Do loose diamonds sparkle the same as........

[liarudd]

I have a loose diamond and It is very sparkly .... once it is set, is it going to "lose" some of that sparkle because it is not getting the same light ? or does it depend on what kind of setting it is mounted in???

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Diamonds get light from the top and reflect light back out of the top. A well cut stone will look good regardless of the setting as long as the top of the stone isn't covered up . And no setting can help a poorly cut stone look better in terms of sparkle and light return, either.

 

[liarudd]

i figured a poorly cut stone wont sparkle or have good optics regardless... i was more wondering for an excellent-ideal cut if they sparkle or have the same light perfomance IN and OUT of the setting?

 

[denverappraiser]

Beyond the portion of the diamond that's covered up by the setting (meaning the parts that are actually covered by the prong tips), you'll not see a change in the light behavior of the stone caused by the setting. The big difference people see with mounted stones on their finger and when they saw it loose in the store has to do with cleaning. Diamonds get dirty rather quickly and it helps to be compulsive about cleaning.

 

[liarudd]

Thank you so much!!!

 

[liarudd]

How do they "reflect" the light?? fast pin points? chunks? as compared to rounds, cushion?? I cant find anything on this?

 

[denverappraiser]

How do they "reflect" the light?? fast pin points? chunks? as compared to rounds, cushion?? I cant find anything on this?

The whole point of cutting a diamond is to make a little bundle of windows and mirrors. The geometry of the stone changes the details you're asking about in a big way. It's a complicated question. Start by spending some time in the tutorial here about 'cut'.

 

[liarudd]

Thanks, most of the articles I find are all relating to round stones...
I was just more curious about other shapes and the different "sparkle" effect you will get depending on the stone, assuming they were all Ideal cuts..... what would be the difference from a round, princess, cushion - would one be larger chunky sparkles and one firepins? one have more fast sparkles than the other?

 

[denverappraiser]

You might want to start a new thread about this question. There's lots of people here who like to talk about this and your headline here has to do with set vs. unset stones, a completely different discussion. Check out some of the discussions about evaluating cut on fancy cuts (in the diamond business, 'fancy' means all shapes other than round)

 

[liarudd]

thanks for the advice, i will start a new thread

 

[Rockdiamond]

Hi Lia,
My experience is very different- and we set thousands of stones a year.
There's no way a setting won't affect how the diamond uses the available light- because any setting changes how much light hits the diamond.
Since we work with a lot of fancy colors, we can see drastic changes in appearance from loose to set.
But even RBC colorless and near colorless stones can look quite different set versus loose.

 

[denverappraiser]

David,

I disagree. All of the relevant light entering into and returning from a diamond comes from the top 180 degrees above the girdle plane and, other than the portion that's actually covered by the prongs and the reflections of the prongs or channel walls themselves, the mounting plays no part in this. The color of hat you're wearing when you look at the stone has the same affect. A yellow background makes a yellow stone look yellower. Reflections of yellow prongs tend to make things look yellower. White metal prongs tend to minimize the appearance of color. Surrounding the stone with other stones, sapphires for example, can give a very different look but this doesn't chnge the optical behavior of the diamond itself. It's as much about how human brains and eyes work as it is about how diamonds handle light.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Neil - I did phrase it incorrectly.
Let's agree the diamond will use the surrounding light the same way regardless if its set or loose, however there's no way setting a diamond won't affect the color and amount of light a diamond gets.
Your example in your response seems to agree.
Wear a yellow hat and look at a diamond, the stone will catch some of that light, and affect the light reflected back to our eyes from the diamond.
In terms of light hitting the bottom of the diamond and where that goes, yes, we'll have to disagree.

 

[Frenchcut]

Just wanted to add a little something: the shape of your setting may affect the way your diamond sparkle if it makes it difficult to clean...there are some settings that hide a lot of the diamond and dirt may stick between the setting and the diamond where you have little access. This kind of setting can make it more complicated to keep an extra clean and sparkly diamond everyday. I personnally opted for a very open setting to avoid this kind of problem.

 

[Enerchi]

Is it safe to assume from the above information that a bezel does NOT loose any more light or sparkle than a prong set stone? I'm clearly 'diamond challenged' because I tend to shy away from bezel settings for that reason!
Looking forward to what you have to share on that notion...

 

[denverappraiser]

Bezels cover up the entire edge of the stone so you're going to lose anywhere from 2-10% of your surface and they tend to be difficult to clean, which are the two things identified above. But they go GREAT with a yellow hat!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Bezels cover up the entire edge of the stone so you're going to lose anywhere from 2-10% of your surface and they tend to be difficult to clean, which are the two things identified above. But they go GREAT with a yellow hat!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Lia, read this page about cut and especially the part about proportions and light performance:

https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut/

I think it will explain some of what you are asking about!

 

[liarudd]

thanks diamond seeker

 

[diamondseeker2006]

you're very welcome!

 

[Enerchi]

Denver - THAT was funny!!! (oh rats... where did I put my yellow hat???) A halo will have to do!

Thanks for the information tho. I have a few sapphires I am looking to set (probably a funky necklace design I'm toying with) so I think I'll stick with prongs, not bezels - and I realize sapphires will 'sparkle' different from diamonds.

Bezels are still pretty awesome and I love stalking the bezel threads!