Help: What do you call

[mela lu]

I''ve been searching for a thread relevant to my ''issue'' but cannot find...maybe you can help.
I have a cushion, my FI gave to me (before I discovered PS) and although I love it, and love that he picked it for me, there is something about the stone I''m not crazy about.

It''s 1Ct, F colour, VSI (eye clean),...but there were no % specs on the Gemologist Insurance Certification?! So without those specs, I''m lost.
So my ''issue'' is that when I tilt the diamond on a slight angle, I see a "shadow" or a dark patch (not like an inclusion, more like no light reflection, or a dead patch).

What is this called? and what is it caused from?

 

[cpster]

Where do you see the dark patch? Is it right in the middle of the stone?

 

[oldminer]

There are virtually no finely cut cushion cut diamonds in the market. This is a category of fancy shape that remains more or less undefined despite my best efforts to quantify cut grades for fancy shapes. Primarily the rough that goes into cushion cuts is not cookie cutter stuff. There are huge variations in proportions that cutters and the public find "acceptable" and few brands promote cushion cut in any form. The trade has advanced a great deal on cut quality in recent years, but cushion cuts have been pushed to the side since they likely are the most difficult of all the shapes to quantify by cut parameters. They are all cut so uniquely that parameters mean very little.

You have a diamond which leaks light when you tilt it. It isn't tragic, but unique to your diamond in the way it happens. Each diamond has its own characteristics. People looking at your diamond won't see it like you do. Their eyes are further away from it. They won't stare at it more than a second or two. They are not grading it. They are not diamond experts. They see a sparkly thing and know you are engaged or married....and that's it. You're spoken for and no longer on the dating circuit.

The meaning of the diamond is romantic and deeper than appearances. It is a costly gift of committment between people and a visible symbol of attachment and intention. The looks and performance of a fair quality diamond or a fine quality diamond are similar to casual observers. The symbolism is identical regardless of the quality.

If a diamond is a "leaker", then someday you might seek to upgrade it. People become very attached to their initial engagement ring. My wife won't give me back her old 1.08ct round even though I bought her a very nice 3 1/2 ct round seven years ago. She is just simply attached to the old stone although she has never complained about the upgrade.

 

[mela lu]

Thanks for the reply. Phew.

The dark patch(es) actually appear almost in quadrants. so if I tilt the diamond away from me, then the quadrant "furthest" from me goes dark, while the other 3 show the facets.

URGH. I just want to know how to refer to this...as I am going back to the jeweler that he purchased the diamond from. I just want to be educated first as to the cause of this.

thanks for any input!

 

[mela lu]

Date: 1/12/2007 2:55:12 PM
Author: oldminer
There are virtually no finely cut cushion cut diamonds in the market. This is a category of fancy shape that remains more or less undefined despite my best efforts to quantify cut grades for fancy shapes. Primarily the rough that goes into cushion cuts is not cookie cutter stuff. There are huge variations in proportions that cutters and the public find ''acceptable'' and few brands promote cushion cut in any form. The trade has advanced a great deal on cut quality in recent years, but cushion cuts have been pushed to the side since they likely are the most difficult of all the shapes to quantify by cut parameters. They are all cut so uniquely that parameters mean very little.

You have a diamond which leaks light when you tilt it. It isn''t tragic, but unique to your diamond in the way it happens. Each diamond has its own characteristics. People looking at your diamond won''t see it like you do. Their eyes are further away from it. They won''t stare at it more than a second or two. They are not grading it. They are not diamond experts. They see a sparkly thing and know you are engaged or married....and that''s it. You''re spoken for and no longer on the dating circuit.

The meaning of the diamond is romantic and deeper than appearances. It is a costly gift of committment between people and a visible symbol of attachment and intention. The looks and performance of a fair quality diamond or a fine quality diamond are similar to casual observers. The symbolism is identical regardless of the quality.

If a diamond is a ''leaker'', then someday you might seek to upgrade it. People become very attached to their initial engagement ring. My wife won''t give me back her old 1.08ct round even though I bought her a very nice 3 1/2 ct round seven years ago. She is just simply attached to the old stone although she has never complained about the upgrade.

*gulp* that made me emotional! (and almost guilt for feeling disappointed with these leaky quadrants) I know you are right...and people stop me on the subway to comment on how pretty it is - because it is! I am just ''affected'' now, PS is training my eye, and I know that he did the best he could to make me happy. *gulp*

This diamond has a huge spread, which really does make it appear WAY bigger than it''s 1ct weight. I guess in order to gain one thing, we often lose on another.

