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Just got my ACA need HELP plz

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gamer1

Rough_Rock
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Aug 28, 2009
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11
Hi,

I just got my ACA 1.17 diamond from WF from FedEx today and I can''t make what to think of the diamond yet and was hoping for some opinions/help. Opening the package, the diamond looked great: well cut and a good size, but when I took it around in various rooms to look at its light performance I didn''t see a lot of fire in certain light setting. In more shadowed settings the stone is gorgeous with nice fire, but in the brighter rooms the stone lost most of its fire (though still had brilliance).

I have not had the chance to take the stone out of my apartment to look at in direct sunlight or in other lighting, but I was suprised by the appearance in brighter rooms. Do ACA diamonds typically perform much nicer in dimmer settings and lose their fire in brighter conditions or is it just the personality of my stone. If anyone can offer any insight as to why this may be or if this is the characteristics of an ACA cut I would appreciate it. The debating is killing me lol

Thank
Dustin
 
That is normal for any diamond.
In some lighting they will show fire and in others brightness and in others a mix of the 2.
A well cut diamond just does it brighter.
 
Dustin, what you''re seeing is true with most stones, even those well-cut stones.

Direct lighting (sunlight or spot lighting) will emphasize fire; diffused lighting (natural daylight through a window; fluorescent lighting, etc) will show more white light.
 
Date: 9/16/2009 12:58:06 AM
Author:gamer1
Hi,

I just got my ACA 1.17 diamond from WF from FedEx today and I can''t make what to think of the diamond yet and was hoping for some opinions/help. Opening the package, the diamond looked great: well cut and a good size, but when I took it around in various rooms to look at its light performance I didn''t see a lot of fire in certain light setting. In more shadowed settings the stone is gorgeous with nice fire, but in the brighter rooms the stone lost most of its fire (though still had brilliance).

I have not had the chance to take the stone out of my apartment to look at in direct sunlight or in other lighting, but I was suprised by the appearance in brighter rooms. Do ACA diamonds typically perform much nicer in dimmer settings and lose their fire in brighter conditions or is it just the personality of my stone. If anyone can offer any insight as to why this may be or if this is the characteristics of an ACA cut I would appreciate it. The debating is killing me lol

Thank
Dustin
Click to expand...
Dustin

Take the diamond on a good test drive, check it out in sunlight, under a tree or large bush, as many different lightings as you can - then you will see what it can do! Sounds normal to me what you are seeing.
 
Yap, sounds normal.
 
Date: 9/16/2009 5:44:58 AM
Author: Stone-cold11
Yap, sounds normal.[/QUOTE

Ditto. Spend a few days "getting to know" your stone under different lighting conditions, and make sure you keep it clean -- fingerprints on the stone dull its appearance.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the info. Do the WF ACA diamonds typically have smaller, but more numerous glints of fire? My diamond has a lot of little flashes of fire, but no real large flashes of fire. I was wondering if this was just.a preferred style of WF or just the personality of my diamond.
 
Larger flashes are usually fewer and are usually found with step cuts or cuts with larger facets such as OEC. Modern RB usually has more, smaller flashes.

Try looking at some of the videos by GOG.
 
I believe your ACA is cut similar to my Infinity -- i.e., it's cut to be a balanced performer across all types of lighting, showing both smaller flashes of fire and white sparkle and fewer larger "chunks" of fire. That said, you will see "fire" shooting out of the stone only under certain conditions, and only if you hold the stone a certain way, and if you are holding the stone far enough away from you. There's a trick to it, but play around with your stone in direct light (sunlight- outdoors or in a car, a not-moving car preferably, for your safety!) and you should get the hang of it.
 
You got a modern brilliant, and that''s what they''re like. Thin slivers of color, when the color shows, but very bright.

When I compare my OEC with my Infinity, I see that difference strongly. The Infinity is much, much brighter, but the OEC (which is a really nicely cut OEC) has broad rainbows. Two different looks; I love them both.

If you''re looking for broad flashes of color, you might be happier with an OEC or an emerald cut (or Asscher).
 
Ditto, Glitterata -- what you should see should look more like colored slivers or spears -- hard to explain -- with the occasional burst of fire in direct sunlight "shooting" out of the stone.

Take your time and enjoy your ACA''s beauty under many different lighting conditions.

It''s funny, since I sent my Infinity to Wink to be set, I''ve been wearing the OEC my grandmother and mother wore, which is a much smaller stone (1/4 carat at most) and it sometimes surprises me to see the large red or yellow or green chunks of fire it throws off, considering they''re coming from such a small stone!
 
I know what you''re going through.

Check out my thread on the same thing: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/tons-of-brilliance-and-scintillation-in-ags0-but-no-fire.124339/

All I did was take it into a Tiffany''s or a Costco.

