White specks when looking at stone w/ direct light?

[mrwish]

When my fiancee was taking pictures of her ring with flash she noticed some white specs in the diamond. We thought it was dirty so we tried cleaning it w/ dish soap and a toothbrush, which helped a little. There's also a spot in the middle that looks almost like a water spot but cant get off.

It is a VS1 clarity w/ faint fluoro, could that be the cause? Under normal lighting conditions you are not able to notice them though. On the GIA report it says that pinpoints are not included, are these what they were referring to?

I read that it could be dust or polishing compound?

 

[tkyasx78]

I would take it to the jeweler to have it cleaned. I would bet that it needs a good cleaning with a clean air dry. Wiping even with a cloth often leaves stuff behind.

 

[Nikki1415]

If you clean it yourself (Dawn, water, toothbrush), use a hair dryer instead of wiping it.

 

[rockysalamander]

Can you give us the gia number?

 

[the_mother_thing]

Along with others’ comments regarding cleaning, I will share that I see this happen on my diamonds also when cleaning them in my regular tap water, which is a little ‘hard’. When I’ve traveled to places with naturally-soft or system-softened water, they are gone and my diamonds are spic & span clean and spot-free. So I chalk it up to hard water stains on the diamond.

Try keeping a bottle of distilled water on hand for just cleaning the ring, and see what a difference that possibly makes. I keep some on hand for when I break out my steam cleaner, which I’m LOOOOONG overdue for doing.

ETA: others on PS have commented in the past that they also spritz or rinse their diamonds in rubbing alcohol after cleaning to alleviate such marks, but be sure to consult your jeweler first to ensure you don’t experience an adverse effect on the metal/setting.

 

[kmoro]

Yep - looks like it could be a few things ... first thing that comes to mind is dirt ... maybe consider a investing in a little ultrasonic cleaner ... many recommend the magnasonic around $40 but you can go all the way to $500 for a high end Elma one. The cheap one will work as good at first but will deteriorate a lot faster because of cheaper materials.
The next things are facet reflections and inclusions. It could be that the virtual facets are reflecting, which is to be expected ... and yes, it is possible that those are the inclusions being reflected around the diamond ... having said that, I still think dirt is the culprit.

 

[mrwish]

thanks for the input, its only been a week since wee got the ring and she has only worn it around the house. we tried cleaning it w/ dish soap, water, and a little rubbing alcohol. dried with a hair dryer but still no luck...

the thing is the diamond looks amazing under normal lamp lighting but once we shine the iphone light on it you can start to see those specks. i'm convinced its something under the diamond? also that water spot looking thing doesn't come off.

i will try too grab the gia cert tomorrow, but the inclusion diagram only had like 7 very tiny dots/crystals

 

[the_mother_thing]

@mrwish did you clean underneath the diamond as well, like with a brush and the soapy water? Another cleaner mix I use is Mr. Clean citrus diluted with distilled water. I keep that in a little le creuset ‘pot’ with a lid so I can just put my earrings, rings, etc in there to soak for a bit each day, give them a quick/gentle scrub with a brush, then rinse and dry. That has helped cut down on the hard water staining, but I also wash my hands about 100x/day, but I think the cleaning solution helps keep them at bay to some degree.

 

[Dancing Fire]

That is a DIRTY DIAMOND!

 

[mrwish]

@mrwish did you clean underneath the diamond as well, like with a brush and the soapy water? Another cleaner mix I use is Mr. Clean citrus diluted with distilled water. I keep that in a little le creuset ‘pot’ with a lid so I can just put my earrings, rings, etc in there to soak for a bit each day, give them a quick/gentle scrub with a brush, then rinse and dry. That has helped cut down on the hard water staining, but I also wash my hands about 100x/day, but I think the cleaning solution helps keep them at bay to some degree.

I am only able to clean the sides in between the prongs, other than that the bottom is covered. I used warm-hot brita filtered water mixed with dish soap then let it soak for 15-20 mins. soft tooth brush to clean the sides and top. then dried with hair dryer.

