Should diamonds look different in different light?

[Rockies]

Hello! I am new to diamonds, so please excuse me if my question seems ignorant. I haven''t seen many diamonds in real life and, except for my ring, have never spent any time examining a diamond under different lighting conditions. My knowledge of how a diamond looks comes from magazine ads (sad, but true).
I''ve been reading the posts on this board and am learning a lot, and I''d love anyone with experience with diamonds to weigh in on this.

I have a 3.5 carat, H-color, very good cut, round diamond with blue fluorescence (not sure whether it''s strong, medium, etc). It''s set on a multi-row pave band. I love everything about this stunning ring, but have questions about how it looks in certain lighting conditions.

So, here''s what it does:
Indirect sunlight (for instance, if I shade it with my hand) - pure, glowing white and sparkly (but not blinding flashes)
Direct very bright sunlight - clear bluish-purple and seems to sparkle with more white and colored blinding flashes - The blue looks a lot like the ring shown on this page: http://www.pricescope.com/diamonds/x29034.htm The blue seems even more noticeable because it contrasts against the pave stones, which stay very white and sparkly as an overall effect.
Direct, less bright sunlight - looks more grey than blue, less blinding flashes
Grocery store light (diffused fluorescent lighting??) - my ring looks off the hook (!!). It sparkles like mad (not blinding flashes), with a barely noticeable bluish tint, and looks just as white as the pave stones. It''s so sparkly, it almost looks electric.
Dark room with cannister lights or other concentrated beams of light - the background of the whole stone looks dark, but there''s a lot of blinding sparkle. It looks like most sparkle is coming from the top surface. It looks a lot like this ring, but bluer: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-color-stones-in-platinum.9689/
It does not look as dark from the side...just from the top view. If I shade it with my hand, however, the background looks whiter again. The pave stays looking white, but I think the whiteness is coming a lot from the mini-prongs, too.

So, is this normal? Do all diamonds look brighter and whiter in some light and take on a greyer background in other light, or is the darkness I am seeing from the fluorescence only?

Also, our jeweler told us not to judge a diamond in direct sunlight, and that some diamonds look darker in direct sun. Why would a diamond (with or without fluorescence) look darker in direct light?

Thank you!

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome

Yes what you describe is perfectly normal. The one that gets many folk is where a diamond looks " dark" in strong sunlight. Diamonds show many personalities and react to ambient light by looking very different, this is part of what makes them so interesting. So enjoy your diamond, just be careful not to trip when shopping at Home Depot! I believe the lighting in there is fantastic for diamonds!

The blue sparkles you notice in sunlight is probably the flourescence making itself known, as Lady K says, PURTY

Many diamonds don't look their best in direct sunlight, as they show the darkening effect, fire and brilliance, dispersion and scintillation is lost it seems and any inclusions can pop out in bold relief! Best way to judge a diamond is in as many lighting conditions as you can. Beware the jewellery store lighting, they can make a glass ashtray twinkle

With the flourescence in bright sunlight, with mine I don't tend to find I see the flouro when it exhibits the dark effect, more a violety glow with blue sparkles in indirect sun.

Also try this thread to read about other PSer's darkening diamonds in sunlight.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/why-does-my-diamond-do-this-dark-in-sunlight.37481/=

Also read up on head obstruction, Garry has an interesting video on this subject available here.

 

[ecf8503]

Date: 8/23/2006 5:09:08 AM
Author:Rockies

Direct very bright sunlight - clear bluish-purple and seems to sparkle with more white and colored blinding flashes - The blue looks a lot like the ring shown on this page: http://www.pricescope.com/diamonds/x29034.htm The blue seems even more noticeable because it contrasts against the pave stones, which stay very white and sparkly as an overall effect.

Hey that''s my ring! Yay!!!!!!! (Although I''ve obtained a new camera and better pics since then - maybe I should put some more pics up.......) Mine is a D w/ strong blue fluoresence (as opposed to your H, and mine is quite a bit smaller than yours...

)

I''ve noticed many of the same things you have as far as effects in different lighting condition, but what you describe applies to all the stones I have not just my ideal-cut D.

I have a 0.51ct 60/60 G with no fluoresence that also looks "blue" in direct sunlight - heck even my Gr-grandmother''s K/L/M colored OEC looks "blue" on a clear sunny bright day - I honestly think it is the reflection of the sky!

That said, cut does play a huge role here as well - My ideal cut looks great most everywhere - I absolutely love it in the grocery store and Pottery Barn Kids - and in my living room in the middle of the day. The spotlights in the stores are great for making the colors pop (fire) and the indirect daylight in my house just seems to "wake it up" - makes the coolness of the color stand out to me, which I love.

My OEC (approx 1.1ct) is noticeably tinted (K/L/M range - it''s never been unmounted for proper grading) but face up the fire / colors from it in their large chunky patterns are so mesmerising. I LOVE that stone - just something about it - it isn''t "ideal" by any stretch of the imagination, but it is so lovely and charming and unique - stats be damned!

My original e-ring stone is the 60/60 G color, and it holds it''s own in terms of brilliance and scintillation, but is lacking in fire and has very little discernable "pattern" to it - from a distance it does quite well in terms of pure light return, but after having an ideal H&A I just automatically look for those arrows, and I love the fire / color of the OEC and (to a lesser degree) the ideal.

I''d agree with your observations about how your stone looks different in different lighting - mine certainly change appearance depending on where I''m at! But that''s part of what gives every stone out there it''s own personality, and as long as you are happy with what you see, then just enjoy it!

 

[Bluehammer]

In my search for a stone I ended up with a final choice between an F and an H. Both were great stones about the same size. Indoor lighting showed in favor of the F. In direct sunlight it became a toss up. The H stone would show a little bigger flashes of color, but became dark looking at certain angles. The F would show some broadfire too, but it was more icy white. I think the "white" light may have made the color flashes a little less noticeable.

That said, I think your diamond is acting "normal". I have seen that ideal stones do look different. A lot has to do with cut. Also brilliantering (painting and digging) and polishing the girdle can cause slightly different visual effects. Because I have seen many differences in diamond visual performance among ideal cuts, I do not think there is one perfect way a diamond should look.