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A love for "not perfect" diamonds

R

Roselina

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2020
Messages
1,170
Hi everyone! I hope you are all well.

When I first stumbled over PS, I was confronted by a discussion about who buys all the stones that are not perfect, since PSers only buy excellent stones and never below. I immediately thought: well, me. I always have - pre PS certainly because of a lack of knowledge - post PS because of other reasons. Not to create any misunderstandings: I certainly love a perfect cut diamond. It makes me happy to look at it. But I always had a thing for "imperfect" stones, always been drawn to then. Be it an unusual cut, a low colour, an interesting inclusion, a very strong fluorescence. I like the idea of seeing how nature works. The imperfections make the stone perfect for me. Are there any fellow PSer who love imperfect diamonds just as I do? And for what reasons?
 
I like wonky old cuts because of their rustic charm and (usually) fire. I like fluorescence because I am a kid at heart and like playing with toys. Once a month I light up one of my strong fluorescence diamonds with UV just to watch it glow.

Low color grew on me. I have a few very low end of the alphabet diamonds. They sparkle as well as their whiter counterparts. I love Cape diamonds.

Not big on inclusions. I have some naturals on my wonky old diamond that are interesting. Luckily, as I get older, "eyeclean" gets easier to achieve at a personal level.

Another confession, I take pictures of my jewelry all the time. Just for me, then I delete the pictures. I just love jewelry.
 
For starters lets understand there are no "perfect" diamonds (period).

Also on the super duper excellent's or flawless's, the higher the magnifications, the clearer the imperfections.

Now let take the growing crowds that find the wonky, asymmetric faceting of antique cuts optically pleasing displaying wonderful play-of-lights, such diamonds only a decade ago would all be lined up for modern recuts :(sad.

Covid-19 allowed me the opportunity to delve deeper into our family collection of antique gems, that is where my appreciation for imperfections arise. Reforming old Colombian emerald materials allowed me to discover the beauty within the internal inclusion world of the mineral..., no wonder historically and presently such inclusions earned the name Jardin (garden in French), and after living the materials for a time, I discovered their storied potentials, every inclusion displays a world of beauty beyond the cleanliness we expect from diamonds...

Seeing what certain contemporary designers create with included diamonds like salt & pepper etc.. definitely gets you thinking...

As visual example, I am adding this picture, part of Cartier's Magnitude High Jewelry Collection

cartier-diamond-slice-ring.png
 
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
 
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
Click to expand...

I was just thinking about a diamond I saw on here with a gem inclusion this morning - that is absolutely cool! Maybe it was yours.
 
I also love non-perfect stones. I find the ones more perfect to be boring and they all look the same to me. I feel badly even typing that!
 
I have always been fond of buying diamonds by eye, not by numbers per se. Even after joining PS, I wonder how often I will actually plug in the numbers (haven’t bought any jewelry since joining PS). I also prefer working with an individual face to face rather than buy online. I’m happy to have something face up white and eye clean without inclusions, and I know what I don’t like. For example I prioritize white light return over fire. This is an unpopular opinion, I think, which is why I tend to stay away from commenting on “which diamond to buy threads” because I’m not qualified to answer those questions anyway since my process is very much “how does this make you feel” and then run the numbers by the tool for peace of mind if you like. Ofc I would come and ask for help if I was buying for someone else, but for my own self my process is different. The design and the feel of a piece matters so much more than the specific cut/color/clarity of the diamond, to me. I still however prefer modern cuts to old cuts though, except for rose cuts (those I have a soft corner for).
 
Yes, I like them for their individual character and personalities. I prefer to buy with my eye as well. Mostly everything I own is a very imperfect diamond- candidly, probably everything, but they work for me. I do not have an ACA or CBI or another superideal cut and likely never will.
 
Me, me!!! I have yet to own a “perfect” diamond. Not that such a thing exists but I remember the first few times I saw ideal cut high colors and was blown away. By their icy beauty. But this to me “cold” beauty quickly became boring.

All the stones I own have imperfections that I love. My best emerald is vintage with outstanding color and clarity but the very minimal inclusions are visible. One reminds me of a Lotus flower hence her name Lotus.

Diamonds well I am first of all drawn to old cuts big time! I love cool inclusions and buttery color. I always think I will buy an ideal cut MRB yet each time I fall for something else.
 
