The missing pink

[Anita38]

Hello, everyone. My mother bought herself a supposedly pink diamond ring, complete with a certification from a SGL lab. The problem is.... Try as I may, I cannot see any pink when I look at the ring (apart from the rose gold of the prongs). My mother insists these are pink diamonds, so I decided to post here and see what you think of a photo of the mystery of the missing pink.

 

[Rfisher]

Not a diamond expert, nor do I know anything about SGL in particular- but that doesn’t matter.

Out of curiosity
what’s the color designation the lab report states?
Just ‘pink’ or something else?
A report on one specific stone or as a group of stones?

If it were my mother and she saw the pink and was happy with the ring and didn’t obscenely overpay (which is another objective and sometimes hard to pinpoint subject) I’d be happy with her happy.

 

[Anita38]

Excellent questions. SGL lab apparently analysed them as a group. It says colour: "pink". I know there are a number of grades in accordance with the strength of the colour, but they just wrote down a general "pink".
In terms of price, it was much more than I would be prepared to pay for it....

Oh, I didn't dare to contradict my mother, but my curiosity got the better of me so I ended up posting here. I am terribly curious if there is such a thing as pink diamonds which pink colour can only be seen with a jeweller's loupe or something like that. The alternative is that the vendor misrepresented the ring to my mother which would make me furious!

 

[Rfisher]

I don’t think it’s a question of needing a loupe to see the pink.

I think the issue is the general term of “pink” they used. Is it faint, very light, light, fancy light, fancy and on to the intense/vivids.
But that’s going off of GIA’s scale and without having it done via that lab is the question. Or problem.

If it’s faint pink or very light pink - my thoughts is that it’s sure a whisper of the color, and environmental lighting plays a factor in how apparent it is.

 

[Rfisher]

I also don’t think rose gold always helps emphasize those lower shades on pink. I think sometimes quite the opposite.

 

[Anita38]

That's a good point. Thank you for your insight. I am much more of a coloured stone collector, so I know very little about diamonds, pink or otherwise. It's great to be able to benefit from the insights of those who know much more.

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI Anita,
When it comes to pink diamonds, the only lab that carries any weight in the industry is GIA. So we can put the report on the side.
Pink is a very ....soft color- especially in diamonds.
It's also closely related to brown.
So there are a lot of light brown diamonds that will not get the word "pink" in their color grade- yet still "bluff" as pink diamonds ( meaning you might see a bit of pink in them).
If your mom sees pink....let it be
They don't look like actual pink diamonds, but let's let her enjoy!!!

 

[kenny]

So mom got ripped off, but we're supposed to be nice to her by protecting her feelings, and protect the seller so (s)he can go on to rip off others?

IMO this is a very distorted way to be "nice".
IMO the nicest and most respectful thing to do is tell her the truth and let the grown woman make her own decision.
It may all be upsetting at first but in the long run she may understand it's the right thing to do.

FCDs are very specialized.
Lots of research is called for if you want the real deal, and want to get what you paid for.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Good point Kenny.
Based on the available info, my remark about overlooking it was not responsible. My apologies Anita38

In terms of price, it was much more than I would be prepared to pay for it....

Would you be willing to share the stated carat weight and price- not even the exact but even a range?
If it turns out to be way out of line, is the ring returnable?

 

[icy_jade]

Maybe some pink in the melee stones?

 

[Anita38]

Hello everyone. Thanks for the good advice. The ring was bought from a shopping channel called TJC and the cost was about 500 pounds. The carat weight is 0.5 spread across 80 stones. I spoke with a friend of mine who bought a pink diamond ring from Gemporia, another shopping channel, and she admits that it requires imagination to see the pink in the stones. I think it's the same case with my mum's ring. I will let her know that they don't appear pink diamonds to me, but if she is happy with the ring, that's her prerogative. I

 

[nojs]

Hello everyone. Thanks for the good advice. The ring was bought from a shopping channel called TJC and the cost was about 500 pounds. The carat weight is 0.5 spread across 80 stones. I spoke with a friend of mine who bought a pink diamond ring from Gemporia, another shopping channel, and she admits that it requires imagination to see the pink in the stones. I think it's the same case with my mum's ring. I will let her know that they don't appear pink diamonds to me, but if she is happy with the ring, that's her prerogative. I

I would not expect actual natural pink diamonds at the price.

 

[rainydaze]

They do not look like genuine pink diamonds to me, and the certification is not reputable to support that they are.

That said, I don't think she was ripped off... the price is in line with what I expected from the picture and with what she received. Genuine (GIA graded) pinks would have put this ring well in to the thousands of dollars.

It is wrong that the seller didn't market this honestly, such as: 'a pink-hued ring with diamonds.... diamonds surrounded by rose gold offer an overall pink-toned effect to this ring'. Something of that nature vs. calling the diamonds pink diamonds.

Can she afford a ring with genuine pink diamonds costing 5-10k, or more?

If not, does she love this ring? Is it clearly bringing her a lot of joy? If so, what is the benefit in educating her about jewelry if her budget doesn't allow for her to choose items beyond this genre/price-point? Do you think she is someone who would appreciate being educated about jewels and can adjust her thinking? Would she be happy to buy something else that is simpler in design (i.e. a plain gold band, or an antique ring with one tiny but very sparkly diamond, or a ring with a semi-precious stone) for the same 600US?

 

[Rockdiamond]

Based on what we know now, I go back to my original advice. Let her enjoy

 

[dk168]

I have given up on TJC as the earrings I received as test pieces to check their quality were much to be desired - the videos and photos showed them to be much better. The stones were tiny frozen spits.

Another example why I do not buy jewellery in UK - quality does not match the high prices they charge, even from shopping channels.

DK