Is anyone an expert on blue diamonds? My jeweler says this is a old european cut blue diamond. The setting is modern but...

[Lisa Murphy]

I found this recently on ebay, and paid $80. It is a nice ring, I thought it was a zircon or aquamarine. My jewler says it is a diamond, but was wondering if anyone could help me with color info or anything else of note. Thanks?

 

[Karl_K]

In the pictures it does not look like diamond, if it is then its a nuked blue in my opinion.

How did the jeweler determine it was diamond?

 

[distracts]

It could be, but it looks like an irradiated color. I've seen antique cut diamonds color-treated before to hide inclusions.

 

[Lisa Murphy]

In the pictures it does not look like diamond, if it is then its a nuked blue in my opinion.

How did the jeweler determine it was diamond?

He took it in the back and put it under a scope. I have known him a long time, he is an honest man. It has a beautiful cut (looks like a kaleidoscope) and very clear stone. No inclusions under my loupe.

 

[Lisa Murphy]

It could be, but it looks like an irradiated color. I've seen antique cut diamonds color-treated before to hide inclusions.

I know, it has such a strong color, but it is very clean. No inclusions I can see under my loupe.

 

[Karl_K]

He took it in the back and put it under a scope. I have known him a long time, he is an honest man. It has a beautiful cut (looks like a kaleidoscope) and very clear stone. No inclusions under my loupe.

That is the best answer to my question.
If you had said used a diamond tester then I would be less confident in his answer.
What did he say if anything about the color?
Treated blues particularly older ones can be loupe clean.
Given that nice looking mined browns are actually worth something these days loupe clean is less common today.

 

[Lisa Murphy]

That is the best answer to my question.
If you had said used a diamond tester then I would be less confident in his answer.
What did he say if anything about the color?
Treated blues particularly older ones can be loupe clean.
Given that nice looking mined browns are actually worth something these days loupe clean is less common today.

Well, he said it was an old cut, he knows me, and I am a regular customer. I take all my work to him. I just said OMG, when he told me it was a diamond, we both know blues are very rare. I just don't have any way to compare it so I posted on the forum.

 

[Karl_K]

Well, he said it was an old cut, he knows me, and I am a regular customer. I take all my work to him. I just said OMG, when he told me it was a diamond, we both know blues are very rare. I just don't have any way to compare it so I posted on the forum.

natural blues are rare but treated(nuked) blues are not and have low value.

 

[Lisa Murphy]

Yes, I know. How do you tell them apart?

 

[Karl_K]

The color is one of the first clues, the majority of nuked blues the color is just off.
Another is would it make sense to put that expensive a stone in the setting its found in?
Can you post the ebay link?

 

[Lisa Murphy]

My jeweler didn't say anything about it being irradiated. I had asked him about a Le Vian piece before that I saw and he said don't buy it. I know what you are saying about the color being off. I have seen irradiated diamonds and they just seem dull and steely looking. This is the color of old denim, no green or gray overtones. It was sold as a blue topaz, but I thought it looked too nice for a blue topaz, like I said, aquamarine or zircon. People often mistakenly list things. Anyway, I thought for $80, I couldn't go wrong. It looked very nice, and the old cut, I thought for sure it was a zircon. The setting is nice, it is set in a bezel type setting with the micro pave, the stone is protected and the diamonds are nice and white. It is only about 15 pts, so what could it be worth? I guess I was hoping someone could tell me more about the color, if it was intense, vivid, etc. Anyway, I appreciate your time and effort to go over all of this with me. You obviously know your stuff. : )

 

[Karl_K]

The bottom line is that any blue diamond is lab, treated or both until GIA says otherwise.
My opinion is that the odds of it being natural color are about the same as winning the powerball lottery 3 weeks in a row.
That said have fun with it and get a bunch of opinions in person while looking at a lot of bling and you can always send it to GIA and spend your money and take your chances on a roll of the dice.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

I don’t see fire, but if you trust your jeweler, then they are the expert.

If it is a diamond, since the color looks evenly saturated, plus it has a turquoise hue, that generally means nuked. But even so, nuked diamonds can be really pretty.

Since you have a good relationship with the jeweler you could ask if the stone is color treated. If the jeweler says it is a natural blue diamond then send it to GIA.

 

[Lisa Murphy]

I know that GIA is the way to go for authentication. I'm sure to talk to my jeweler again about it. The bezel setting puts it deep but it is a lively stone, just small. It is unassuming, which is nice. I'm not afraid to wear it.

 

[oldminer]

A natural blue diamond conducts some electricity while an irradiated blue does not conduct. Blue lab diamonds also conduct electricity. It is Boron in the atomic structure making them conductive. My Presidium III diamond tester will tell me a natural or lab blue conducts very much like most Moissanite conducts. Irradiated diamonds do not conduct. You can't tell from using a microscope.

The stone might need to be tested by a major lab as spectroscopic work is not a broadly used technique for most independent gemologists. A few have the right equipment and knowledge, but not the majority.

 

[kenny]

$80?

Not natural.

 

[Lisa Murphy]

Was sold as a blue topaz, fyi.

$80?

Not natural.

Was sold as blue topaz, I thought zircon or aquamarine. Jeweler says it is a diamond. Idk. That's why I'm asking for more info. Above response was helpful...

 

[Lisa Murphy]

$80?

Not natural.

A natural blue diamond conducts some electricity while an irradiated blue does not conduct. Blue lab diamonds also conduct electricity. It is Boron in the atomic structure making them conductive. My Presidium III diamond tester will tell me a natural or lab blue conducts very much like most Moissanite conducts. Irradiated diamonds do not conduct. You can't tell from using a microscope.