I would definitely take it into Tiffany''s. Not only will yours outperform them, but when you take a look at their price tags, you WILL LOVE that diamond!
 
Thanks for the link zabak it definitely helped alleviate my worries a bit. What did you think after you took your stone in for comparison?

I just took mine into a Jareds and compared it to their Peerless line. My diamond definitely beat theirs in the brilliance/scintillation department, but in regards to fire I don''t know. I wasn''t able to tell much of a difference in fire between the two; sometimes I thought the Jareds had more or sometimes I thought they were about the same. It was difficult for me to make a distinction between the two in regards to fire performance in their lighting.

My diamond did have a nice appearance in the store lighting though. The Jareds salesman tried to say he could see my cut was inferior, but I am sure that was just a ploy so I wasn''t too worried.
 
Oh, what a hoot -- he tried to tell you your stone's cut was inferior! Glad you didn't believe him. You're still well within your return period with WF, so if you are still uncertain about the amount of fire, I would give Whiteflash a call and talk to them about the specs of your stone. Each stone, even if they're from the same "brand" has a slightly different personality.

ETA: I'd also echo what Glitterata said a few posts back -- your stone is a round brilliant, and not a stone cut for maximum fire, like an OEC, and emerald cut or an asscher cut. You may be asking for a level of fire that the round brilliant, even a well-cut one, can't deliver.
 
This is very normal. If you read about the history of diamond cutting, modern diamonds were cut to perform under artifical lighting--overhead fluorescent etc. old stones were cut to perform in candelight and so on. ie step cuts can absolutely deaden in certain lights. the more facets a stone has the smaller the "splinters" but is more refractive. large and fewer facets can be lovely but often look better in natural light than indoors.
 
Gamer, it's always difficult comparing diamonds, but I think you did the right thing to compare it to store bought.

"Fire" is always a little difficult to compare.As the Pricescopers told me, sometimes we build up the ring too much and expect a blinding laser of light to blind us out of the box. I proposed to my girlfriend this weekend (full story will be in a separate post), and the last two days we've been running around like children comparing lighting. Today, we went to have breakfast in a dark, dimly lit restaurant and the diamond EXPLODED! Better than Tiffany lighting. It was like a rainbow spilling from it. Totally unexpected and caught me off guard.

I would suggest taking the diamond outside as well. We've found some great spots in our apartment hallway that has some direct sunlight, but the rest is dark, that we have been taking pictures of the diamond in.

If you got a Whiteflash ACA, then you will get a great diamond. They have a great reputation. Obviously, the statistics are there for the diamond to perform great. Like me, I got an AGS0, and I had to convince myself it was a great diamond, and now both me and my fiancee are happy I did. When SHE finally saw it, I explained what "fire" was and she said it had tons of it.

Remember, "fire" is based upon a reflection of light. Different lighting has different colors or spectrum.

The best way to think of "fire", is to save it for that special lighting. 75% of the time it won't be exploding, but when you have it on her finger for a while, you'll notice it in a walk to the car in daylight, maybe getting ready in the bathroom lighting, at a restaurant you frequent, or grocery shopping.

I was walking around with the ring on my pinky for days trying to find "fire". But when another person is wearing it and you're not SPECIFICALLY LOOKING AND EXPECTING IT, that's when you find it.

When I did the Tiffany's comparison, the salesperson had a nervous look in his eye and worried face. After seeing how much better my diamond was, he promptly and quickly pulled some other diamonds out of the case and said "Let's just put that one away, I'd like to show you these."
 
zabak congrats on the engagement. I am glad your diamond experience turned out well it seems like you were in much the same spot as I am in now with mine. I have taken the diamond outside before and it looked great out there and it also looks really nice in shaded areas with only a little light leaking through.

I have looked at the videos from Good Old Gold for their fire and scintillation and I noticed a lot of the color and light came from the arrows in the diamonds and you could actually see the arrows light up. I was wondering if an ACA should act in the same manner. Much of the color or brilliance I see from my diamond comes from what looks like many small facets.
 
Don''t forget, GOG uses special lighting and experienced photography as well. It''s like comparing the performance of a Porsche on a race track to a Porsche driving around the city. It''s all about conditions.

Maybe an expert could chime in, but your ACA should act the same.
 
Also with monocular vision I would think. A camera/video camera is monocular, human vision is binocular. Try looking at it with one eye shut?
 
Take one of those 1 million candle powered spot lights to it, that should replicate the GOG videos! lol no im just kidding =p

I picked up an ACA princess cut, around the apartment i first saw a lot of scintillation and no fire.. then i opened up the blinds and BAM there it was! and then i went outside on a beautiful day and BAM BAM!

I''m sure its absolutely beautiful :)

Good luck,

-Ted
 
Thanks for the help. I decided to stick with the stone and I sent it out to get set. I just got it back and it looks great. Thanks everyone I appreciate it.
 
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