Prong covering inscription

[McGinnis]

Recently had my stone reset by a well loved jeweler on here but the inscription is mostly covered by a prong. I can see the last three numbers. Is this going to be a problem when I get the ring appraised?
I noticed he lined up the prongs as to avoid covering the arrows. It's only been about a week since I've received it, should I send it back?
There also seems to be some gunk under the stone where the stone meets the undercarriage. Its not visible to the naked eye but it's pretty bad under a 10x. It looks like tar and I haven't cleaned the ring because I'm trying to figure out whether or not I should be sending the ring back. Is this substance something that is encountered when making a ring? Am I just fussing? I love my ring and the jeweler knows it. I guess I feel like I'm being a difficult customer If I were to mention these two thing. The price was very reasonable...as long as these aren't big deals or red flags I'd like to know that it's ok to live with it.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I wouldn't worry about the inscription and the gunk is most likely polishing compound, just clean it.

 

[KKJohnson]

My inscription is completely covered by the prongs, it didn’t effect my appraisal. Also have them clean it really well and see if the undercarriage cleans up or not

 

[iluvshinythings]

If the arrows were misaligned with the prongs, it would drive me crazy. I'd much rather have the arrows consistent in the setting and cover the inscription.

 

[sledge]

If it makes you feel any better, the inscription of my fiancee's BGD stone is covered by a prong as well. I can see a little bit of it, but not much.

I'm sure none of you would ever imagine this driving me completely bonkers, lol.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Recently had my stone reset by a well loved jeweler on here but the inscription is mostly covered by a prong. I can see the last three numbers. Is this going to be a problem when I get the ring appraised?
I noticed he lined up the prongs as to avoid covering the arrows. It's only been about a week since I've received it, should I send it back?
There also seems to be some gunk under the stone where the stone meets the undercarriage. Its not visible to the naked eye but it's pretty bad under a 10x. It looks like tar and I haven't cleaned the ring because I'm trying to figure out whether or not I should be sending the ring back. Is this substance something that is encountered when making a ring? Am I just fussing? I love my ring and the jeweler knows it. I guess I feel like I'm being a difficult customer If I were to mention these two thing. The price was very reasonable...as long as these aren't big deals or red flags I'd like to know that it's ok to live with it.

Because inscriptions are placed randomly on the girdle, it inevitably happens that if you are trying to align the arrows in a certain way, a prong will sometimes cover part of the inscription.

Inscriptions are a convenient way to identify your diamond. But if the stone has some other easily identifiable characteristic, like specific clarity features, inscription is kind of redundant. And even a partially visible inscription helps you quickly identify your stone. You just need to determine what is most important to you.

But you definitely want the gunk professionally cleaned!

 

[DoeEyes]

If the arrows were misaligned with the prongs, it would drive me crazy. I'd much rather have the arrows consistent in the setting and cover the inscription.

Can you show an example of a setting where the prongs are aligned vs misaligned?

 

[Texas Leaguer]

An example of a setting with a hearts and arrows diamond with arrows aligned between the prongs.

 

[DoeEyes]

An example of a setting with a hearts and arrows diamond with arrows aligned between the prongs.

Thanks! I'm now going down a rabbit hole of round brilliant vs hearts and arrows... I was asking because I will soon be getting my Lightbox lab diamond set into a ring and was wondering if I need to mention to the jeweler who is going to set it that they should try to align the hearts and arrows... But I think Lightbox is just regular round brilliant, not hearts and arrows? Am I correct that hearts and arrows is just like a super ideal cut? Very confused.

 

[holeydonut]

If it makes you feel any better, the inscription of my fiancee's BGD stone is covered by a prong as well. I can see a little bit of it, but not much.

I'm sure none of you would ever imagine this driving me completely bonkers, lol.

Lol I told BGD during the order that I wanted the inscription visible where it wasn't blocked by a prong.

