Help (again) is this normal?

[Eellee44]

Hi PSers,
Back for help.
I have never owned a diamond (granted, this is a lab diamond I know but I assume they should perform the same) and I’m wondering whether what I’m seeing is normal or it’s something not right? (Obsessing whilst still in my return period).

Because I don’t really know much, I do love it. I think it faces up rather white for a J and it sparkles and throws rainbows and looks clear to me so to my rookie self it’s great and I had decided to keep it however;

When I tilt it a certain way it’s almost like I can see a black hole? I can’t really describe it. I have tried to photograph it but I’m not the best at taking photos. The first two are me trying to take pictures of it just face up so you can tell me whether actually, it’s a shocking LB lol and then there is a tilted photo where I’m hoping you can make out what I mean.

I guess my question is, does that mean there’s something seriously wrong with it? Or is that something that just happens?

Sorry for the long post and thank you

 

[OoohShiny]

Remind me of the stone's angles / HCA score?

If it scores under 2, it should perform well. It may be that you are just seeing dark contrast patterns created by obstruction, the obstruction being your head/body/phone blocking the light from reaching the stone. And/or perhaps you were wearing black or had a dark phone/case, which would be reflected back to you as the viewer (because a diamond acts as a mirror when cut well), making the effect look stronger? Does the effect lessen the further away you view it?

Also, having the stone touching your skin changes the refractive index of the touching facets, so it can mean it is more difficult to accurately judge performance.


It is fair to say that no diamond will be all-white all of the time - they are sometimes mysterious creatures, reacting differently in different lighting environments, and getting to know the 'character' of your stone only comes with time and experience

Hopefully others will be along shortly to confirm/counter my thinking!

 

[Eellee44]

Remind me of the stone's angles / HCA score?

If it scores under 2, it should perform well. It may be that you are just seeing dark contrast patterns created by obstruction, the obstruction being your head/body/phone blocking the light from reaching the stone. And/or perhaps you were wearing black or had a dark phone/case, which would be reflected back to you as the viewer (because a diamond acts as a mirror when cut well), making the effect look stronger? Does the effect lessen the further away you view it?

Also, having the stone touching your skin changes the refractive index of the touching facets, so it can mean it is more difficult to accurately judge performance.


It is fair to say that no diamond will be all-white all of the time - they are sometimes mysterious creatures, reacting differently in different lighting environments, and getting to know the 'character' of your stone only comes with time and experience

Hopefully others will be along shortly to confirm/counter my thinking!

It scored 0.9 on the HCA:
Table: 57.5%
Crown: 33.8
Pavillion: 40.7
Girdle thickness: medium
Depth: 60.5%

I managed to get a photo of the “hole” I mean and then if I tilt it it kind of gets bigger.
I am wearing black also at the moment.

Andddd I’ve just taken a picture not wearing black and it seems to kind of disappear.

So perhaps that’s all it is! Thank you!
Once I saw the black hole I couldn’t unsee it!

 

[OoohShiny]

lol

Cool, I'm glad we've worked it out - part of the fun of diamonds is learning what they do in different lights, but at least you know that your angles are complementary and it is working well, rather than having poorly matched crown and pavilion angles!

If you really want to make sure it's not suffering any issues, you could purchase an ASETscope to check

 

[Eellee44]

lol

Cool, I'm glad we've worked it out - part of the fun of diamonds is learning what they do in different lights, but at least you know that your angles are complementary and it is working well, rather than having poorly matched crown and pavilion angles!

If you really want to make sure it's not suffering any issues, you could purchase an ASETscope to check

I thought about that but honestly I wouldn’t really know what I’m looking at. Would it be difficult to take a picture of it to share here and get feedback? Also not sure if it will come within the return time as I’m in Australia so might not be worth it ... I was not looking for something perfect just something pretty. I don’t intend on selling it (hence the lab factor) or upgrading etc so I’m okay with that. The hole was just bugging me more than anything.

From the photo where what I’m talking about is visible do you think that’s anything to be concerned about? Maybe light leakage?

I just won’t wear black

 

[OoohShiny]

I thought about that but honestly I wouldn’t really know what I’m looking at. Would it be difficult to take a picture of it to share here and get feedback? Also not sure if it will come within the return time as I’m in Australia so might not be worth it ... I was not looking for something perfect just something pretty. I don’t intend on selling it (hence the lab factor) or upgrading etc so I’m okay with that. The hole was just bugging me more than anything.

From the photo where what I’m talking about is visible do you think that’s anything to be concerned about? Maybe light leakage?

I just won’t wear black

An ASETscope image would be the most accurate form of assessment we can do as consumers because it can be compared to other ASETs - Garry Holloway is in Aus and invented the ASETscope so delivery might well be quick to you!

The dark hole might go away when it is mounted - it could be the dark material in the box and your skin touching it and changing the refractive / reflective index of the material.

It could also be one of the pavilion facets being overly shallow and not reflecting as it could/should - the facets will not all be at identical angles, which means some might be shallow and some might be deep, giving the average on the grading report. The ASETscope image would be the easiest way to check this, other than getting the stone scanned on a SARIN scanner or similar.


Ultimately it is what it is - and you will have to decide if you can live with it or if it will bug you! If you think now that it might well bug you in the future, now is the time to return it and swap for another option There are always more stones coming on the market so don't feel you need to settle!