Red ink/substance on ends of new loose stone?

[affguy]

So I purchased a diamond sight unseen on the premise that the numbers were what I was looking for and I have 30 days to decide if I like its appearance or get a full refund. It was delivered to my fiancee's work today and she sent me a couple iphone pictures and the first thing I notice is red marks (ink or some other substance) all over the two ends (emerald cut). Is there something in the cutting/grading process that includes this? (The GIA report indicates it was graded in October, internally flawless with minor issues of polish the only note on clarity).

 

[affguy]

A couple iphone shots (next to her AVC in MM setting) showing how obvious this stuff is. I'm quite surprised the vendor would ship it like this. I'm assuming it'll wash off, but am curious what it might be.

 

[JulieN]

try acetone (nail polish remover)

 

[ame]

I wonder if that's sharpie to identify any inclusions for the setter?

 

[affguy]

I wonder if that's sharpie to identify any inclusions for the setter?

Those would be some scary big inclusions for an IF stone!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I will have to say, I think it is odd that it was sent to you like that! I'd definitely call the vendor and ask, just out of curiosity!

 

[that_someone_special]

er... wth? Call the vendor!! asap.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

def call the vendor! and send them that pic, omg!

 

[Enerchi]

Would they mark up their stone like that to ensure it is the same stone, if they were sending it out on spec? Maybe it's a 'security' measure that its their stone not a fake, if you return it?

 

[Mike R]

The person taking the picture wasn't wearing a red shirt were they, or have a red iphone cover?

 

[yssie]

The person taking the picture wasn't wearing a red shirt were they, or have a red iphone cover?

No reflection in the metal though?

I've made my loose stones look like that with nailpolish, ditto trying acetone?

 

[Christina...]

A jeweler once told me that an old trick that was used was to paint red or blue polish on the culet of the stone to make the diamond look as though it had better light performance....I have no idea if this is true, but thought it was interesting, though disturbing. Anyway, thats what this reminded me of, although thats a whole lot of red and not on the culet. very strange, I'd get the vendor on the phone and email pics of the stone immediately!!

 

[Christina...]

The person taking the picture wasn't wearing a red shirt were they, or have a red iphone cover?

No reflection in the metal though?

I've made my loose stones look like that with nailpolish, ditto trying acetone?

Why did you use nail polish on your stones?? Just curious

 

[affguy]

The person taking the picture wasn't wearing a red shirt were they, or have a red iphone cover?

Heh heh, no, that was my first question to her, before I zoomed in and saw the nature of the blotches. She's wearing charcoal and said it looked like sharpie ink. I emailed the vendor and asked what it was...they didn't say, but suggested washing with water, so I then emailed these two pictures and haven't heard back yet.

 

[Mike R]

The person taking the picture wasn't wearing a red shirt were they, or have a red iphone cover?

No reflection in the metal though?

I've made my loose stones look like that with nailpolish, ditto trying acetone?

I took this picture wearing a red shirt, the platinum really isn't reflecting much if any red. If you held a red cell phone close enough I think it might not show up on the metal.

It is probably just red marker, like others have said try cleaning it with acetone.

 

[MqLove]

Or ethanol/methylated spirits or rubbing alcohol should work, if it's handier than acetone (and it's marker, not nail polish).

 

[TheDoctor]

Uh, did your fiance' say the stone looked like it had red marker on the ends or are you discreetly asking the community for advice following a low-tech photo release?

 

[affguy]

Uh, did your fiance' say the stone looked like it had red marker on the ends or are you discreetly asking the community for advice following a low-tech photo release?

You ever get the sneaking suspicion that someone's joking and everyone gets it but you?

Yeah, so, umm, she said it looks like red ink or something. I was just wondering whether there was some perfectly logical explanation for why a stone might show up like this, and Google was no help, so I came here.

 

[Christina...]

Uh, did your fiance' say the stone looked like it had red marker on the ends or are you discreetly asking the community for advice following a low-tech photo release?

You ever get the sneaking suspicion that someone's joking and everyone gets it but you?

Yeah, so, umm, she said it looks like red ink or something. I was just wondering whether there was some perfectly logical explanation for why a stone might show up like this, and Google was no help, so I came here.

It's okay, I don't get it either. good luck!

 

[mayerling]

Uh, did your fiance' say the stone looked like it had red marker on the ends or are you discreetly asking the community for advice following a low-tech photo release?

Yeah, I don't get this either...

 

[affguy]

Well, whatever the stuff was, it wiped right off with a couple drops of water and a T-shirt when she got home. A big factor in picking this stone was price (didn't want to go overboard on my ring, when her finger is the important one), so it arrived without any fancy packaging. Actually, the stone was just inside a folded and taped piece of paper with the specs written on one side and "DIAMOND INSIDE" stamped in red ink on the other, taped to the GIA certificate. I suspect the stone got touched during said stamping process. In any case, that stuff, plus the current thread about see-through corners on an emerald cut convinced me to try red backgrounds for my poor photograph attempts. I have no idea how I introduced warmth in a couple that isn't present in the stone, but it's interesting to me how the steps look different in each picture. Also, there's obviously a bit of leakage, moreso in the corners, but I think it looks pretty good, especially for the price. Without further ado, my $1200 .55 ct, F, IF emerald cut with 66.5% depth, 63% table, VG polish, VG symmetry, medium to slightly thick girdle.

 

[affguy]

hmmm, not sure why the one picture duplicated. The really low light one was supposed to be this...not indicative of color, I just liked how the steps blacked out in the absence of light.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

So you are looking for an emerald cut for your ring? Kenny has had some men's rings made with octavias which as basically the same shape as an asscher (which is a square emerald cut). What kind of setting are you thinking and which way would the emerald be set?

 

[affguy]

Yeah, I love Kenny's husbands's octavia ring...maybe someday when my bank account is substantially deeper! For now, I'm going with this setting, polished, with a 2 mm palladium inlay. Minimum requirements for structural integrity are VS2 or better and medium or thicker girdle. Personal requirement is somewhere close to 6 mm long dimension, as the width of the ring is the next half mm beyond the length of the stone and I don't want any narrower than 6 mm. The one is this thread is 5.81x3.99 so would get a 6 mm wide ring.

 

[Amys Bling]

Glad it worked out.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wow, that will be one great ring!!! I really like 6mm for a man's ring and that EC looks like it might be perfect!!!