Thanks Oldminer for putting some perspective on this!

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 1/12/2007 2:56:57 PM
Author: mela lu
The dark patch(es) actually appear almost in quadrants. so if I tilt the diamond away from me, then the quadrant ''furthest'' from me goes dark, while the other 3 show the facets.

I dunno ... that sounds kinda normal to me ... diamonds do a lot of crazy stuff if you stare at them long enough. Tilt affects which facets are catching light ... not to mention head obstruction (or your own head getting in the way of light & affecting your view of the stone).

My guess is that you may be overanalyzing this stone a bit & it''s natural to do if you''re hanging out here. Fancy cuts are just a different animal than all this super ideal round biz. But even the FINEST diamonds are gonna look LESS flattering from some angles. Are gonna have views that aren''t your fave ... make sense? Even the HOPE DIAMOND!

 

[mela lu]

yes. that does make sense. I'm glad to hear that I am simply overanalyzing, and not that I have a bum-rock

Thanks.

But I want to know, what causes this? is it just the cut? Perhaps because the table is quite large and the stone itself is on the shallow side. Could that be a factor?

I'll try to upload a pic that I know shows this 'darkness'. It may not work, because I have yet to master this HTML biznatch.

PS. Yey it worked, but it only shows that patch ever so subtly. In real life it's actually darker. Okay. I'll stop obsessing now...

 

[mela lu]

...and this is it ''front-on''...

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/12/2007 3:25:57 PM
Author: mela lu
yes. that does make sense. I''m glad to hear that I am simply overanalyzing, and not that I have a bum-rock

Thanks.

But I want to know, what causes this? is it just the cut? Perhaps because the table is quite large and the stone itself is on the shallow side. Could that be a factor?

I''ll try to upload a pic that I know shows this ''darkness''. It may not work, because I have yet to master this HTML biznatch.

PS. Yey it worked, but it only shows that patch ever so subtly. In real life it''s actually darker. Okay. I''ll stop obsessing now...

If you have four mirrors and one is tilted to the west, one to the east, one to the south, and one to the north.... as the sun moves across the horizon, each is going to be illuminated at different times. At high noon they will all be illuminated equally until you stand in the way and cast a shadow upon one or all of them. Does that make sense? Its very pretty ring btw

 

[:)]

I don''t think you have a bum ring! That is very pretty!

 

[ladykemma]

what a pretty stone! looks normal to me.

 

[Jean]

Hi Mela Lu,
I just wanted to jump in here and try and make you feel better. I have a 1.20 radiant cut, g color, SI1 that does the same thing. It bothers me from time to time and although complete strangers oh and awe over it, it still upsets me. I love my ring with all my heart and would not get rid of my stone because of the emotional attachment to it, but like I said i bothers me. Although since having it reset into a halo bezel setting it looks way better but is not by any means and ideal cut radiant, which I have been told by many on here is very very hard to come by, kind of similiar to you. I want to caution you though, if you are anything like me, bringing it to a jewler may make your feelings about the stone even worse. I brought my ring to a jeweler to inquire about a setting change and he made me feel terrible about my stone. Then for about a week I thought about nothing other than getting a new stone which my husband, I could tell was hurt by. So I sucked it up and got it reset and now I am pleased. For now anyway. My husband knows that eventually a new diamond will be on the priority list but not until our 10 year. If you know a great, nice jeweler, go for it but if not be careful. Maybe you will be surprised but what he/she has to say. Maybe the stone is not a bad as you think. I wish you the best!!!!

 

[Jean]

Looks awesome to me!!!

 

[mela lu]

Thanks Shana Jean. It sounds like we suffer the exact same ''issue''. I mentioned it to my FI and he was hurt (a bit) knowing that I wasn''t 100% in love with the stone, and we came to the same conclusion - 10 years or a couple babies, and I can get an ''upgrade''.

Hearing your story makes me feel better for sure. Thanks. I know I am my rings'' worst critic, and I should just get over it and move on...which I will. All I can say is 10 more years on PS is going to make me one tough shopper. HEE! I can''t wait to see my upgrade!

Anyways, thanks!! ~mela lu

 

[diamondhunter10]

Thanks old timer for giving some details and content to the question. I have to say I was like Mela lu with the following quote "The meaning of the diamond is romantic and deeper than appearances. It is a costly gift of committment between people and a visible symbol of attachment and intention. The looks and performance of a fair quality diamond or a fine quality diamond are similar to casual observers. The symbolism is identical regardless of the quality."