't really have experience with a diamond with carbon - can the carbon "get lost" or maybe appear as a reflection etc. or is it always just there smacking you in the face?

 

[solgen]

It depends on the location of the inclusions as to how it may reflect inside the diamond. Looking at the pavilion you might see it all over the place though you probably won't be rotating your hand in a manner where that would be apparent. In bright sunlight it could be washed out or it could hinder reflections of light and be noticeable. It some conditions it might play nicely with the contrast and be hidden. You almost need to try it in various conditions and see.

 

[thecat]

Are they both SI2? If so, both types of inclusions might be visible. You can either wait for more eye clean similar clarity, or go up in clarity.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

My vote is neither. I would not accept a primary feather inclusion or black carbon in an SI clarity stone. I would pay more and get a stone with better clarity.

 

[zooroy]

Thank you all for the input, for some reason I knew this would turn into a wait and get something else thread. But I just wanted to know between the two. The plan is to eventually upgrade and my jewler has given me a 100% buy back to upgrade with no time limit. I wasn't worried about that.

 

[pyramid]

Is it GIA reports?

 

[baroque]

The carbon would bother me less, but that's me. I don't like feathers and especially one that I could see easily, when I look at them, it looks like a crack. I have a "crystal" in my VS2 stone, it's black-so I guess that's carbon(?) and I definitely can see it when I look for it, but mostly it just hides in the sparkly facets, but when I do see it, I think of it as her character, and kind of like her birthmark! It's what made her a VS2 (that and a small cloud below it that is secondary) and if not for that, she would be a much higher clarity and I would not have been able to afford this size I color stone.

You are the only one who will know which flaw will bother you less. People here will have differing opinions