I've heard the snarky comments people make where they ask "is that a real diamond?" Whether those sarcastic comments are made jest or not... I figure it's important to be able to see the "real diamond" inscription matching the AGS documentation.

Whoops, I forgot you got your diamond from BGD but the stone was set by another jeweler.

 

[sledge]

Lol I told BGD during the order that I wanted the inscription visible where it wasn't blocked by a prong.

I've heard the snarky comments people make where they ask "is that a real diamond?" Whether those sarcastic comments are made jest or not... I figure it's important to be able to see the "real diamond" inscription matching the AGS documentation.

Whoops, I forgot you got your diamond from BGD but the stone was set by another jeweler.

As @Texas Leaguer pointed out, the inscription is just an extra measure of identification and not the end all. When DK was setting the stone I was very specific that I wanted the arrows aligned properly as not having them aligned would be way more bothersome to me than an inscription being fully or partially covered.

Just my 2 cents but if I was put in a position where my fiance's diamond authenticity was seriously called into question to the point I had to break out a scope and prove it, I'd probably smack said person silly and find a new friend, jeweler, etc. Just like I don't carry around my AGS cert. I'm not a liar so if my word and the stone isn't good enough then those people can go pound sand.

 

[rockysalamander]

Lol I told BGD during the order that I wanted the inscription visible where it wasn't blocked by a prong.

I've heard the snarky comments people make where they ask "is that a real diamond?" Whether those sarcastic comments are made jest or not... I figure it's important to be able to see the "real diamond" inscription matching the AGS documentation.

Whoops, I forgot you got your diamond from BGD but the stone was set by another jeweler.

Since you can barely see the inscription under 10x (40x is way better), how does having it visible affect the snarky people? Do you intend the wearer to carry around a loupe and say "see this tiny number, that makes is real." But, to the muggles, they have no idea if that is true or not. In fact, you can get whatever you want on the girdle if it fits and you want to pay for it. The prongs/arrows not aligning will be visible to all without aid of magnification. I'd focus on that being right.

 

[iluvshinythings]

Can you show an example of a setting where the prongs are aligned vs misaligned?

I have only seen it a couple of times in pics. I believe there might be a pic on PS, so I'll search and see if I can find it.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Thanks! I'm now going down a rabbit hole of round brilliant vs hearts and arrows... I was asking because I will soon be getting my Lightbox lab diamond set into a ring and was wondering if I need to mention to the jeweler who is going to set it that they should try to align the hearts and arrows... But I think Lightbox is just regular round brilliant, not hearts and arrows? Am I correct that hearts and arrows is just like a super ideal cut? Very confused.

I think it's a reasonable assumption that the synthetics will not be cut to H&A precision- at least not until the price drops to the point that weight retention from the rough is a negligible consideration. If that assumption is correct then prong placement will not be critical.

If you can post pics of it when you get it, I am sure many here will be interested to see it.

 

[DoeEyes]

I think it's a reasonable assumption that the synthetics will not be cut to H&A precision- at least not until the price drops to the point that weight retention from the rough is a negligible consideration. If that assumption is correct then prong placement will not be critical.

If you can post pics of it when you get it, I am sure many here will be interested to see it.

I have it already and I posted some pics and videos but not super clear close up pictures. Here's a link. My pictures are on the first page but there are more from other people, I think on the 4th page: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/photos-of-lightbox-jewelry.243885/

Sorry I didn't mean to take over this thread with my own question. Feel free to continue the conversation on that thread!

 

[holeydonut]

Since you can barely see the inscription under 10x (40x is way better), how does having it visible affect the snarky people? Do you intend the wearer to carry around a loupe and say "see this tiny number, that makes is real." But, to the muggles, they have no idea if that is true or not. In fact, you can get whatever you want on the girdle if it fits and you want to pay for it. The prongs/arrows not aligning will be visible to all without aid of magnification. I'd focus on that being right.

