What Makes a Diamond Look Like Frozen Spit??

[pqcollectibles]

I was in a local jewelry store today cruising the counters. They had some diamonds that were sparkly but,.... They were milky, WHITE, not clear like my H&A. You can''t see through them at all.

What makes diamonds look like that?? Is it tons of microscopic inclusions?? I believe it was Diamond Bob''s thread talking about the cheap diamond bracelets for Christmas, where he commented those diamonds were I5 clarity.

So does anyone know why some diamonds look like that?

 

[jenibear]

LMAO!

I was planning to post a similar question - but you did it artfully.

I was curious too cause I met up with some engaged friends last week and we were checking out each others rings and I noticed that both of their stones looked different from all the beautiful stones I see on here.

They were very white - but milky in a sense, sparkled slightly and had strong flashes of fire. Both are RBs of about 1.3 to 1.5. Neither girl knew the specs.

I am so confused! What is up with their stones?

 

[pqcollectibles]

HeeeHeee Jeni!

I really want to know too! I know a gal who had a 2 carat F color frozen spit e-ring and 2 ctw frozen spit studs. Seeing those today made me really wonder why they look like that.

These were like you described. Firey but no light return other than colored light. I guess being firey, the cut couldn't be all together too bad, but.... That milky white color!

I didn't get to loupe any, but it looked like tons and tons of microscopic white inclusions/pinpoints??!!

BTW, Jeni,.... Your avitar is my daughter's favorite Care Bear! She wuvs the blue Bedtime Bear!

 

[derekinla]

Check out this real beauty from EBay!! Look at that FIRE!

 

[canadiangrrl]

Just a guess, but I think it could have something to do with a combination of inclusions, and cut...I think that a lot of mall-type stones are cut to retain carat weight - so they could be a very spready cut, giving the impression of milkiness instead of depth/contrast?

 

[jenibear]

That ebay stone is way worse than my friends - boy is that UGLY!

I really would love to here and expert chime in here - I am dying to know WHY stones look like this.

PQ - I love my care bears. I have bedtime bear! My FI got him for me for part of my anniversary present in April. I also have a Birthday Bear - just bought that for myself.

That's the one I had as a kid.
What can I say, I'm a child of the 80s, and a big kid who still loves teddy bears. My FI took a really funny picture of me once sleeping with all three of my bears in my arms. I look like I am 8! Hee Hee.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Eewwww Derek! I want that one! It is to die for! NOT!

CG, that's an interesting thought about the cut. I'm gonna have to go back and ask to see one with a loupe and see if it is a sea of inclusions or just and optical illusion.

 

[canadiangrrl]

Derek, what's the clarity grade on that stone? My guess would be an I3. If it's an ebay stone, it's an I1.

 

[derekinla]

It's an H I2 EGL certed stone... here's the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2676338305&category=10216#ebayphotohosting

The SCARY thing is, there are like 9... YES NINE!! bids on this thing.

If you want to see some real "doozies," do an Ebay search for "diamond I3"

 

[valeria101]

And then there are those "P" grades and "Declasse" (is this EGL terminology?).

I could not agree more that inclusions are the culprit: and not clouds of small ones but really as many big ones

as the volume of the stone would allow. Those shold make a good case for just how many inclusions one needs to start worrying about a cut diamond's structural integrity. And, no, I have no idea why people spend on these instead of a stunning...garnet (?) which would fall in the same price range.

But yes, there are diamonds blessed with tones of evenly spaced, microscopic inclusions (actually not discernible under commercial optical microscopes): those things look like a hazy moonstone and are not all that rare (just rarely cut) some display opalescence for a puzzling effect indeed. But neither type would ever be found in a Mall. Actuall, getting a "moonstone" ring stone with the hardness of diamond sounds appealing to this customer here

 

[pqcollectibles]

Jeni~ My daughter is 14 and one of her girlfriends is 16. They are both into Care Bears. We have T's, sleepwear, a pillow, you name it.

Val! Great info yet again. Opalescence. That is probably a better description than fire. LOL Structural integrity issues! Hummm. Hadn't even thought of that one!

 

[pqcollectibles]

Hi everyone!


Bump! Hoping for additional input.

 

[pauls girl]

holy moly...for fun, I just checked out the ebay I3 stones Derekinla was talking about - um, lets just say that I have seen scratched glass wash up onto shore at the beach after bobbing around in the ocean for 25 years that looks better that that crud! Bleh!

Thanks for a good chuckle!

 

[derekinla]

*Bump* Hoping for more lovely pics of some real "gems" people have come across in their search for frozen spit

 

[mike04456]

Here are a couple of real beauties.

 

[mike04456]

 

[derekinla]

Lawgem,

LMAO!!

Why would ANYONE mount that???!@#?@#?

The first one at least looks "white" and I can kind of see how an inexperienced newbie might fall for it (after several beers), but the second one boggles the mind. But hey, it's a REAL diamond

And did you see that piece of lint under the prong at 10 O'Clock?

