How much should a diamond sparkle?

[jazzyjeff]

Hi everybody, I recently purchased a diamond from Bluenile and I am quite happy with how everything turned out. I've been playing with the diamond quite a bit lately and have noticed something and wanted to know what everyone thought about it. The diamond is a triple ex with a HCA under 1. I've noticed when I take it to places outside of my home, it sparkles like crazy. However, when I play with it in my house or take it outside not in direct sunlight, there is not nearly as much sparkle and fire going on. I was wondering if this is the case with all diamonds, as I only have experience with my own! Thanks in advance. Here are the specs of my stone:

GIA certified
1.29 ct
Color E
Clarity SI2 (eyeclean though!)
Cut, Symmetry, and Polish all excellent
Girdle - Medium to Slightly thick, 4% faceted
Fluorescence - Medium Blue
Measurements 6.97 x 7.00 x 4.29 mm
HCA - Scored a .8
- Depth % 61.4
- Table - 57%%
- Crown Angle 34.5
- Pavilion Angle 40.8%

 

[antelope1]

In general, it depends on the cut of the stone, and although HCA can be used to weed out diamonds, it shouldn't be used to pick a diamond. With a drop-shipper like BN, however, all you have are the numbers (no photos, no ASET, nada), so HCA is the best approximation for cut that you can get from them.

Sparkle = reflected light. Strong & directional light source (like the sun) = mad sparkle, if well cut.

Indoors, you just have less directed light -- for example, you probably have at least 2 light sources from different angles in each room (say a window, an overhead, a table lamp, another room, etc) -- and no puny 60-150W bulb is going to match the power of the sun, so less sparkle than in sunlight, in general.

Also, it might depends on the ASET mix (you bought from BN, so no ASET, boo). But let's say you had an ASET with more blue in it than usual. Perhaps someone else can chime in here, but wouldn't that lead to more sparkle outside (where the sun is almost always directly overhead) than sparkle inside (where light usually comes in from lower angles)?

 

[Cehrabehra]

go under a tree during a sunny day and see if you don't miss those sparkles I'll bet you see something special going on... not everything is what shows under spot lamps and sunshine.... diamonds have many beautiful moods, now you have a nice sized one to explore them all!

However, if you're concerned, consult an appraiser and/or arm yourself with additional tools for evaluation. More than likely though, it's just what a normal diamond does, playing more with shifting colors and brilliance than blingy bling bling.

 

[Lula]

The "sparkle" will look different, depending on the type of lighting the diamond is in. It will not throw out beams of color in office lighting, for example, like it does under spotlighting. So some of what you're seeing is simply the diamond reacting to the type of lighting it's in. But keep in mind that a diamond that is not clean will not look its best, especially under low lighting conditions. So if you've been touching it without giving it a spritz of Windex every now and then to clean off your fingerprints, over time your diamond will start to look dull. That's why you often see jewelry store salespeople methodically cleaning each diamond with a lint-free cloth before they place the stone in front of you and then again before they put it away after you've looked at it.

 

[jazzyjeff]

Thanks everybody for all your input. Yeah, I'm starting to understand that assuming the diamond is cut excellently, that the sparkle really depends on the setting of the diamond itself and what type of light is available.

 

[Dancing Fire]

mine sparkles in the dark...

 

[LGK]

Yeah, it sounds like it's just that you were surprised that in some lightings, you don't really get any fire from a diamond. Lighting is *everything* in terms of seeing a lot of fire. Fluorescent lighting especially- and now there's all those wretched compact fluorescents even in homes now- is terrible in terms of seeing fire return. It's just how it is.

Ditto to going to sit under a leafy tree on a sunny day. That'll knock your socks off!

 

[yssie]

mine sparkles in the dark...

Oh I'll just bet it does DF

 

[Anonymous6]

hey jazzyjeff, i just posted specs on my diamond and was having second thoughts on the medium blue fluorescence.

What's your take on it since your rock has it as well? Noticeable? Whiter? Anything?

Thanks!

Sorry, I don't have much input to your original question

 

[kenny]

Should is a loaded word.
Diamond material is capable of tremendous sparkle, but many cut diamonds do not sparkle well.

Poorly cut diamonds should not sparkle much.
Well cut diamonds should sparkle much.

You should buy well cut ones.
You should not buy poorly cut ones.

To learn how to identify well cut ones PS has a great Tutorial for that.
At the top of this page click on the button for Knowledge and start with the Introduction.

 

[jazzyjeff]

Hi Anonymous...here's my 2 cents about medium blue fluorescence. Honestly, the only thing that made me hesitant about purchasing the diamond that I did. Now that I've have the diamond in my possession, I can tell you that it doesn't have any noticeable effect. I've been to plenty of stores and had a chance to see colorless stones in person and honestly, there isn't any difference in my opinion. I can't speak as to every diamond that has medium fluor. but I think more likely than not you should be perfectly fine. In fact, I'm happy that my diamond had the fluor. as I'm sure the price was reduced as a result.

If you have any more questions, let me know!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

go under a tree during a sunny day and see if you don't miss those sparkles I'll bet you see something special going on... not everything is what shows under spot lamps and sunshine.... diamonds have many beautiful moods, now you have a nice sized one to explore them all!

However, if you're concerned, consult an appraiser and/or arm yourself with additional tools for evaluation. More than likely though, it's just what a normal diamond does, playing more with shifting colors and brilliance than blingy bling bling.

Actually the tree works best when it is a bright cloudy day - and there are big leaves with lots of small amounts of light coming through - this makes a pin hole type dome of light sources and you will see a lovely mix of fire and brightness.

There is a nice example with a 5ct H&A's stone here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67LYS4JGiRw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
Notice from the green background (lawn) that you can see the difference between when the sun is out and when it clouds over.

 

[Anonymous6]

Yeah, oddly enough the medium fluorescence lowers prices as far as I can tell by my research.

Articles on fluorescence say medium blue makes the diamond actually appear whiter....... weird


I've posted about it if you'd like to read the user responses. No one has anything negative to say about it at all.