I don’t think AGS places their inscription in a random location... it seems to be perfectly situated between the arrows. So asking for the inscription to be visible doesn’t seem to have affected anything other than having the inscription visible. I guess if it’s in a bezel setting you’re out of luck, but it seems like a reasonable ask and should be available on a 4 or 6 prong setting.

I’ve heard women “jokingly” ask if a diamond is real - followed up with a “are you sure??”. I don’t know where these silly stores come from, but it seems people love to tell their hearsay story about a sucker getting duped by a jeweler or a guy trying to buy a fake diamond for his engagement.

It’s almost like some people go out of their way to plant seeds of doubt.

While a cert with matching inscription isn’t 100% proof, but it helps. Plus she thought it was cool how tiny the inscription was and how it’s visible only under intense magnification. It allows a level of comfort that is better than “whoops the inscription is covered by the prong.”

Also, It’s super easy to get the PDF of the cert saved from the AGS website and a digital picture of the inscription. Digital stuff is easy to manage when it’s on the iPhone.

 

[sledge]

I have it already and I posted some pics and videos but not super clear close up pictures. Here's a link. My pictures are on the first page but there are more from other people, I think on the 4th page: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/photos-of-lightbox-jewelry.243885/

Sorry I didn't mean to take over this thread with my own question. Feel free to continue the conversation on that thread!

I quickly glanced through this thread at the pics.

One question for you @frogplus -- what is the clarity of the LB stone you received? Not sure if it was the angle of the pictures, etc but it looked like some inclusions were visible to me. Again, I spent seconds looking but just thought I'd ask. Sorry if I'm duplicating.

Also, while I am not suggesting LB diamonds are cut to precision H&A standards, it does appear there are arrows of some magnitude that are visible. I am using @stonewell's picture, from page 4, post 97. I will include the original and also a marked up version to help identify the arrows.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/photos-of-lightbox-jewelry.243885/page-4#post-4423785




Edited to Add:
I should have read down a little bit further and would have found this:

Finally, ASET and Idealscope images... big disclaimer: These are mounted pieces and I had to rig things in a way that allowed me to photograph it. So, these aren’t the ideal conditions in which to take cut images and it somewhat affects the outcome. However, I think you can still get a general sense of the cut quality.

1 ct. Princess pendant



.50ct Round pendant




.50ctw Blue studs - these were the most difficult to take and the lighting was the worst of the bunch. So, keep this in mind as you interpret the images.



Overall, I don’t think anyone is expecting ideal cut stones. If you are, don’t. They all appear to some degree of leakage, some more so than others. Honestly, I could see it even before I took the images. However, I’ve also been spoiled with ideal cuts and that certainly affects my opinion.

This is also just one set of pieces and there may be some very well cut items out there in the mix. I’m genuinely curious to know if there is wide cut variability across similar items. I suspect there may be. If so, then it’s just luck of the draw in terms of what you may receive.

That said, the color appears to be quite good - the pendants were whiter than my GIA G stone but not as white as my GIA D color stone. The clarity is also excellent. I didn’t see any obvious inclusions, even under my 10x loupe.

 

[sledge]

I don’t think AGS places their inscription in a random location... it seems to be perfectly situated between the arrows. So asking for the inscription to be visible doesn’t seem to have affected anything other than having the inscription visible. I guess if it’s in a bezel setting you’re out of luck, but it seems like a reasonable ask and should be available on a 4 or 6 prong setting.

I’ve heard women “jokingly” ask if a diamond is real - followed up with a “are you sure??”. I don’t know where these silly stores come from, but it seems people love to tell their hearsay story about a sucker getting duped by a jeweler or a guy trying to buy a fake diamond for his engagement.

It’s almost like some people go out of their way to plant seeds of doubt.

While a cert with matching inscription isn’t 100% proof, but it helps. Plus she thought it was cool how tiny the inscription was and how it’s visible only under intense magnification. It allows a level of comfort that is better than “whoops the inscription is covered by the prong.”

