shape
carat
color
clarity

fluor''s true value: tint more important than transparency

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.

hbright

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 24, 2002
Messages
40
So much fuss about strong fluor values. So much concern about its possible milkiness.

I personally think too much emphasis is placed on the transparency fluors and too little placed on the tint of fluors. I've read enough to hear how rare cloudly looking fluors are anyways. Actually, I have an ideal cut diamond with strong blue fluor. It is a wonderfully scintillating and fiery stone, but it has noticeable blue/violet tint even when face up in sunlight and various lighting conditions. Anyone who looks at the stone, with normal eyesight, will see it's blue (it looks like a pale blue/violet diamond). It doesn't have any transparency issues, however (my eyes hurt from the sparkle).
Because the blueness is apparent and transparency is rare, the real issue is whether blue/violet tint is acceptable. If one likes the tint, especially the fickleness of it, then fluor is a real plus; however, if one wants a white diamond, then fluor should not be considered (unless very faint). The tint should be the deciding factor in choosing a fluor stone.

I personally like a nearly imperceptible blue, which makes the diamond look whiter than white, but not a noticeable blue tint. I'll be returning the diamond I bought thought it's cut is extremely nice (a non-branded AGS00 H&A discovered by an ideal scope) due to it's strong tint rather than its transparency.

I thought about keeping since it wasn't cloudy like everyone said, but it's blue and I don't want a blue stone. It was a bit hard to make this decision since nobody seemed to mention that a strong blue often looks blue in the sun. I'm breaking from the herd.

BTW it's a G body color, but still looks blue in the sun, though it may appear whiter in most lights.
 

oldminer

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Sep 3, 2000
Messages
6,691
I personally wear a highly fluourescent Ideal cut round diamond. It makes very interesting center stone. In daylight the stone is a light violet blue and hazy. In incandescent, room lighting the stone is 100% transparent and highly brilliant as an Ideal cut ought to be. It happens to have about an F body color in neutral lighting.

This stone serves several purposes. I can show people that fluorescence is not a black and white, or all bad, situation. Fluorescence of a pleasing tint can add interest and beauty. Beauty is still subjective, thankfully. I also use it to demonstrate the uses of the Ideal-Scope. Finally, I use the stone to demonstrate that fluorescence may have more effect on appearance than clarity in certain stones. Mine is an eye-clean VS2 but the cloudiness has way more eye visible attributes than any normal set of inclusions.

Fluorescence may improve the looks of a diamond or it may detract. It may be neutral, too. Fluorescence is an arguing point or a tool for negotiation between dealers. Any perceived "weakness" is argued over. That is how a free market functions and has nearly nothing to do with making a buying decision. You end up buying a diamond YOU like. The price ought to already reflect any percevied or real deficiencies such as color, cut, clarity, weight or fluorescence. That's the way a free market functions.
 

fire&ice

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
7,828
I love the bluish hue. I wouldn't buy a stone w/o it - I am no expert - but I can tell if a stone has blue fluor. *I* think it is beautiful and sets it apart from just a diamond.

But, as Dave says - beauty is in the eye of the beholder....and I like to be a tad different.
 

hbright

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 24, 2002
Messages
40
Right.

My main point is that fluor stone's have been stigmatized for the wrong reason. Truly non-transparent stones are rare, so this should not be the foremost concern. The blue body tint in stronly fluorescent stones is; however, readily noticeable, so this should be the deciding factor in purchasing, but after researching, I've found this important point seems to have been missed. The main message I got from researching is "cloudy SB fluors are very rare, so this should not concern you", instead of asking "do you like blue tint of SB fluors in sunlight?".

The gia study did not address the blue body tint in direct sunlight. It seems the industry is trying to increase market value of these stones as they left out an important aspect of a diamonds desireability or lack thereof: its blue body color.

If one doesn't want a faint blue body color stone, one should avoid an nearly colorless (D-G) SB fluor stone as it will most likely exhibit blue body color in direct sunlight.
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top