 

[pqcollectibles]

Ben! How thoughtful! That first pic is just what I had in mind!

But I do have to say, that second one is really something else, again. I'd go for that one 'cause it has that great "birthmark" right under the table. I'd be able to identify my diamond anywhere!

All I want for Christmas is some frozen spit! Some frozen spit!

Everybody sing!

 

[dimonbob]

Once upon a time not too far in the past ... about seven or eight years ago. The United States Department of Defense sold off its large supply of "industrial diamonds".
Not long after that there was a huge supply of very very cheap diamond jewelry. On the wholesale level this stuff sells for $50 or less per carat and I am talking about diamonds that are already faceted, not rough.

Most diamonds that are mined out of the diamond pipes, not the alluvial deposits in the rivers and the sea, are industrial diamonds that never get used in the jewelry industry. These industrial diamonds were funneled to the industrial needs. When the Pentagon auctioned off its industrial diamonds guess who had the highest bid for many of the lots?

Cheap rough + cheap labor = frozen spit I5 clarity diamonds. How do you think a 5ct total weight diamond bracelet in 14kt yellow gold can sell for $495? And they still make a profit! You can see the Christmas TV adds.

 

[Jennifer5973]

This one is a real winner too. Talk about carbon spots.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Is that a picture of the moon???

Industrial grade diamonds?? Really??

 

[jenibear]

I missed all the fun yesterday...

That first one Law Gem posted is just what I was talking about. What makes it look that way?
That second one, well, I don't know what to say!

And don't ask why I'm up at this ungodly hour.

 

[Jennifer5973]

----------------
On 12/6/2003 1:14:53 AM pqcollectibles wrote:

Is that a picture of the moon???

Industrial grade diamonds?? Really??

----------------

No--an eBay diamond... This vendor has some real junk. Check this stunner out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?

 

[phoenixgirl]

It's not that I wonder why the stones look like that -- I wonder why anyone would take the time to cut a stone like that and then mount it as jewelry. Furthermore, I wonder who would ever buy that. I can understand if it said you were getting an SI3 stone and you were shocked when you opened a package of frozen spit, but why would anyone ever knowingly buy a diamond like that? I mean, I know that sometimes your woman wants a 2 carat diamond and you're only willing to spend $800, but does this woman not notice the imperfections? Is she pleased with this gift? I know a gift is a gift, but I think I would just be upset that my guy wasted a perfectly good $800 on crap.

Hello! Just buy a simulant!

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

----------------
On 12/6/2003 7:13:07 PM phoenixgirl wrote:




I know that sometimes your woman wants a 2 carat diamond and you're only willing to spend $800, but does this woman not notice the imperfections? Is she pleased with this gift? I know a gift is a gift, but I think I would just be upset that my guy wasted a perfectly good $800 on crap.

Hello! Just buy a simulant!
----------------

Problem can be in guy's thinking size is more important than quality...

Some of us are just plain cheap, but will get you what you want...Are approach might be flawed, but our intent is probably genuine...Lol...

 

[pqcollectibles]

My thoughts exactly, PhoenixGirl! Why would anyone Buy/Sell much less Cut a diamond that looks like that??

The 1st pic that Law Gem posted and the ring pic that Jennifer posted are very much like the diamonds I saw when I was out shopping the other day. I took a spin into a local B&M for entertainment and they had an entire display of diamond studs that were WHITE. It was bizarre! And, then I realized, I've seen women wearing e-ring with things that look like that. That got me to wonder what makes those "diamonds" (and I use that term loosely at this point) look like that. My problem then, was how to I post the query to grab attention and get some answers. My daughter gave me the idea. As we were walking out of the shop, she said, "More frozen spit, Mom."

I PM'd Rich Sherwood for his input. Hope he doesn't mind me sharing his thoughts:

"Usually the milkiness is caused by clouds of microscopic pinpoints throughout the stone. Sometimes just loads of feathers combined with "salt & pepper" crystal inclusions can give the same effect.

Heavily included stones usually do have a certain durability risk factor over that of a higher quality stone. Surface breaking feather in particular can threaten the integrity of the stone, particularly if they run to the girdle."

EEeenteresting! Very EEeenteresting!

Luv the eBay pics, guys!

Great for education and demonstation!

 

[derekinla]

*Bump* for some more laughs

 

[Gearhead]

Hey now, go easy on Ebay. I've used Ebay numerous times both as buyer and user and have had nothing short of stellar results. OK, so there may be a few diamonds of so so quality up for auction. But at least they are honest. Take a look at this one I found:









The description under the pic says: 10 time magnified...We promise..."U GET WHAT U SEE" /idealbb/images/smilies/9.gif




gh

 

[Griffin]

IMHO anything under I2 classifies as "drill bit"

Seeing as how you can get marginally face-up eye clean stones for a few hundred a carat, I don't see the point to anyone mounting this stuff....

 

[Mara]

At that point the setting is worth more than the stone.




Hey but at least it's WHITE! No yellow there!