Also, It’s super easy to get the PDF of the cert saved from the AGS website and a digital picture of the inscription. Digital stuff is easy to manage when it’s on the iPhone.

Are you basing the location at which AGS places inscription on your specific stone, or have you taken a large sampling and confirmed this through some scientific & meaningful manner? I only ask because a one time occurrence doesn't make it a "standard". I see no reason why AGS would put a limitation like that on themselves.

Asking the jeweler to try to set the stone with arrow alignment is more critical than the inscription as that is visible to everyone. If it works to where you can have aligned arrows & a visible inscription then it's a small win. You can ask for both, but remember which is the priority.

For your friends with trust issues about the authenticity of your diamond, this can be had for $15 and doesn't require you to carry a scope, copy of your cert or any real skill level to confirm your stone is indeed real. For jewelers, tell them to use their own tester they have behind the counter.

https://www.amazon.com/Accuracy-Diamond-Tester-Professional-Jeweler/dp/B06Y2MT175

I might add -- Androids makes managing digital stuff pretty easy too. Having used both the iPhone & Android platforms (and more) I actually prefer the Android file system. But I'm one of the weird ones that also can run Windows, Apple, Unix & Linux computers. Back in the day I was really weird and running Linux distros on Apple machines in addition to the native Unix shell that I helped beta test when OS X rolled out. That's a real niche, lol.

 

[holeydonut]

Are you basing the location at which AGS places inscription on your specific stone, or have you taken a large sampling and confirmed this through some scientific & meaningful manner? I only ask because a one time occurrence doesn't make it a "standard". I see no reason why AGS would put a limitation like that on themselves.

Asking the jeweler to try to set the stone with arrow alignment is more critical than the inscription as that is visible to everyone. If it works to where you can have aligned arrows & a visible inscription then it's a small win. You can ask for both, but remember which is the priority.

For your friends with trust issues about the authenticity of your diamond, this can be had for $15 and doesn't require you to carry a scope, copy of your cert or any real skill level to confirm your stone is indeed real. For jewelers, tell them to use their own tester they have behind the counter.

https://www.amazon.com/Accuracy-Diamond-Tester-Professional-Jeweler/dp/B06Y2MT175

I might add -- Androids makes managing digital stuff pretty easy too. Having used both the iPhone & Android platforms (and more) I actually prefer the Android file system. But I'm one of the weird ones that also can run Windows, Apple, Unix & Linux computers. Back in the day I was really weird and running Linux distros on Apple machines in addition to the native Unix shell that I helped beta test when OS X rolled out. That's a real niche, lol.

I'm basing my comment about AGS from what BGD's team told me where they always make sure the inscription is visible on their 4 or 6 prong settings. Based on their feedback, the AGS inscription isn't placed willy-nilly, and they can rotate the diamond as necessary so the arrows are still symmetric to the setting, but one of the prongs won't obstruct the AGS inscription.

But, on my specific stone, the AGS inscription is placed so well between the arrows that I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I believe BGD asks AGS to spend a few extra seconds to align the stone before inscribing it with his signature/logo.

These aren't my "friends" per se... it's usually the 6-degree-Kevin-Bacon people you bump into at Baby Showers, parties, etc. I don't know if it's an immigrant thing, but it seems there's a lot of people who get conned in "the old country" ... and are there a lot of stories and tall tales. It's not just diamonds... could be a Rolex, gold, silver, etc.

 

[sledge]

I'm basing my comment about AGS from what BGD's team told me where they always make sure the inscription is visible on their 4 or 6 prong settings. Based on their feedback, the AGS inscription isn't placed willy-nilly, and they can rotate the diamond as necessary so the arrows are still symmetric to the setting, but one of the prongs won't obstruct the AGS inscription.

But, on my specific stone, the AGS inscription is placed so well between the arrows that I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I believe BGD asks AGS to spend a few extra seconds to align the stone before inscribing it with his signature/logo.