I love my very interesting marquise. It is 2.10 carats, M color, I1 clarity, fluoresces blue, and has a very small laser mark inside, and the ends are not aligned. Also has a crystal inclusion that fluoresces pink.

What I love more about it is my sister traded it to me for a 1.24, H color, marquise. She is a GREAT sister.

IMG_1560.JPGIMG_1593.JPG
 
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
 
Oh what a great thread! You know nothing in life is perfect and these old diamonds go through life, some of them over 100 years so they are going to have some evidence of that.

My most recent acquisition is at the jewelers getting resized, she has some chips on the girdle but they are well hidden so all I see is charm and beauty:

IMG_8719.JPG

IMG_8723.JPG
 
YadaYadaYada said:
Oh what a great thread! You know nothing in life is perfect and these old diamonds go through life, some of them over 100 years so they are going to have some evidence of that.

My most recent acquisition is at the jewelers getting resized, she has some chips on the girdle but they are well hidden so all I see is charm and beauty:

IMG_8719.JPG

IMG_8723.JPG
Click to expand...

OMG, this ring is yummy!
 
I like em all except for a majority of badly cut mrb's.
Some are wonky kewl but the majority just make me sad they were cut that way.
 
DiaLuv said:
I love my very interesting marquise. It is 2.10 carats, M color, I1 clarity, fluoresces blue, and has a very small laser mark inside, and the ends are not aligned. Also has a crystal inclusion that fluoresces pink.

What I love more about it is my sister traded it to me for a 1.24, H color, marquise. She is a GREAT sister.

IMG_1560.JPGIMG_1593.JPG
Click to expand...

Crystal inclusion that fluorescence pink?!?
How cool! Any pics or a short video?
 
Karl_K said:
I like em all except for a majority of badly cut mrb's.
Some are wonky kewl but the majority just make me sad they were cut that way.
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I always thought it’d be keen to see ‘learner’ cut diamonds. Just to see the different affects they got.
kinda the same as wanting to see innovative cuts, just on a different level. Sorta. Hahaha!
 
I doubt they would earn that classification. LOL!

they are probably someone’s hobby stones or someone let a lemur at their grinding wheel.
it would be too cool for me to have something truly and an honest job but primitive.
original setting was destroyed by local jeweler. I thought they were retipping the YG prongs. This is what they returned. :blech:
YadaYadaYada said:
Are these Peruzzi cuts? Not sure I spelled that right lol!
Click to expand...
 
From my perspective- the discussion about cut became overly technical year and years ago.
To be able to exist here, I've learned to accommodate the PS manner of diamond assessment.
It's hard to argue feelings against science. But that's exactly what this discussion is about.
I'd never use HCA when assessing a modern Round diamond- other than if it's a PS client who wants to know. Fancy Shapes??? Entirely visual. 100000%
When it comes to cut, sometimes the wonkier, the better!!! Of course, if we apply "science" how can a 45% depth stone look beautiful?
And the discussion of imperfections takes the same tone, in many cases.
"Clouds not shown"-- KISS OF DEATH!!!!!!!
Except when it's not.
Some imperfections MAKE the stone prettier ( well, the price tag, at least:)
 
Add me to the "seeks out imperfect stones" list! For me personally a perfectly cut D color MRB would be boring and cold and impersonal. Thats just me, obviously considering how much they cost I am in the minority!

I sent my imperfect OEC diamond to be set and my amazing adorable fiance said "What if they switch the stone?!" and I said "I would know my stone out of 100 diamonds"

I don't think of it as "imperfect", i think of it as "It has quite a has personality!"

And I agree with David, it's nice to pay a little less, so for me it's win/win
 
Inked said:
Add me to the "seeks out imperfect stones" list! For me personally a perfectly cut D color MRB would be boring and cold and impersonal. Thats just me, obviously considering how much they cost I am in the minority!

I sent my imperfect OEC diamond to be set and my amazing adorable fiance said "What if they switch the stone?!" and I said "I would know my stone out of 100 diamonds"

I don't think of it as "imperfect", i think of it as "It has quite a has personality!"

And I agree with David, it's nice to pay a little less, so for me it's win/win
Click to expand...

I never thought of that, but you're so right. There will be no sneaky switching of an old cut! You are bonded to that stone.
 
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