Again, it looks really really good after! but once we shine an LED light or iphone light on it you can see those spots

 

[kmoro]

Well, my diamond is pretty clean but not spotless, and when I shine my iPhone light on it, it does the same thing. This is dirt and facet reflections - it is VVS2. I’ve looked at it with a microscope and it is remarkably clear.

Your report may say “additional pinpoints not shown”, or it could be clouds not shown etc. They will plot those visible at 10x, but all diamonds have some inclusions that become visible if the magnification is high enough. FL/IF diamonds are not really flawless ... just not possible.

That water spot looking thing may be a cloud but you have indicated the report shows dots/crystals.

Maybe try cleaning it with vinegar ... that will remove water spots. I wasn’t sure if vinegar would be safe, so I googled it. Seems ok but personally, I would be careful if the ring is plated as vinegar is acidic.

I would try just plain vinegar, but I found this:
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.theknot.com/content/amphtml/how-to-clean-diamond-ring-at-home

Hopefully this helps!

 

[mrwish]

this is under regular room lighting

 

[mrwish]

Well, my diamond is pretty clean but not spotless, and when I shine my iPhone light on it, it does the same thing. This is dirt and facet reflections - it is VVS2. I’ve looked at it with a microscope and it is remarkably clear.

Your report may say “additional pinpoints not shown”, or it could be clouds not shown etc. They will plot those visible at 10x, but all diamonds have some inclusions that become visible if the magnification is high enough. FL/IF diamonds are not really flawless ... just not possible.

That water spot looking thing may be a cloud but you have indicated the report shows dots/crystals.

Maybe try cleaning it with vinegar ... that will remove water spots. I wasn’t sure if vinegar would be safe, so I googled it. Seems ok but personally, I would be careful if the ring is plated as vinegar is acidic.

I would try just plain vinegar, but I found this:
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.theknot.com/content/amphtml/how-to-clean-diamond-ring-at-home

Hopefully this helps!

thank you! that is actually relieving that you said that and yours is a vvs2. i will read more about vinegar and may give it a shot. yes it does say add pinpoints are not shown but no clouds indicated anywhere

the only thing is I dont think that water spot is on a surface that I can clean...we tried several times and it hasn't even changed

 

[kmoro]

thank you! that is actually relieving that you said that and yours is a vvs2. i will read more about vinegar and may give it a shot. yes it does say add pinpoints are not shown but no clouds indicated anywhere.

Yes - and once you said that you can’t access the bottom of the diamond - it really makes sense that it’s just dirty! The tiniest bits of dust and water spots show up like that ... I have a little ultrasonic that I don’t use and wish I could just send it to you, lol.

 

[mrwish]

Yes - and once you said that you can’t access the bottom of the diamond - it really makes sense that it’s just dirty! The tiniest bits of dust and water spots show up like that ... I have a little ultrasonic that I don’t use and wish I could just send it to you, lol.

ahh! will an ultrasonic be able to help with that? i was just so confused because i assumed that they would clean off everything extra carefully before setting something tthat is permanent!

 

[tkyasx78]

Your diamond will NOT stay spotless clean for a week.
Daily cleaning will help but diamonds attract dust and dirt. Hard water will also make them dirty. Canned air and a good ultrasonic cleaner will do well in between jeweler cleanings!

 

[kmoro]

ahh! will an ultrasonic be able to help with that? i was just so confused because i assumed that they would clean off everything extra carefully before setting something tthat is permanent!

They probably did. You’re going to be amazed at how fast they get dirty.

And yes, an ultrasonic will take care of it. Just rinse with distilled water afterwards and blow dry.

 

[mrwish]

Your diamond will NOT stay spotless clean for a week.
Daily cleaning will help but diamonds attract dust and dirt. Hard water will also make them dirty. Canned air and a good ultrasonic cleaner will do well in between jeweler cleanings!

ya...i didn’t expect it too but that was after cleaning it so i thought it was weird. i will try the canned air tho!

