New Diamond 'upgrade' what makes it really shine?

[bunnycat]

Well...what you are going through right now underlines the reasons I don't deal with *most* brick and mortar stores anymore. (Not all, surely, but the majority I feel this way about). This is why I stick to reputable online vendors that have VERY clearly laid out policies. SoOOOO many people still buy expensive purchases like a diamond with an emotional "oooh-shiney" mentality (ka-ching there goes $10K) and doing little to no research and then we end up like here one day....

You are in a sticky situation and I think it is going to require quick thinking on your part, and some logical and financial soul searching as well.

Let me also explain a possible reason why this is becoming so difficult and also a possible pitfall for you.

The diamond you have is EGL, and was bought when they still sold EGL. Now they are being forced to buy it from you but they can't resell it as is (I'm guessing) unless they sell it on eBay. So, they'd have to have it recerted under GIA or whatever is acceptable now. ANd it will most likely not come back as the E whatever that EGL certed it as. (I recall one person on here had an EGL stone graded E, sent to GIA and it came back an I. This is why I am telling you to go look at properly graded stones, to see what colors are ACTUALLY acceptable to you, and not just the words on paper.)

Logically- I can think of a few scenarios.

1- You agree to buy the new diamond after negotiating a return period from them, in writing. I looked at their website. Use that as your guideline under returns. Then (I personally would go in person to negotiate your stone), if you can't get enough for your stone, return the diamond you bought.

2- To try and get full value for your stone could buy an Idealscope (they are NOT hard to use) and go IN PERSON to look at the stones in their inventory and use the Idealscope to find one that has decent light return and acceptable specs. This still leaves you beholden to them if you ever want to upgrade again. You'd have to deal with them again and possibly the same problems. But if you don't ever want to upgrade again then you'd be done for the cost of a plane ticket and $25 for the Idealscope.

3- Assess the logistics of how much you are being asked to spend ($12K or so) on a new stone, versus what they are likely to give you on your stone. Based on the things I said about EGL stones, and how they can't sell them, you should absolutely not expect anywhere near what you paid....For instance, and I'm just guessing, if they recert your stone, and find they can sell it for 6K at it's new cert level, then I would be surprised if you got offered 70% of that.

So, work through the logic of this scenario, since it involves moving away from working with them. If you were asked to spend 12K, and only got 4K (or so, there's no way to know without going through scenario 1 above) for your stone would it be better to spend that 8K elsewhere from a reputable vendor (the ones most used here on PS are Good Old Gold, High Performance Diamonds, Whiteflash, Brian Gavin, Blue Nile and James Allen), where there is a GOOD WRITTEN upgrade policy, and just start again? Then sell your old stone for what you can get on the secondary market?

Aside from having to start again to get where you want, and the financial burden it may create to do this, you would be out from under having to deal with this store again, could get involved with a vendor that has a GOOD upgrade policy (research the specifics of each vendor, they all differ a little). And if you go look at well cut stones in the real world, I am really pretty sure you will find you can tolerate a stone lower in color than a E IF....but you are going to have to put in the miles and the work to find out.

Sorry this is so lengthy, but you really have a lot to think about.

 

[cokewithvanilla]

So, really, hurry up and buy this stone and then later, after you're locked in, they will tell you how much your trade in is worth? NO.

Also IF clarity will be more $ than VS. You can get more size, it is an "upgrade" after all, by lowering the clarity. GIA VS will most usually be eye-clean. I say sell your stone outright and buy online. Pricescopers can help you find a beautiful diamond without all the high pressure BS.

I am not so much worried about size. Correct me if i am wrong, but then I look at VS1 stones at 1.36/g/ideal cut I am about 1k-1.5k cheaper than the 1.36/g/if/ideal... in my mind, why have inclusions if you can not have them for 1.5k? i know that this might not be visible at all, but i can't wrap my mind around it. I also know that I could see inclusions from the side on my vs1 stone,, but that could be because its EGL

 

[cokewithvanilla]

Ok, so apparently the 1.36 stone fell through, and they are now offering a 1.25 stone at 10,200, but I have to pay up front by wire. etc.

.8 on hac report number 6235882682. While it is rated IF, it appears to have flaws on the surface?? I can see dots in some of the pictures.

 

[bunnycat]

Ok, so apparently the 1.36 stone fell through, and they are now offering a 1.25 stone at 10,200, but I have to pay up front by wire. etc.

