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A love for "not perfect" diamonds

On topic... maybe we can be more welcoming by encouraging people to post their imperfect diamonds more often.

Somebody go start threads on “show me your cheap diamonds” and “Blue Nile vs. James Allen cage fight.”

And still be bros to the guys coming here to buy that one perfect engagement ring by giving them The Holy Tables and The HCA and offering to go find a diamond.

Might result in more jewelry pictures...
 
stracci2000 said:
I love the old cuts because they have so much character.
A perfect stone would be wonderful to own, but the old cuts are so interesting, with all their flaws and imperfections.
None of my diamonds are perfect. They all would get low ratings from any gem lab.
But I like them, and I feel very lucky to have stumbled across them.

This beautiful 1.23 OEC is chipped. I adopted her from our lovely @YadaYadaYada.
IMG_20200209_091933.jpg

This OEC has a yellow/green cast and is cut very wonky and has an indented natural.
IMG_20180828_162858328.jpg

This one is very white, but is cut wonky as well.
IMG_20190811_083550.jpg

This one is a .76 with no culet and has a needle inclusion that breaks the table.
IMG_20190811_083528.jpg
IMG_20200619_082926840.jpg


This one below is my MRB that is cut shallow and loses light.
IMG_20190608_095027802.jpg
Click to expand...

Wonderful - thank you!! You have a stunning collection.
 
oncrutchesrightnow said:
On topic... maybe we can be more welcoming by encouraging people to post their imperfect diamonds more often.

Somebody go start threads on “show me your cheap diamonds” and “Blue Nile vs. James Allen cage fight.”

And still be bros to the guys coming here to buy that one perfect engagement ring by giving them The Holy Tables and The HCA and offering to go find a diamond.

Might result in more jewelry pictures...
Click to expand...

The ACA and HCA fandom can be a bit tedious.

I know that's blasphemous of me.
 
musicloveranthony said:
The ACA and HCA fandom can be a bit tedious.

I know that's blasphemous of me.
Click to expand...

Darn you to heck, accursed heretic!

To be fair where else are people going to geek out about their sparkle hobby?

We could accommodate everyone if we did a “show me the worst HCA score diamond you have ever seen” thread.

I am hoping someone starts the BN vs. JA cage fight.
 
whitewave said:
I just ran across this one and don’t know where to put it, so I’m putting it here. Look at this puffy oval

www.jamesallen.com

1.00 Carat oval diamond

This oval cut 1 carat G color si2 clarity has a diamond grading report from IGI
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
Click to expand...

It’s like an explosion. :cool2:
 
Cerulean said:
Love this thread.

True confession.

I was so aggressively put off by the D-colored sparkle bombs I kept encountering in stores, I thought I just didn't like diamonds at all. They all looked almost fake and character-less to me. I mean no offense.

I felt really alienated and alone in my e-ring diamond search. Either I had to embrace the narrative around perfect, colorless diamonds, or rally against it (like many of my millennial peers)...the big, bad blindly unethical diamond marketplace, get a moissy, sapphire, or something non-traditional...I felt stuck and alienated from both sides, and i felt confused.

Then I learned about things like inclusions. And lower colors. And fancy colors. And vintage cuts. I warmed up to diamonds a lot. Had it not been for my fiance - I would've ended up with something funkier...I was really drawn to visible inclusions, wonky old cuts, rose cuts, champagne diamonds, you name it. I had fallen in love with a big MRB with a constellation of small black carbon inclusions that reminded me of Dalmatian spots. I LOVED it. He didn't. this was pre-PS...So we settled on something a bit more "traditional" - and I started hunting for a vintage cut M-color (I learned that was my sweet spot for color). I went to multiple stores and they looked at me like I was crazy. I'd ask for M explicitly, and they'd pull out fancy yellows. Most online marketplaces didn't even include M or lower in their options. How lonely!

There are still times when I read threads when someone gleefully reports how happily they'd turn down an option due due to some inferior quality and i feel a little wounded, even knowing it has nothing to do with me and is certainly not meant as an insult. i look down at MY stone, and think - gee, mine has FAR worse stats than that! and for a moment, i feel a pang - and doubt, about whether i really like my diamond, with its SI2 clarity, off white color, and imperfect cut.

and i take a moment to re-center and remind myself of who i actually am and why i loved what i did and what it represents to me. i have never sought perfection, really, for anything. why would i for a diamond?
Click to expand...

I love your whole comment. I have loved diamonds since I was a kid. My parents were antique dealers, so I grew up around antique jewelry (they didn’t sell jewelry, but other vendors did, and they knew my parents and treated me with respect and kindness at shows, educating me over the years). As I grew up and my parents retired, I saw more about modern diamonds, and I wanted to like them, but found them cold. I eventually came to terms with my preferences, and realized that I just don’t enjoy high color or modern cut diamonds. Old cuts make my heart sing. There are certain kinds of wonkiness that I adore. I don’t like the fisheye effect, but I love chunky wonkiness. I do like patterning that I can focus on. And I *love* warmth. I also love fluorescence.

All of the stones in my antique cluster ring are wonky, yet they come together in what feels like perfection to me.

