Weird inclusion in my diamond

[mayerling]

Hi everyone,

I''m new to PS and was wondering whether somebody might help shed some light on what this thing is that I can see when I look at my diamond.

My diamond is a VS1, which makes me think that inclusions shouldn''t be visible, but when I look at it at an angle I can see some pretty dark lines forming a Y shape (east-west). Anyone have any idea of what that might be? I tried to take pics of it but haven''t succeeded. To give you a better idea, the lines only show when I hold the diamond about half a foot away and at shoulder level (so face up it''s fine), and show in some lighting environments but not in others.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/5/2010 3:29:43 PM
Author:DVS1
Hi everyone,

I'm new to PS and was wondering whether somebody might help shed some light on what this thing is that I can see when I look at my diamond.

My diamond is a VS1, which makes me think that inclusions shouldn't be visible, but when I look at it at an angle I can see some pretty dark lines forming a Y shape (east-west). Anyone have any idea of what that might be? I tried to take pics of it but haven't succeeded. To give you a better idea, the lines only show when I hold the diamond about half a foot away and at shoulder level (so face up it's fine), and show in some lighting environments but not in others.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Just wondering if it might be the girdle reflection? Does it look like the image below?

 

[mayerling]

Hi Lorelei,

Thanks for answering. I looked at some other thread that talked about girdle reflection but it really didn''t look as dark as what I''m seeing in my diamond (though I''m no expert; I should have probably wondered about this before actually buying the diamond). Is it possible that it''s reflecting the platinum setting?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/5/2010 3:35:27 PM
Author: DVS1
Hi Lorelei,

Thanks for answering. I looked at some other thread that talked about girdle reflection but it really didn't look as dark as what I'm seeing in my diamond (though I'm no expert; I should have probably wondered about this before actually buying the diamond). Is it possible that it's reflecting the platinum setting?

I just added a pic above, see if that helps. Is it possible to take a photo of what you are seeing? I doubt it is inclusion/s you are seeing at VS1.

 

[mayerling]

Now that I see the pic I think I''m pretty sure that''s not it. You see, the inclusion I see is only visible when I look at the diamond at an angle but still top-down, not sideways. Could that still be the girdle?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/5/2010 3:41:54 PM
Author: DVS1
Now that I see the pic I think I''m pretty sure that''s not it. You see, the inclusion I see is only visible when I look at the diamond at an angle but still top-down, not sideways. Could that still be the girdle?

I just looked back, its a Princess isn''t it? Which lab graded it?

 

[mayerling]

Oh yeah, I probably should have mentioned that It''s a .52 princess and it''s GIA graded. The certificate says ''feather'' under inclusions and gives no other information. It also doesn''t tell me where in the diamond the feather is...

 

[Dreamer_D]

I think the only way we can really help you is to see a photo. Can you take one with the macro setting?

I think your eyes are playing tricks on you though...

 

[mayerling]

oh, dreamer, I hope my eyes are playing tricks on me but I think it''s unlikely. that Y looks so big at times. I just tried to take some pictures again using the macro but I just can''t seem to be able to. the diamond''s just too fuzzy for anything to show.

but do you think it''s possible the setting is reflected in the diamond?

 

[Jim Summa]

Hi DVS1,
I am not totally comfortable giving this advice, but at worst it is only a little messy and can help you see what is going on with your stone.
Take some fingernail polish, something with some color (red is good) and put a drop on some paper.
Get a toothpick and use it like the little brush they have in the bottle (don''t use the brush,it holds to much polish).
You can use the toothpick to carefully dab the paint from the drop you have on the paper and paint the girdle red...all the way around. If it is the girdle line in the stone it will now of course be red....

Keep the finger polish remover handy and good luck.

 

[mayerling]

Thanks, Jim. One question before I try it out: will it be easy to clean the diamond afterwards?

 

[WinkHPD]

Jim gives good advice, but I prefer to use removable red magic marker. Same principle, and easier to remove. I would not do either of these if the girdle is not polished. It might be very hard to get out of a bruted girdle.

Wink

 

[Jim Summa]

A little jar a fingernail polish remover and an old toothbrush will do the trick.
If this isn''t the problem try to figure out the spot on the ring that might be reflecting and causing the Y reflection and paint that part of the ring.

Jewelers paint jewelry when they rhodium plate 2-tone pieces all the time. You cover the yellow gold with polish so the rhodium won''t plate this area.

The only problem using the remover that I see is it''s a little nasty...but people use it on their fingernails so.....

The first time I did this was for a customer that was sure she had a crack, even looking at it with a microscope didn''t convince her that what she was seeing was the girdle reflection. It will work if that is what (I hope) you are seeing in your diamond.

 

[mayerling]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I''m still a bit confused as to how the girdle can have a Y reflection though. Think of it as Y tilted 90 degrees to the left, so it''s east to west, and very thick and dark. Could that still be the girdle?

 

[Jim Summa]

DVS1,
Wink''s suggestion of a red magic marker is much better, easier to use.
The "Y" you are seeing might be the ring reflection, I would try marking the ring in the place you think might be causing the reflection first.
I hope this works for you, if not you can go to the top of this page under "RESOURCES" and see if an Independant Appraiser is close to where you live.

 

[mayerling]

Thanks, everyone, for your advice. I''ll try it out and let you know how it goes.