.8 on hac report number 6235882682. While it is rated IF, it appears to have flaws on the surface?? I can see dots in some of the pictures.

Well- the idealscope looks fine. (I knew it was BS that they couldn't do that for you...) I'm not much good when it comes to talking about inclusions, because at my age, most everything is eyeclean so perhaps someone else can comment if you start a new thread and post the IS images and stone image.... remember these things are magnified on the by dozens of magnitudes....We're talking a 7mm stone here....draw that out on paper and scale down whatever you see....

IF means internally flawless at 10x magnification. Not internally flawless at all magnifications, just to be clear. (WHich is why I find spending for IF fairly useless. There's always going to be a flaw at some level of magnification of you go big enough...)

If you mean dots on the hearts image (which is the bottom of the diamond) then that is probably photography issues in the setup. That is an actual picture of the stone, magnified with a hearts viewer (a little red cone). because face up, I see nothing in the stone picture...

 

[bunnycat]

here's the specs. you may want to start a quick thread to ask about the dots you see. I think they are from the photo setup, but as I say, lots of stuff is eyeclean for me, excepting clouds....

Post this info from the cert and the cert number with it so people don't have to hunt for it if they don't want to. As long as no one thinks the shallow crown doesn't pose any risks, it sounds like your best option:

Depth
58.8 %
Table
57 %
Crown Angle
32.0°
Crown Height
13.5%
Pavilion Angle
40.8°
Pavilion Depth
43.0%
Star Length
45%
Lower Half
75%

 

[gm89uk]

Doesn't appear to be an idealscope image to me. Neither does it look like a typical arrows picture. Not entirely sure what it is. None of the contrast points are showing around the edge as you'd expect unless it was heavily painted, which it doesn't seem to be from the picture.

This stone has a shallow crown and won't have as much fire as a more ideally cut stone. May be nice and bright though.

I am not so much worried about size. Correct me if i am wrong, but then I look at VS1 stones at 1.36/g/ideal cut I am about 1k-1.5k cheaper than the 1.36/g/if/ideal... in my mind, why have inclusions if you can not have them for 1.5k? i know that this might not be visible at all, but i can't wrap my mind around it. I also know that I could see inclusions from the side on my vs1 stone,, but that could be because its EGL

Because it's still 1k to 1.5k towards an invisible improvement. As mentioned, IF is only IF until you use a stronger loupe. That 1.5k can go towards a more perfectly cut diamond, towards that new laptop.. I'd take an ideally proportioned cut 1.36/G/vs1 over 1.36/G/IF less will proportioned for the same price.

EGL is commonly two grades out, could be GIA si1 ish, which very well may have inclusions visible from the side. You really can't take our word for it, you must simply just go look for yourself. Bunnycat has given great advice.

 

[bunnycat]

Doesn't appear to be an idealscope image to me. Neither does it look like a typical arrows picture. Not entirely sure what it is. None of the contrast points are showing around the edge as you'd expect unless it was heavily painted, which it doesn't seem to be from the picture.

This stone has a shallow crown and won't have as much fire as a more ideally cut stone. May be nice and bright though.

I am not so much worried about size. Correct me if i am wrong, but then I look at VS1 stones at 1.36/g/ideal cut I am about 1k-1.5k cheaper than the 1.36/g/if/ideal... in my mind, why have inclusions if you can not have them for 1.5k? i know that this might not be visible at all, but i can't wrap my mind around it. I also know that I could see inclusions from the side on my vs1 stone,, but that could be because its EGL

Because it's still 1k to 1.5k towards an invisible improvement. As mentioned, IF is only IF until you use a stronger loupe. That 1.5k can go towards a more perfectly cut diamond, towards that new laptop.. I'd take an ideally proportioned cut 1.36/G/vs1 over 1.36/G/IF less will proportioned for the same price.

EGL is commonly two grades out, could be GIA si1 ish, which very well may have inclusions visible from the side. You really can't take our word for it, you must simply just go look for yourself. Bunnycat has given great advice.

*********
Well, it is not an ASET image, that much is sure, but it is also not an arrows image (though it does show its arrows). So that only leaves the typical red/black Idealscope image for it to be unless there is something new lately???? (I didn't say they did a great job on the photography. I was thinking the oddness at the points came from lighting issues because it doesn't seem to look like typical leakage does in an IS....maybe I am wrong.)