The stone might need to be tested by a major lab as spectroscopic work is not a broadly used technique for most independent gemologists. A few have the right equipment and knowledge, but not the majority.

Thank you for your thoughtful and informative response. I guess I should try to figure out how to order a report from GIA. Any ideas on that?

 

[distracts]

Thank you for your thoughtful and informative response. I guess I should try to figure out how to order a report from GIA. Any ideas on that?

I would ask your jeweler if he can send it in to GIA. Otherwise you can set up an account on their website and send it in yourself. I have always had jewelers do it for me and then I just paid them directly for it and shipping because for whatever reason I find that easier, but I know there are many PSers who send things in on their own. It is a fun thing to do from curiosity. I just got reports back a week ago on a pair of antique diamonds I had sent in that were higher color than I thought!

 

[LightBright]

It does look like an authentic old cut diamond. It resembles a real antique, IMO.

Maybe like a previous poster said, it was a previously brown real antique stone and it was irradiated. The setting is new, IMO.

You need to send it to GIA to find out what this is.

I would wear it and not spend double the cost to find out what exactly it is. If you are curious, send it to GIA.

 

[Lisa Murphy]

I would ask your jeweler if he can send it in to GIA. Otherwise you can set up an account on their website and send it in yourself. I have always had jewelers do it for me and then I just paid them directly for it and shipping because for whatever reason I find that easier, but I know there are many PSers who send things in on their own. It is a fun thing to do from curiosity. I just got reports back a week ago on a pair of antique diamonds I had sent in that were higher color than I thought!

I know there are different types of diamond reports, with or without the stone being in the setting. Colored diamonds are another one. Have you any more ideas? I guess I should just dive in and do the research

 

[distracts]

I know there are different types of diamond reports, with or without the stone being in the setting. Colored diamonds are another one. Have you any more ideas? I guess I should just dive in and do the research

You can just look it up on the GIA website - it's all pretty clear on there

 

[Lisa Murphy]

It does look like an authentic old cut diamond. It resembles a real antique, IMO.

Maybe like a previous poster said, it was a previously brown real antique stone and it was irradiated. The setting is new, IMO.

You need to send it to GIA to find out what this is.

I would wear it and not spend double the cost to find out what exactly it is. If you are curious, send it to GIA.

I am happy with it to be sure. It is a nice ring, even if it's small. Thank you for your comments.

 

[kenny]

Was sold as a blue topaz, fyi.


Was sold as blue topaz, I thought zircon or aquamarine. Jeweler says it is a diamond. Idk. That's why I'm asking for more info. Above response was helpful...

No problem
I was responding to what you wrote in your opening post: "My jewler says it is a diamond".

 

[Lisa Murphy]

No problem
I was responding to what you wrote in your opening post: "My jewler says it is a diamond".

I know. That's what everybody says. I guess I'll have to send it to the GIA to be able to know for sure. But the antique cut is really the thing that makes you wonder if it just might be a natural blue. Anyway, I appreciate everybody's comments and I've learned a few things myself!

 

[Karl_K]

But the antique cut

antique "style" cut which is gaining in popularity and it is very likely there are more oec style diamonds being cut today per year than back in the day some years.

 

[Lisa Murphy]

I had no idea! But you are the diamond designer, right? I tried asking a dealer who was selling replica rings with irradiated blues about oec and he said they didn't have them. This was a guy selling 10k rings! He sent me a video of a 2 ct. stone and it wasn't pretty. Looked more like a cheap sapphire than a diamond. But as you said before, GIA or go home!

 

[yssie]

It is NOT a natural blue diamond.

There is less than zero chance that it's a natural blue diamond.

Please put that possibility out of your mind. There is quite literally no chance that dream will come true.

I would also say don't bother sending a 15pt irradiated blue diamond (best case) to GIA, the grading fee will be far more than you paid and also far more than the stone is worth.

I'm sorry. Prior posters are saying this too, but they're being quite gentle... Perhaps overly so, because you seem to be persisting in hoping... Maybe me being completely blunt will spare you guaranteed dissappoinment later.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Trout in the milk here.....
Or another saying I heard- If you see a turtle on a fence post, it didn't get there by itself
There's not even a small doubt.
It's an irradiated natural, or possibly a lab grown diamond. I can say this with 100% surety based on the pics alone.
Natural blue diamonds are not that color.
Irradiated blues are that color.
It really makes no sense to take a lot of effort sending it to a lab IMO.

PS- you got an AMAZING deal for $80.....so there's that

 

[Lisa Murphy]

You are entitled to your opinion! I have been a serious collector for many years, and have a good eye. I know how to judge cut, clarity, light return, color, all of the basic skills necessary to evaluate quality in diamonds (and other stones.) I don't understand why you feel the need to insult me! I have built a great collection on ebay. Buyers have unlimited access to estate jewelry, auction (wholesale) prices, individual sellers who may or may not know what they have, and thrift stores who have items received at zero cost. Many are sold at auction for a fraction of the value. Ebay backs the buyer with a money back guarantee, so if you are a buyer with confidence and a good eye you can do very well. The ring is a well made, the stone has beautiful color (like nothing I've ever seen) it has great sparkle and the cut is extremely precise. No visible inclusions. Looking into it it is like looking into a kaleidoscope. A ring of beautiful petals, no blurred lines. The pictures don't lie! I will let it go. Thank you again, all the best!