Strong Blue Pear - the eagle has landed!

[Circe]

It''s here it''s here it''s here! I''m as excited as a child. I''d planned to be one of those people who photographed the enveloped ... and the inner envelope ... and the box ... and then it got here, and I tore the package open with my teeth. I''m a little ... funny ... like that.

The pear looks beautiful. It''s completely eye-clean (a very clean SI1, indeed!) and the color is blindingly white. I always thought my e-ring stone was pretty white (well, for a J - you know what I mean), but, damn! This thing is WHITE.

The fluorescence does not seem to affect the stone noticeably: I''m not seeing that strong blue sheen that some of our posters seem to have. (Boo! But maybe it''s just a bad day for UV where I am? SB owners, how often do you see your fluorescence?) On the whole, I really like it.

I think I''m seeing a bit of a bow-tie, but not to the point that it bugs me: will post pics to get your opinions. And to get setting suggestions! Now, all I have to do is find the camera ....

 

[jet2ks]

You are being a tease!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/3/2009 11:03:27 AM
Author:Circe
It's here it's here it's here! I'm as excited as a child. I'd planned to be one of those people who photographed the enveloped ... and the inner envelope ... and the box ... and then it got here, and I tore the package open with my teeth. I'm a little ... funny ... like that.

The pear looks beautiful. It's completely eye-clean (a very clean SI1, indeed!) and the color is blindingly white. I always thought my e-ring stone was pretty white (well, for a J - you know what I mean), but, damn! This thing is WHITE.

The fluorescence does not seem to affect the stone noticeably: I'm not seeing that strong blue sheen that some of our posters seem to have. (Boo! But maybe it's just a bad day for UV where I am? SB owners, how often do you see your fluorescence?) On the whole, I really like it.

I think I'm seeing a bit of a bow-tie, but not to the point that it bugs me: will post pics to get your opinions. And to get setting suggestions! Now, all I have to do is find the camera ....

<----- stolen.

 

[Circe]

Heheheh - I am waiting for the sun to come out!

 

[Circe]

And, AMAZINGLY FRUSTRATINGLY - the camera has no charge. ARGH.

 

[NY Princess]

I can''t wait to see, I love, love, love pears!

 

[FB.]

Bowtie is virtually unaviodable in pears. If you eliminate the bowtie, the stone is often quite dark.
From what I've seen, less than 60% depth is prone to a large bowtie. More than 66% is a dark stone. Something around 62-63% has a good balance of brightness and relatively minor bowtie effect - although depth % does not consider the individual detail of the crown and pavilion height.
Long pears have slightly wider bowtie. Short pears have slightly narrower.

Fluorescence needs UV light. I often point out that strong blue stones, in household lighting, will look much the same as their non-fluor counterparts.
It is possible that the fluor in your stone is partially being offset against the yellow tint of J colour, so the fluor may be making the stone look very white, but perhaps there's not enough fluor left over from cancelling-out the yellow tint, to turn the stone distinctly blue.
But take your stone next to a window and put a non-fluor stone beside it. You'll probably notice just a hint of blue/lilac/purple tint.
Take the stone out into direct sunshine and you should see a considerable amount of lilac.
Bear in mind that in the Norrthern hemisphere, we are close to the shortest day, so sunlight is weak and UV levels are very low. You may need full mid-day sun to activate noticeable fluor at this time of year.
Also bear in mind that "strong" means more than medium but less than very strong. It could be that your stone is nearer to medium - or nearer to very strong. I don't think that fluor is graded quite as carefully as other diamond features; I have a SB fluor stone that has more apparent fluor than one of my VSB fluor stones.....and one my my VSB fluor stones is off the scale; it would be better described as extreme strong fluor; it turns a deep purple (but not hazy and no sparkle is lost) even in weak and hazy sunshine. Even when indoors and a few feet from a North-facing window, the stone almost looks like a natural pale fancy blue diamond.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

What is the color of the pear you just bought? Can''t wait to see pictures!

 

[Circe]

Date: 12/3/2009 12:16:25 PM
Author: MC
What is the color of the pear you just bought? Can''t wait to see pictures!

D''oh - can''t believe I forgot to include that. It''s an E - my first colorless stone!

 

[bebe]

get those pics up - I can''t wait to see this baby !
my first ER was a .96 pear

 

[Circe]

Date: 12/3/2009 11:49:10 AM
Author: FB.
Bowtie is virtually unaviodable in pears. If you eliminate the bowtie, the stone is often quite dark.

From what I''ve seen, less than 60% depth is prone to a large bowtie. More than 66% is a dark stone. Something around 62-63% has a good balance of brightness and relatively minor bowtie effect - although depth % does not consider the individual detail of the crown and pavilion height.