This is a tricky situation, and of the stones available to the OP, may be the OP's best option. The picture shown is not an EGL stone. It is GIA (see report number). My main concern for having OP ask a general question is whether there is a chipping risk with the shallow crown or not...Stone candidates are rather limited....

ETA----I did do some searching about the topic and found this thread, also discussing a shallow stone with much the same specs as this one, and an arrows image that showed some similarites to this IS....perhaps some of the oddness is coming fromt he shallow. If so, commenting on it is beyond me. Take a look at the thread I am posting, and see where they go with that. That is what I am about to do....My instinct says it is not a deal breaker...It will be closer to a 60/60 stone performance wise (tending to white light, rather than fire...)

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/is-this-round-brilliant-cut-too-shallow.199702/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/is-this-round-brilliant-cut-too-shallow.199702/[/URL]

 

[gm89uk]

I understand this stone isn't EGL, I'm referring to the already owned stone being not eye clean vs1 influencing future discussions about which clarity to buy.

Id say it's not of an arrows pic than an idealscope too.

 

[bunnycat]

CokeWV- I am going to post this video for you to watch. These are all GIA XXX stones, and he is doing a performance comparison. The stone you are looking at is cut more like the first stone (tends to white light). It may give you an idea of how it could perform.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz3qn2Tx6oI

and here is a short video on color (and everyone else too) I think you should see....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBfd99gsydc

 

[cokewithvanilla]

I have looked at the videos. I wish they showed the angles and whatnot in the description. They are really trying to rush me here. I replied to his email saying that if he wanted me to wire money for a stone sight unseen, then i would expect that he would give me a price for my stone sight unseen. He replied with another stone... another shallow crown. 32.5... now I am getting confused. These show up great on HCA.. so what dimensions, exactly, am i looking for?

 

[bunnycat]

I have looked at the videos. I wish they showed the angles and whatnot in the description. They are really trying to rush me here. I replied to his email saying that if he wanted me to wire money for a stone sight unseen, then i would expect that he would give me a price for my stone sight unseen. He replied with another stone... another shallow crown. 32.5... now I am getting confused. These show up great on HCA.. so what dimensions, exactly, am i looking for?

The first video does show angles on the report. You need to watch it full screen and halt the video to read it.

Basic angles in the video are:

Crown 32, Pav 41.2 for first stone, Crown 33.5, Pav 41 second stone, Crown 35 pav 41.4 third stone. The third type of stone (steep/deep) is what I would always avoid. The shallow one is a slightly different flavor of diamond called 60/60 because the table and depth are close to each other around 60/60. This type of stone is/was popular because it maximizes spread (diameter) but it is also not the current "favorite" super ideal cutting. It doesn't make it bad, just different with different light return. The shallower crown will put out more white light, rather than fire. (And, as a personal note, I'd take that any day over the leakage of a steep/deep stone....in fact, I had a stone once with a shallower crown (though not 32 shallow) and it was very pretty. It was not quite today's favorite super ideal flavor, but it wasn't leaky either....)

Generally, you want to look at diamonds with these parameters and get an idealscope image of them (the red and black picture)....

Here is an old "cheat sheet" that was written to help people discard stones that are out of spec. You ideally still need an idealscope image to check light return....Just like the new one they are offering to you. Even with the better crown angle, you still need the other specs to see how the angles play together, and an idealscope image. I also strongly urge you to negotiate a return period. I also still strongly urge you to broaden your parameters on color/clarity so you can maximize your options....

depth - 60 - 62% -
table - 54- 57%
crown angle - 34- 35 degrees
pavilion angle - 40.6- 41 degrees
girdle - avoid extremes, look for thin to slightly thick, thin to medium etc
polish and symmetry - very good and above

 

[gm89uk]

I'd never even consider an IF stone because there are more important things that CAN be seen that are more important. CUT is number one. I'll post the numbers below to look for. Color is second, but since you are looking at E-F color, you are fine on that. Clarity, VS1 is ideal to me for someone who wants a stone that is clean with a 10x loupe. I don't care to pay for higher than that because you can't see the difference.

These are measurements to help you stay in ideal cut territory with a GIA excellent cut stone. (Choose excellent cut, polish, and symmetry.)

table: 54-58

depth: 60-62.3

crown angle: 34-35.0 (up to 35.5 crown angle can sometimes work with a 40.6 pav angle)

pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (sometimes 41.0 if the crown angle is close to 34)

This is a post earlier in this thread. HCA is a tool not just for rings but earings pendants. It purely measures theoretical light leakage, so bright white shallow crown stones that aren't fiery will score excellent on HCA (although I don't find its analysis particularly accurate). Generally higher crowns are more fiery if paired with the correct pavilion.