 

[mrwish]

They probably did. You’re going to be amazed at how fast they get dirty.

And yes, an ultrasonic will take care of it. Just rinse with distilled water afterwards and blow dry.

gotcha, thanks! i didn’t realize that the under side of the stone could get dirty even though i can’t see it in the setting. i always thought that it should be well adapted to prevent that. i will look for an us and def try the distilled water!

 

[rockysalamander]

Can you show a side view of the ring not on a hand? It should help us see if we can recommend other cleaning methods.

 

[missy]

Lots of good advice shared and here's a thread that you might find helpful.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ultrasonic-cleaner-recommendation-please.243876/

 

[kmoro]

gotcha, thanks! i didn’t realize that the under side of the stone could get dirty even though i can’t see it in the setting. i always thought that it should be well adapted to prevent that. i will look for an us and def try the distilled water!

They are literally microscopic specks of dust and lint ... for example, I cleaned my diamond in an ultrasonic cleaner ... looked at it under a loupe, thought it was quite clean ... an hour later, I decide to wipe it with a tea cloth ... under loupe: full of stuff, lol. Which reminds me to also suggest microfibre cloths.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

My diamond ring attracts smudges like crazy. Drives me bonkers so I try not to look too closely :p

 

[bmfang]

this is under regular room lighting

Now THAT is a bloody good photo! Bravo at capturing the pavilion mains at maximum contrast!!!!!

 

[mrwish]

Now THAT is a bloody good photo! Bravo at capturing the pavilion mains at maximum contrast!!!!!

Thanks!

I did not thing that it was smudges because they almost look like particles inside/around the stone. I guess the next step is to clean it with an ultrasonic and rinse with distilled water then dry with an air can...if that doesn't work not sure what to do next lol

 

[Dancing Fire]

Thanks!

I did not thing that it was smudges because they almost look like particles inside/around the stone. I guess the next step is to clean it with an ultrasonic and rinse with distilled water then dry with an air can...if that doesn't work not sure what to do next lol

Forget the distilled water unless you wash your hands with distilled water every time when you go to the restroom.

 

[missy]

Thanks!

I did not thing that it was smudges because they almost look like particles inside/around the stone. I guess the next step is to clean it with an ultrasonic and rinse with distilled water then dry with an air can...if that doesn't work not sure what to do next lol

Instead of using air from the can I suggest spraying it with 99% rubbing alcohol after cleaning and see if that helps.

 

[Dmndsr4evr11]

this is under regular room lighting

@mrwish. Beautiful ring. It’s nice that you’re so devoted to keeping your fiancé’s ring clean and sparkly. We all get obsessive about it hahahaa. I have well water and basically soak it in the jeweler’s cleaner once a week and brush lightly with an old toothbrush. Comes out clean and sparkly. Tough to keep it spotless daily with activities though. I wash my hands a a lot and use antibacterial gel most part of the week so I do the soak every weekend. I think I’ll look into the ultrasonic too.

 

[mrwish]

Instead of using air from the can I suggest spraying it with 99% rubbing alcohol after cleaning and see if that helps.

I ordered some canned air and if that doesn't work ill try the 99 alcohol and kim wipes. Just got a magnasonic! When I put the ring in, it moves around and a prong slips through the holes, will that cause any problems if there is direct contact w/ base?

 

[mrwish]

@mrwish. Beautiful ring. It’s nice that you’re so devoted to keeping your fiancé’s ring clean and sparkly. We all get obsessive about it hahahaa. I have well water and basically soak it in the jeweler’s cleaner once a week and brush lightly with an old toothbrush. Comes out clean and sparkly. Tough to keep it spotless daily with activities though. I wash my hands a a lot and use antibacterial gel most part of the week so I do the soak every weekend. I think I’ll look into the ultrasonic too.

Thanks! I just want her ring to look good all the time! She's not one to really care about cleaning, lol.