Long pears have slightly wider bowtie. Short pears have slightly narrower.


Fluorescence needs UV light. I often point out that strong blue stones, in household lighting, will look much the same as their non-fluor counterparts.

It is possible that the fluor in your stone is partially being offset against the yellow tint of J colour, so the fluor may be making the stone look very white, but perhaps there''s not enough fluor left over from cancelling-out the yellow tint, to turn the stone distinctly blue.

But take your stone next to a window and put a non-fluor stone beside it. You''ll probably notice just a hint of blue/lilac/purple tint.

Take the stone out into direct sunshine and you should see a considerable amount of lilac.

Bear in mind that in the Norrthern hemisphere, we are close to the shortest day, so sunlight is weak and UV levels are very low. You may need full mid-day sun to activate noticeable fluor at this time of year.

Also bear in mind that ''strong'' means more than medium but less than very strong. It could be that your stone is nearer to medium - or nearer to very strong. I don''t think that fluor is graded quite as carefully as other diamond features; I have a SB fluor stone that has more apparent fluor than one of my VSB fluor stones.....and one my my VSB fluor stones is off the scale; it would be better described as extreme strong fluor; it turns a deep purple (but not hazy and no sparkle is lost) even in weak and hazy sunshine. Even when indoors and a few feet from a North-facing window, the stone almost looks like a natural pale fancy blue diamond.

FB, thanks! I''ve been looking at shots of your gorgeous fluorescent pear and nearly salivating - that''s exactly what I was aiming for! This stone, the pear, is an E (my e-ring round is the J), so I really was hoping for the blue-white effect. I''m looking at this little baby now and trying to figure out if it just has weaker fluorescence, or if it is, indeed, just a day with weak sun. Under my black-light, it''s definitely fluorescing, but I don''t have anything to compare it to! Argh.

Your points about bow-ties are v. encouraging: the depth is 64.5, so I''d been hoping it would make the cut, as it were. As soon as that danged camera charges and the sun comes out, I''ll post some pics to illustrate both points ....

 

[stone-cold11]

FB, #4 pear will not have bow-tie.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/3/2009 11:49:10 AM
Author: FB.
Bowtie is virtually unaviodable in pears.

I think so too, also no way to tell without the stone in hand as you just can't tell by images with bow ties. Some stones that appear to not show a bow tie in images can show them in reality, even slightly.

 

[FB.]

Stone, does number 4 have a culet set back from the normal position?

 

[Circe]

Okay, here goes! Annoyingly, the second the camera charged enough to be functional, the sun disappeared completely. But I think these give some sense of what the stone is like. Be totally honest, folks: I like this stone, but if you see any huge issues, Tell All.

Note: at 1.3 carats, this stone was just within my budget of 4K as an E, SI1 with strong blue fluor, which is exactly what I wanted: I have no idea why it was within budget, since every other stone I saw that was in my range was about .30 smaller. To get anything comparable size-wise, I''d have to go to a J (not that there were any with strong blue fluor when I looked). So if there''s some big issue that I''m missing, as opposed to the universe feeling generous ... let me know!

First shot: looking a bit creamy in the light, but just as white as the tray behind it. Would you call that bow-tie a deal breaker? That''s the most obvious shot I was able to get: generally, it''s less visible.

 

[Circe]

Balanced on a spare setting I have lying around, face-up:

 

[Circe]

From the side ....

 

[Circe]

Think it could fit? I''d been planning to go with a bezel, but I''m actually sort of liking this ....

 

[Lorelei]

I really like it Circe, you can see the bow tie but that needn't be a deal breaker, I think its a pretty pear. What do YOU think of it?

 

[Circe]

And, next to my e-ring (albeit sorta blurry): you can really see the color difference, as well as how close they are in size. My e-ring is 1.46 and set in a mounting that makes it look even bigger, but this stone is sort of holding its own ....

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/3/2009 1:31:06 PM
Author: Circe
And, next to my e-ring (albeit sorta blurry): you can really see the color difference, as well as how close they are in size. My e-ring is 1.46 and set in a mounting that makes it look even bigger, but this stone is sort of holding its own ....

It looks great in this shot.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 12/3/2009 1:19:31 PM
Author: FB.
Stone, does number 4 have a culet set back from the normal position?

Yap, significantly off center.

 

[Circe]

Date: 12/3/2009 1:30:30 PM
Author: Lorelei
I really like it Circe, you can see the bow tie but that needn''t be a deal breaker, I think its a lovely pear. What do YOU think of it?