Never rush anything this big

 

[John P]

Doesn't appear to be an idealscope image to me. Neither does it look like a typical arrows picture. Not entirely sure what it is. None of the contrast points are showing around the edge as you'd expect unless it was heavily painted, which it doesn't seem to be from the picture.

The image in question was not made in a normal Ideal-scope or H&A Viewer setup.

Ideal-scope uses a light source underneath the diamond. Areas where light passes through the diamond, instead of returning to the viewer's eyes, show up as white or a lighter shade of red. A diamond with robust light return will have black pavilion mains (aka arrows), reflecting the black cap, and strong even red with small, symmetrical white-points of contrast leakage.

H&A viewer does not have a light source under the diamond, so no leakage is seen. Light from the side is coded red - or blue or whatever the color of the filament-paper happens to be. The magnifier is elevated above the viewer so that the pavilion mains (aka arrows) will be illuminated white.


Summarized:

* Ideal-Scope uses light under the diamond. Arrows are black. Windowing or leakage shows up as light, or white.
* H&A Viewer uses black under the diamond. Arrows are white. No leakage is shown.

At first glance the image below seems made in a H&A Viewer setup. It has the black background. There is a partial pattern of expected white reflections, but somehow the pavilion mains are black. No structured light environments of which I'm aware isolate pavilion mains with obstruction (causing dark arrows) while other light coming from high angles remains white. There is also a reflection at the bottom of the image. Diamonds in analytical viewers are photographed from above, not lying on their sides, so I would not expect a reflection.

 

[bunnycat]

Well- CokeWV, John (the best of the bestest!!! ) has come to look at the strange image that's not really one or the other and no one knows why!

I do recall seeing that reflection in black before, and had to think about it. But WHiteflash IS images have a small reflection beneath them too, on a black background....

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3772293.htm

It's very interesting, but also all this extra discussion I suspect is overloading OP.

You came to PS asking a question of what makes a diamond shine? And, all these answers which are a great discussion, but maybe making you confused. (???)

So, can we go back to basics for a moment since you did ask that question. Do you feel your current stone doesn't shine? What made you dissatisfied with it to want to upgrade it? Do you have its EGL report and can you post the angles listed on it?

Crown angle (or percent)
pavilion angle (or percent)
Table
Depth

All the things you need to run the HCA

 

[John P]

Well- CokeWV, John (the best of the bestest!!! ) has come to look at the strange image that's not really one or the other and no one knows why!

Well thank you, bunnycat.

I do recall seeing that reflection in black before, and had to think about it. But WHiteflash IS images have a small reflection beneath them too, on a black background....

That detail isn't problematic. Some sellers may choose to move photos onto a template for consistency. The bigger mystery: How is it possible for the diamond's pavilion mains to reflect darkness while areas drawing light from the same angular range reflect white light?

 

[bunnycat]

Well- CokeWV, John (the best of the bestest!!! ) has come to look at the strange image that's not really one or the other and no one knows why!

Well thank you, bunnycat.

I do recall seeing that reflection in black before, and had to think about it. But WHiteflash IS images have a small reflection beneath them too, on a black background....

That detail isn't problematic. Some sellers may choose to move photos onto a template for consistency. The bigger mystery: How is it possible for the diamond's pavilion mains to reflect darkness while areas drawing light from the same angular range reflect white light?

You are welcome - you deserve major kudos. I always enjoy reading your commentary.

At first I thought bad photography, but then I found that thread from a few years ago about shallow crown angles, but the image was done with arrows viewer, and it had some of the same odd white patches so then I wondered if it had to do with the shallow crown? That doesn't quite make sense to me either....I can almost make my Idealscope do that if I'm pointed sideways to the light but my stone is set, and I can't quite get the same white reflected areas but by not putting the reflector over the stone entirely, I can get a mix of white facet reflection fro the light source with the red and black from the tilted scope. My stone is a BG Blue, and the cutting is of course, lovely...)

 

[gm89uk]

Thanks for the info John. mixed lighting possibly with an electronically generated reflection?

