Newbie with a ring, help!

[mmggddhh]

Hi there, I'm new to this place and buying engagement rings. I've recently bought one from James Allen and I love the ring but I don't know about the diamond, just looking for some advice on wether to exchange for a new diamond (which can be done easily within the first 30 days) or stay with it!

One note of concern I had is that the diamond goes quite dark under LED lights, like that of a phone camera (pictures will be attached) and that the ring doesn't seem to have as much fire as I maybe thought it would. Again however, I'm very new and haven't been around a lot of diamond rings to know any better.

Any help would be super appreciated!
Diamond statistics:
1.12 carat, F color, VS1, Ideal cut.
( https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-f-color-vs1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-10853145 )
CA 34.4
PA 40.8
Depth 61.2%
Table 58%

Please feel free to suggest any alternatives if you find some!
My budget is up to 2000 for the diamond.

 

[mwilliamanderson]

Your diamond looks great to me. The proportions are spot on.
Yes, well cut diamonds will go dark in strong sunlight and a phone's flashlight apparently (I just tested mine). Diamonds do love led spotlighting generally, however.

Stand near a bright window with your back facing it and look at the diamond that way. It's usually a great way to look into a diamond.

 

[DejaWiz]

Yours is an undisclosed "blue nuance" meaning, it's a Type IIb diamond due to the presence of boron in the crystalline lattice causing it to have a very faint blue appearance. This can be quite hard to detect with online pictures/videos, especially since IGI and other labs will usually never state that the phenomenon is present in the colorless grades.

Notice how it looks slightly steely gray-blue:


Compared to a Type IIa diamond:




You can see the blue tint becoming a bit evident in this picture:




Some folks love the faint blue effect in certain lighting conditions (I kind of lean towards liking it a bit, myself), but many do not find it appealing.

If you don't like the appearance, then have a peek at these (they are in order of my own preference)...I picked out a few with smaller tables and taller crown heights with pavilion and crown angles that should help with leaning towards more fire:

1. https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-e-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-11227595

2. https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-e-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-10426683

3. https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-e-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-10039652

These are VS2 in clarity that I feel would be completely eye-clean due to nothing major (or detectable with the naked eye) under the table area.

That being said, your diamond is beautifully proportioned with very strong light return (as mwilliamanderson stated)!
The reduced fire is likely due to the slightly bigger table width and shallower crown height with the 40.8° PA and 34.4° CA which is balanced, but ever so slightly leaning towards more brilliance. Regardless of the PA and CA angles pairing, all ideally cut diamonds will tend to go dark in direct lighting as a lot of the light is dispersed into the different colors of the spectrum (prism effect - see the video attached in this post) instead of being returned as brilliance/white light as it would in indirect/shaded/diffused lighting.

 

[mmggddhh]

Your diamond looks great to me. The proportions are spot on.
Yes, well cut diamonds will go dark in strong sunlight and a phone's flashlight apparently (I just tested mine). Diamonds do love led spotlighting generally, however.

Stand near a bright window with your back facing it and look at the diamond that way. It's usually a great way to look into a diamond.

Okay thank you! That's relieving to hear! I think I panicked slightly when I discovered that feature as it's my first time buying and a big purchase.

 

[lovedogs]

Yup. Your stone looks great! But it's a feature of well cut diamonds that they get very "contrasty" in some lights, so just something to be aware of

 

[mmggddhh]

Yours is an undisclosed "blue nuance" meaning, it's a Type IIb diamond due to the presence of boron in the crystalline lattice causing it to have a very faint blue appearance. This can be quite hard to detect with online pictures/videos, especially since IGI and other labs will usually never state that the phenomenon is present in the colorless grades.

Notice how it looks slightly steely gray-blue:


Compared to a Type IIa dimaond:




You can see the blue tint becoming a bit evident in this picture:




Some folks love the faint blue effect in certain lighting conditions (I kind of lean towards liking it a bit, myself), but many do not find it appealing.

If you don't like the appearance, then have a peek at these (they are in order of my own preference)...I picked out a few with smaller tables and taller crown heights with pavilion and crown angles that should help with leaning towards more fire:

1. https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-e-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-11227595

2. https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-e-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-10426683

3. https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-e-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-10039652

These are VS2 in clarity that I feel would be completely eye-clean due to nothing major (or detectable with the naked eye) under the table area.

That being said, your diamond is beautifully proportioned with very strong light return (as mwilliamanderson stated)!
The reduced fire is likely due to the slightly bigger table width and shallower crown height, but all ideally cut diamonds will tend to go dark in direct lighting as a lot of the light of dispersed into the different colors of the spectrum (prism effect - see the video attached in this post) instead of being returned as brilliance/white light as it would in indirect/shaded/diffused lighting.

Thank you so much for the feedback! I came across the terms 2a and 2b a while ago but I couldn't see anything on the certificate about it and promptly forgot about it... That's the amatuer in me but now I know! I love the comparsion you gave and the example substitutes! I'll have a think about it as I guess it's ultimately not entirely my preferences at play here. Again, thank you so much!

 

[mmggddhh]

Yours is an undisclosed "blue nuance" meaning, it's a Type IIb diamond due to the presence of boron in the crystalline lattice causing it to have a very faint blue appearance. This can be quite hard to detect with online pictures/videos, especially since IGI and other labs will usually never state that the phenomenon is present in the colorless grades.

Notice how it looks slightly steely gray-blue:


Compared to a Type IIa dimaond:




You can see the blue tint becoming a bit evident in this picture:




Some folks love the faint blue effect in certain lighting conditions (I kind of lean towards liking it a bit, myself), but many do not find it appealing.

If you don't like the appearance, then have a peek at these (they are in order of my own preference)...I picked out a few with smaller tables and taller crown heights with pavilion and crown angles that should help with leaning towards more fire:

1. https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-e-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-11227595

2. https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-e-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-10426683

3. https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-e-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-10039652

These are VS2 in clarity that I feel would be completely eye-clean due to nothing major (or detectable with the naked eye) under the table area.

That being said, your diamond is beautifully proportioned with very strong light return (as mwilliamanderson stated)!
The reduced fire is likely due to the slightly bigger table width and shallower crown height with the 40.8° PA and 34.4° CA which is balanced, but ever so slightly leaning towards more brilliance. Regardless of the PA and CA angles pairing, all ideally cut diamonds will tend to go dark in direct lighting as a lot of the light is dispersed into the different colors of the spectrum (prism effect - see the video attached in this post) instead of being returned as brilliance/white light as it would in indirect/shaded/diffused lighting.

Would the blue coloration lessen or interfere with the red/yellow/orange light return for 'fire'? Just curious if that's something I need to consider!

 

[DejaWiz]

Thank you so much for the feedback! I came across the terms 2a and 2b a while ago but I couldn't see anything on the certificate about it and promptly forgot about it... That's the amatuer in me but now I know! I love the comparsion you gave and the example substitutes! I'll have a think about it as I guess it's ultimately not entirely my preferences at play here. Again, thank you so much!

You're very welcome!
We're all here to help each other answer any questions, give advice, and share experience and knowledge.

 

[DejaWiz]

Would the blue coloration lessen or interfere with the red/yellow/orange light return for 'fire'? Just curious if that's something I need to consider!

Boron absorbs yellow, so yellow fire may be greatly reduced as the blue is augmented.