I ... I really like it! But seeing it in person is giving me that moment of doubt that I think we can all feel with diamonds: SO MUCH MONEY for something so small! My husband was sort of marveling at the fact that I didn''t hesitate AT ALL on how I wanted to allocate the gift budget: no getting a DBTY and some studs and a smaller pear, for example, just all my eggs (pears?) in this one basket. So, while I love it, I guess it has me second-guessing just a little, at least enough to want to get the PS Stamp of Approval.

Okay, now back to work - those papers won''t write themselves! I can''t wait to come back and see what y''all think (and settings! give me setting ideas!) ....

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/3/2009 1:35:35 PM
Author: Circe

Date: 12/3/2009 1:30:30 PM
Author: Lorelei
I really like it Circe, you can see the bow tie but that needn''t be a deal breaker, I think its a lovely pear. What do YOU think of it?

I ... I really like it! But seeing it in person is giving me that moment of doubt that I think we can all feel with diamonds: SO MUCH MONEY for something so small! My husband was sort of marveling at the fact that I didn''t hesitate AT ALL on how I wanted to allocate the gift budget: no getting a DBTY and some studs and a smaller pear, for example, just all my eggs (pears?) in this one basket. So, while I love it, I guess it has me second-guessing just a little, at least enough to want to get the PS Stamp of Approval.

Okay, now back to work - those papers won''t write themselves! I can''t wait to come back and see what y''all think (and settings! give me setting ideas!) ....

I understand! Its a big decision but take your time and get to know the diamond, the answer will come to you!

 

[FB.]

Date: 12/3/2009 1:31:06 PM
Author: Circe
And, next to my e-ring (albeit sorta blurry): you can really see the color difference, as well as how close they are in size. My e-ring is 1.46 and set in a mounting that makes it look even bigger, but this stone is sort of holding its own ....

That E-ring looks considerably tinted compared to the pear. What colour is the E-ring stone?

It could be the pear's fluor; it looks extremely white for a J!

In the shot wit the E-ring, the bowtie is barely visible; the darkness has mostly gone and it is more reflective.
At 64% depth, I don't see how you can easily improve the bowtie effect. Go deeper and the bowtie will reduce, but the whole stone will become darker. I would not go above 65% for a pear.

 

[Circe]

Date: 12/3/2009 1:47:51 PM
Author: FB.

Date: 12/3/2009 1:31:06 PM

Author: Circe

And, next to my e-ring (albeit sorta blurry): you can really see the color difference, as well as how close they are in size. My e-ring is 1.46 and set in a mounting that makes it look even bigger, but this stone is sort of holding its own ....

That E-ring looks considerably tinted compared to the pear. What colour is the E-ring stone?


It could be the pear''s fluor; it looks extremely white for a J.

In the shot wit the E-ring, the bowtie is barely visible; the darkness has mostly gone and it is more reflective.

At 64% depth, I don''t see how you can easily improve the bowtie effect. Go deeper and the bowtie will reduce, but the whole stone will become darker. I would not go above 65% for a pear.

Heheheh - FB, the pear is an E! It''s my e-ring stone that''s the J.

I''m just trying to imagine what the e-ring would be if we moved the grade down that far ... a fancy, I think!

And, yay for getting your stamp of approval on the bow-tie! You and Lorelei stand out in my head as the Pear Experts.

 

[blueberrydot]

oh my gosh Circe, I LOVE IT!!! It''s so pretty! I mean, I don''t know anything at all about pears and even my knowledge about rounds is rather shaky, but my eyes are telling me it''s a gorgeous stone.

So lovely. How exciting for you!

 

[Liane]

I think it''s beautiful and the bowtie is hardly noticeable apart from the first picture. If it usually looks like it does in the other photos, that wouldn''t bother me at all. I love the proportions and think it''s a lovely stone.

 

[Laila619]

Circe, I think it's a really pretty pear...icy white! In one shot, the bowtie looked a bit more noticeable. In person, does the bowtie bother you?

Regarding affordability, it probably was considerably less because of the SB fluor.

 

[Circe]

Date: 12/3/2009 2:14:50 PM
Author: Laila619
Circe, I think it''s a really pretty pear...icy white! In one shot, the bowtie looked a bit more noticeable. In person, does the bowtie bother you?


Regarding affordability, it probably was considerably less because of the SB fluor.

The first one, right? Yeah ... that''s the most intense I''ve seen it. In motion, or face-up, it''s not that bad: it needs to be at that funny tilt to register. So it doesn''t bother me, but I''m trying to be sure I''m not missing something obvious.

And, nope, not the SB ... I was comparing internally among SB stones, and it was comparable in price to 1 carat D-E-F stones of similar or lower clarity. Don''t get me wrong, I''m not complaining - I just don''t want to keep it and set it and only then become aware of this value-depressing thing that has never occurred to me, y''know?