 

[ringo865]

Please keep your wallet in your pocket. If they're high pressuring you, there's probably something in it for them (not you).

You do not need to upgrade today or tomorrow, or next week even. You want to upgrade.

You also do not need to sell your diamond back to this vendor for some unknown price told to you only after you lock into something they want you to wire $thousands$ right this second.

Take some time to look at your options, even if that means selling the current stone outright (e.g., diamond bistro or loupe troop), consigning it (jewels by grace or love affair diamonds), or do like I keep doing: keep it and get another one

Basically, the only one who sounds like they're on a big rush to make a deal is your vendor.

This should be a fun and exciting process, not a nail-biting anxiety attack.

 

[John P]

Thanks for the info John. mixed lighting possibly with an electronically generated reflection?

Such a mix isn't theoretically possible.

Here's the obstruction pattern for a modern round brilliant. Those areas all reflect back what's directly above the diamond. If black is directly above the diamond (like the cap of Ideal-scope or camera lens) those areas are black. If blue is directly above (like the cap of ASET) those areas are blue.


The only way the areas shown above can reflect white is in a situation where space exists between the body of the viewer and the observer's eye (or camera lens) permitting white light to come in unobstructed.


Summary: The facets in a diamond's obstruction pattern all draw their light from the same angular range. They should be reflecting the same color.

 

[cokewithvanilla]

Thanks for all the input, guys. This decision has become so much more complicated than I had imagined. This is all very overwhelming. I haven't even had a chance to properly digest all your posts. It does not help that I am looking with a company in GA and i am in OH. The good thing is, I have it drilled into my head that cut is the most important. The problem is, its hard to find one that's cut right!

This is the one I am replacing, you can probably see why I want to exchange it. I am going to look into those sites mentioned and see if I can sell it. Maybe, if I sell it with the setting, i can get close to what the store will offer me and then I will be able to look at one of the vendors you guys listed.

 

[Karl_K]

Remove the top ring of the h&a scope and put the camera lens there or below it, will give you that image.
One reason I can think of is the camera wouldn't focus at that distance with it on.
If the distance is too great for the macro setting and too close for the regular setting the camera won't focus.
Considering the size of the typical h&a scope that is possible.

It doesn't appear to me to be photoshop when enlarged 800% unless someone spent many hours on it.

 

[John P]

Remove the top ring of the h&a scope and put the camera lens there or below it, will give you that image.

I just did this and tried it. Karl_K for the win.


When I brought the black lens of the camera down to the maw of the viewer the pavilion-mains reflected black. But the white disks continued to make some facets reflect white.

Such a "chopped" viewer image is useless for any kind of light-return deduction. But it's groovy to learn something new! Props to gm89uk for the prediction and Karl_K for the specifics.

To the original poster: Sorry for the threadjack!

 

[bunnycat]

Remove the top ring of the h&a scope and put the camera lens there or below it, will give you that image.

I just did this and tried it. Karl_K for the win.


When I brought the black lens of the camera down to the maw of the viewer the pavilion-mains reflected black. But the white disks continued to make some facets reflect white.

Such a "chopped" viewer image is useless for any kind of light-return deduction. But it's groovy to learn something new! Props to gm89uk for the prediction and Karl_K for the specifics.

To the original poster: Sorry for the threadjack!

Y'all are awesome! I figured it was a photographic issue of some sort...but there ended my thoughts....

 

[bunnycat]

Thanks for all the input, guys. This decision has become so much more complicated than I had imagined. This is all very overwhelming. I haven't even had a chance to properly digest all your posts. It does not help that I am looking with a company in GA and i am in OH. The good thing is, I have it drilled into my head that cut is the most important. The problem is, its hard to find one that's cut right!

This is the one I am replacing, you can probably see why I want to exchange it. I am going to look into those sites mentioned and see if I can sell it. Maybe, if I sell it with the setting, i can get close to what the store will offer me and then I will be able to look at one of the vendors you guys listed.

No, not really...it's no worse a picture than some others I have seen. You are in very bright light. Diamonds seem to turn dark in bright light because your eyes can't process what you see. If you want to show us how badly (or well) it is cut, you need to take some pics like this. Up close and personal and bright but diffuse lighting. No flash. Direct sun is not helpful for this....

My current ring (lighting is not the best at this house, but what can you do?):


My OEC (I miss the light we had at this house!)


So why I am asking you about all of this size, measurement and table mess? I am going to possibly suggest another option...