722758
 
Tourmaline said:
I love your whole comment. I have loved diamonds since I was a kid. My parents were antique dealers, so I grew up around antique jewelry (they didn’t sell jewelry, but other vendors did, and they knew my parents and treated me with respect and kindness at shows, educating me over the years). As I grew up and my parents retired, I saw more about modern diamonds, and I wanted to like them, but found them cold. I eventually came to terms with my preferences, and realized that I just don’t enjoy high color or modern cut diamonds. Old cuts make my heart sing. There are certain kinds of wonkiness that I adore. I don’t like the fisheye effect, but I love chunky wonkiness. I do like patterning that I can focus on. And I *love* warmth. I also love fluorescence.

All of the stones in my antique cluster ring are wonky, yet they come together in what feels like perfection to me.

722758
Click to expand...

Stunning ring - really. I totally understand! I love a bit of wonk myself! It’s so nice to find a forum with other people who appreciate something a bit “imperfect “
 
Fun thread! It would be fun to treasure hunt one day for that perfectly imperfect gem
 
monipod said:
Same as @moneymeister - I love the older cuts because they aren't perfect. I love my F/I1 marquise because it's so very sparkly in spite of the feathers, and I adore my chunky M-coloured oval that has a baby garnet inside it. I am looking to buy a 'perfect' ACA from Whiteflash this year but I don't think I'll love it any more than the gorgeous stones I have now :D
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A diamond with a little garnet inside is literally my dream diamond! Where did you get it from?
 
Ring_obsessed said:
A diamond with a little garnet inside is literally my dream diamond! Where did you get it from?
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I bought it from Alex Park. I have to say the baby garnet is what clinched the deal for me, though with Alex, if you see it, you gotta put your hands up right away lol
 
monipod said:
I bought it from Alex Park. I have to say the baby garnet is what clinched the deal for me, though with Alex, if you see it, you gotta put your hands up right away lol
Click to expand...

I follow him on Instagram and omg stuff goes so fast!
 
02D0BA31-6238-4032-8141-6DE21280020A.jpeg

This is my baby! My first diamond ever. There is a baby diamond (crystal) on the table. Can you see it? This was taken under spotlighting with a micro lens loupe. On paper she is what nobody would recommend as an engagement ring… she’s J colored, SI2, with only “good” symmetry. But I fell in love with her brilliance and sparkle. She has beautiful facets, and I make it a game to see if I can spot the crystal on the table or not. I’ll never trade her in or upgrade her. Not perfect on paper by any means, but dang pretty to me!
 
Sprinkles&Stones, that's the coolest thing ever! Is it about 7:00 on your photo?
Beautiful princess, I don't see J at all. Don't ever trade her in.
 
Ibrakeforpossums said:
Sprinkles&Stones, that's the coolest thing ever! Is it about 7:00 on your photo?
Beautiful princess, I don't see J at all. Don't ever trade her in.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! It’s actually between 12 o’clock and 1 o’clock ;) can you believe that’s the only inclusion?! The only reason they gave this stone a dang SI2. I think GIA was hard on it personally!
 
Ibrakeforpossums said:
Sprinkles&Stones, that's the coolest thing ever! Is it about 7:00 on your photo?
Beautiful princess, I don't see J at all. Don't ever trade her in.
Click to expand...

C0CC708B-3B2D-4697-8294-E71061EC6A09.jpeg

Hehe here it is! On paper someone would say “don’t choose a diamond that has a big crystal right on the table!” But even I can’t spot it sometimes. :)
 
Sprinkles&Stones said:
C0CC708B-3B2D-4697-8294-E71061EC6A09.jpeg

Hehe here it is! On paper someone would say “don’t choose a diamond that has a big crystal right on the table!” But even I can’t spot it sometimes. :)
Click to expand...

That’s neat. Happy you like your pretty diamond. With the little inclusion you will always know you are wearing it right side up.
 
oncrutchesrightnow said:
And still be bros to the guys coming here to buy that one perfect engagement ring by giving them The Holy Tables and The HCA and offering to go find a diamond.
Click to expand...
I just saw this and snorted very hot tea very high up my nose :lol:
 
As the owner of two I1 CBIs with strong blue fluorescence, one an S color and the other a J, I'm a card-carrying member of the Not Perfect Club. (Yes, there was a time long ago when CBI sold the occasional I1 and didn't exclude diamonds with fluorescence.) I1 is my favorite clarity, although I'm picky about the particulars of the inclusions.
 
glitterata,
" two I1 CBIs with strong blue fluorescence, one an S color and the other a J"
I am so envious. Seriously, you have NAILED perfect in my estimation.
A few years ago someone from rarecarat emailed me, "Nothing more boring than a flawless D."
 
glitterata said:
As the owner of two I1 CBIs with strong blue fluorescence, one an S color and the other a J, I'm a card-carrying member of the Not Perfect Club. (Yes, there was a time long ago when CBI sold the occasional I1 and didn't exclude diamonds with fluorescence.) I1 is my favorite clarity, although I'm picky about the particulars of the inclusions.
Click to expand...

Do you have pics somewhere? I’m curious!
 
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