These aren't my "friends" per se... it's usually the 6-degree-Kevin-Bacon people you bump into at Baby Showers, parties, etc. I don't know if it's an immigrant thing, but it seems there's a lot of people who get conned in "the old country" ... and are there a lot of stories and tall tales. It's not just diamonds... could be a Rolex, gold, silver, etc.

Friends or acquaintances, I think you are worrying over nothing. You have an authentic stone and gorgeous setting. If they can't accept it's real, that is their issue -- not yours. You shouldn't have to prove it with a scope, certs, diamond tester, etc.

As far as the alignment I need to snap some photos of my fiancee's ring. She has a BGD stone and the inscription is covered by the prongs so the arrows align properly.

 

[holeydonut]

Friends or acquaintances, I think you are worrying over nothing. You have an authentic stone and gorgeous setting. If they can't accept it's real, that is their issue -- not yours. You shouldn't have to prove it with a scope, certs, diamond tester, etc.

As far as the alignment I need to snap some photos of my fiancee's ring. She has a BGD stone and the inscription is covered by the prongs so the arrows align properly.

The intent isn't to prove it to these randos... it's to have a body of evidence ready in the event all these seeds of doubt result in the fiance asking "how do you know this is real?" But, having a cool looking PDF of the AGS report and a picture of the inscription on the phone wouldn't hurt to shut up some of these annoying randos

 

[WinkHPD]

I’ve heard women “jokingly” ask if a diamond is real - followed up with a “are you sure??”. I don’t know where these silly stores come from, but it seems people love to tell their hearsay story about a sucker getting duped by a jeweler or a guy trying to buy a fake diamond for his engagement.

This is as old as the business I am afraid. One of my favorite stories is about a lady coming into my store back in the late 70's. She fell in love with a nice one carat plus diamond for about $4,000.
Her soon to be husband came in and wanted to get the Coast ring she wanted with a CZ in it. I refused as I knew the diamond that she wanted and showed it to him.

He went down the street and bought the same ring, but with a CZ in it and gave it to her in one of my boxes.

After Christmas she came in and asked to get it appraised, and when the appraisal came back as a CZ she came into my office and started threatening to call her attorney. I told her that I did not sell her husband a diamond or a ring, as he wanted a CZ in the ring and that he bought this ring from another jeweler.

She asked me if I really sent him packing and I replied that yes I did as I knew which diamond she wanted. She whipped out her husband's platinum card and said she wanted the diamond. I told her it had sold, so she said "Show me what you have that is at least as nice as that one."

A short time later she walked out with a $10,000 diamond set in her ring.

The best part of the story is when the newly wed husband called me screaming about his CC billing. Screaming about how he wanted his money back and how he never authorized me to sell his wife a diamond. Told me if I did not give him back his money we would never be doing business again.

I laughed and said, "Again? Heck, you and I have never done business ever, why should I care about again?"

Not much of a surprise that they were divorced in only a couple more months.

Wink

 

[holeydonut]

This is as old as the business I am afraid. One of my favorite stories is about a lady coming into my store back in the late 70's. She fell in love with a nice one carat plus diamond for about $4,000.
Her soon to be husband came in and wanted to get the Coast ring she wanted with a CZ in it. I refused as I knew the diamond that she wanted and showed it to him.

...

Not much of a surprise that they were divorced in only a couple more months.

Wink

Haha, awesome story Wink. Unfortunately most of the stories I hear aren't as entertaining. They usually just go "so and so got scammed a few years ago because they believed..." or "so and so was a bad person and tried to get a fake..." or "did you hear about the jeweler that swapped out the diamond with ..."

I just wish women wouldn't tell other women these tales right after looking at an engagement ring and asking "is it real??" haha. Kind of annoying behavior.

Anyway, I feel like it shouldn't be too much ask for a jeweler to spend a few extra moments to find an orientation of the diamond that wouldn't cause the inscription to be blocked by the prongs. Seems like an easy way to avoid accusations of gem swapping and allows a little bit extra piece of mind.