Might you consider a recut on the stone??? It kind of depends on a lot of things. But there are a LOT of threads on this here. DOne successfully and beautifully....

Here's the latest one...

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/recut-a-round-heirloom-diamond.225849/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/recut-a-round-heirloom-diamond.225849/[/URL]

 

[cokewithvanilla]

lol you guys are wayyy over my head. I much better equipped for purchasing a vehicle than i am a diamond. im trying to take in videos and info. Ultimately, I just hope not to get screwed! I feel as if i was with my EGL.


Wow, those recut stones look really good! I imagine you lose size on a recut. The only thing i'd be concerned about with trying that is that I can see inclusions on my stone from the side. It REALLY bothers me. Your stones look very nice, by the way

 

[bunnycat]

lol you guys are wayyy over my head. I much better equipped for purchasing a vehicle than i am a diamond. im trying to take in videos and info. Ultimately, I just hope not to get screwed! I feel as if i was with my EGL.


Wow, those recut stones look really good! I imagine you lose size on a recut. The only thing i'd be concerned about with trying that is that I can see inclusions on my stone from the side. It REALLY bothers me. Your stones look very nice, by the way

Do you have the stats on your stone you could share??? If it is deep (probably, that is the current majority of stones) you would lose weight but probably not much diameter. (In other words, looking at it, it would look about the same size diameter-wise, but it would weigh less because a lot of the carat weight is hiding in the bottom of the stone (where you can't see it anyway) and it makes it sound better on paper.... Trust me....I recently saw someone almost BUY (I was at a wholesale place) a 1ct diamond with a 6mm diameter... (Can you say steep and deep????) A 6mm stone that is well cut weighs about .80, so that person was going to PAY ETXRA for all that dea weight at the bottom of the stone, just so they could SAY they had a carat, even though from the top down view it looked like a .80

In car lingo, how would you transpose this???? IT SAYS on the ticket it's 6 cylinder but in reality when you look under the hood, 2 cylinders aren't really there so you paid for 6 cylinders and got 4??? (I don't know much about cars...sorry...Just- I need good brakes to avoid crazy drivers and lots of get up and go because its a small car and sometimes people don't see me...)

 

[cokewithvanilla]

That is interesting. I wish i had my specs. I cannot find my paperwork anywhere. I am going to ask soloman brothers if they happen to have it on hand.

 

[Karl_K]

32 crown angle and 40.8 pavilion has increased potential for damage over a diamond with a steeper crown.
A thicker girdle can compensate some what.
The spots could be dust.

While I didn't read all the posts I saw egl mentioned, the only 2 labs that I would accept that an IF was really an IF are ags and gia.

Thanks sir John for the verification on the image and pointing this thread out to me.

 

[bunnycat]

32 crown angle and 40.8 pavilion has increased potential for damage over a diamond with a steeper crown.
A thicker girdle can compensate some what.
The spots could be dust.

While I didn't read all the posts I saw egl mentioned, the only 2 labs that I would accept that an IF was really an IF are ags and gia.

Thanks sir John for the verification on the image and pointing this thread out to me.

The new potential stone is gia e if. The in hand stone is the egl e vs1 I think I recall from page 1... so in real terms anywhere from g-I ish maybe and maybe Si?

CokeWV- if you can't find or get your specs, a jeweler or appraiser can probably do some basic measurements of it, even while set.

If you remember buying it as a 1.26 cut stone, that would make it just under 7mm if it is well cut. If it is shallow, it would probably measure over 7mm and if deep (which is what I suspect based on the look of your ring shank width) then it will be definitely under 7mm. Those are the ones that tend to not lose much diameter in a recut, just weight.

 

[Lore]

Ideal-scope uses a light source underneath the diamond. Areas where light passes through the diamond, instead of returning to the viewer's eyes, show up as white or a lighter shade of red. A diamond with robust light return will have black pavilion mains (aka arrows), reflecting the black cap, and strong even red with small, symmetrical white-points of contrast leakage.

John, this was an incredibly informative post, and potentially answers a question that has been bugging me for a long time. I bolded an area that I've been wondering about - what are the small, symmetrical points of contrast leakage? Is it the stuff I've circled in blue or the stuff I've circled in black? Or both?

Based on what I've read, I assume the stuff in blue is true leakage since it's the white background, but what's the lighter red/pink in black?



(Apologies for highjacking the thread!!!)