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diamond does seem to sparkle

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ritas

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 19, 2013
Messages
8
Hi,

I am a newbie to diamonds. I bought a diamond from blue nile. I have taken it in different lighting conditions. For some reason it doesn't seem to sparkle. Below are the specs. Any idea what could be the reason?

carat : 1.1
Color : I
Clarity : VS2
Cut : Excellent
Polish : excellent
Symmetry : excellent
Fluorescence : Strong Blue
table : 58%
depth : 60.7%
crown angle : 33.5
Pavilion : 41
girdle : thin - medium (3.5%)
There are few more numbers, no idea what they are:
80% (from side to tip)
14% top
43.5% below

Thank you so much.
 
Can you post pictures, and is the diamond clean?

If it's not sparkly I'd return it and maybe you can post budget and desired specs here and people will help you find something awesome!

ETA: the numbers seem to be good so I'm not sure what it could be. Maybe the strong blue flour is having a negative effect? Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in.
 
A diamond is only going to sparkle in certain lighting. My stone sparkles most in a store with the overhead halogen lighting. It does pretty well under incandescent lighting at home. But fluorescent lighting is not conducive to sparkle. When totally clean, does your stone show any cloudiness, such as in sunlight?

There really is nothing there to indicate that there is anything wrong with your stone. It is unlikely that the fluoro is having a negative effect, and the clarity of the stone is good so it's not due to excessive inclusions. I really think the stone may not be clean or you just aren't used to which lighting results in sparkle yet!
 
Ditto what Diamondseeker said. I'd make sure its' very clean and also observe it in different lighting situations. I'm not sure if by "not sparkley" you mean it's not shooting fire everywhere, or it's just not lively. There doesn't seem to be anything in the numbers that's cause for alarm.

Some pictures might help if you could post some, but basically, if you're sitting in an office under fluorescent lighting to look at it, that's generally not the best environment to see fire (if that's what you mean by sparkle). Try Home Depot for that! :D (But clean it first.)

I'm guess the 80% number you posted is the lower half lengths, which is going to make the type of sparkle seem a little different and splintery compared to something that has a shorter lower half (like 75%). I'm going to go try to find a video for you. So that may affect what you think of as "sparkle" also. I know some people think the difference between 75 and 80 is no big deal, but I can see it and so I wouldn't doubt if others can too. You may just prefer something different in your ideal "flavor" of diamond.

ETA- still can't find the video of it, but here are some graphics:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/NewCutGrading/ScintillationPatterned/

I think this may be it:

http://vimeo.com/15208943
 
Thank you so much for your responses. I really appreciate it. I did look at the video. I don't think my diamond sparkle like that. Most of the time when I try to move the diamond around under light I only see the big table in the middle. sorry, for the poor explanations. this is my first diamond and I don't know much about diamonds. Here are couple pictures I took. It is not very clear. Hope it helps.

img_7546.jpg

img_7543.jpg
 
I once had an rb that was not sparkly and I couldn't figure out why by the specs. No matter what I did or what light setting ... It just didn't sparkle. To be honest, all my quality diamonds sparkle under most light settings.

You don't love it and you will always wonder. It is an rb so you can easily find another. I would return it and start over.
 
In flat lighting you will wont see sparkle much. you will see brightness and moving contrast in the diamond its self.
It looks bright with some contrast that moves as you move the diamond with an occasional sparkle.
To see sparkle and fire you need small light sources like the sun or spot lights or lights far away like a warehouse type store.
 
I noticed that your diamond has a strong blue fluorescence. Sometimes this can make a diamond appear more white than its stated color, other times it can make a diamond appear cloudy. I would take this stone to an independent gemologist to see if this is the case.
 
diamondseeker2006|1361325821|3384951 said:
A diamond is only going to sparkle in certain lighting. My stone sparkles most in a store with the overhead halogen lighting. It does pretty well under incandescent lighting at home. But fluorescent lighting is not conducive to sparkle. When totally clean, does your stone show any cloudiness, such as in sunlight?

There really is nothing there to indicate that there is anything wrong with your stone. It is unlikely that the fluoro is having a negative effect, and the clarity of the stone is good so it's not due to excessive inclusions. I really think the stone may not be clean or you just aren't used to which lighting results in sparkle yet!
Click to expand...

I agree with all of this!

People often have unrealistic expectations about what diamond look like :)) I am sure your diamond sparkles as much as any other well cut RB IN THE RIGHT LIGHTING.

After all, as Karl K says, there are four things that determine the appearance of a diamond: Lighting, lighting, lighting, and cut.

One other possibility: Is the stone loose or set? Loose stones get grimy and it affects optics. Set stones can look quite different. In particular, they often have better contrast patterning which can make them seem more lively.
 
Mrs. W 514|1361334124|3385050 said:
I noticed that your diamond has a strong blue fluorescence. Sometimes this can make a diamond appear more white than its stated color, other times it can make a diamond appear cloudy. I would take this stone to an independent gemologist to see if this is the case.
Click to expand...

Just for clarity, this bolded is a common misconception about very strong fluor, but a very very very rare occurrance. It is unlikely to be an issue in this case. I am sure you know that Mrs. W but I don't want the OP panicking uneccesarily.
 
Dreamer_D|1361334310|3385052 said:
After all, as Karl K says, there are four things that determine the appearance of a diamond: Lighting, lighting, lighting, and cut.
Click to expand...
yep!
 
Does the GIA report mention any internal graining in the comments section? Ive read that in some (maybe rare) cases that graining straining or twinning can cause the diamond to appear less transparent and affect its optics.
 
I would say my diamond is pretty sparkly, and it seems to sparkle the most in "big box" stores. Could you take it some place like a Target or Walmart or something and check it out. If it's not sparkling there... might want to look into another one.
 
29Charlotte|1361340141|3385117 said:
I bought one at http://www.fascinatingdiamonds.com it works fine..sometimes the cut of the diamond is responsible for the reflection of light back from the diamond...the sparkle is just that..might be a cut problem..nothin wrong with the diamond
Click to expand...

Cut is always responsible for the reflection of light back from a diamond so if the problem is the cut, then that means that is plenty is wrong with the diamond, since that IS the main purpose of a diamond- to reflect light and a diamonds ability to do that is based on the quality of it's cut.

I'm coming to the conclusion that there are plenty of people out there who seem to put the inherent value/attraction of a diamond in to the material itself (ie- it's a DIAMOND! YAY! so it must be good!) and so assume that if a diamond doesn't sparkle, then there's nothing wrong with it, it's just the cut but in fact, there's everything wrong with it if it isn't cut to do what diamonds ought to do- reflect light.

I didn't even like diamonds before I found PS because a lot of the ones I'd seen IRL just weren't sparkly and I figured "why spend all that money on something that only looks *meh*" and then the REALLY sparkly ones were generally large enough to where I figured "well, I can never have that, so why bother" and so my interests lay elsewhere. Of course, it turned out very differently, once you've had a little education and find you CAN have a diamond that sparkles and doesn't cost a fortune!

That being said, there's not a lot in the proportions (of the cut) listed to say that the diamond should be a dud though Christina makes a point with Internal graining, but from what I've read on it (which is admittedly not tons) seems to be more of a visible problem in spot lighting. Taking a picture of a diamond using a flash won't result in sparkle, and it looks like that's how the stone was photographed, it just tends to blow diamonds out in photos. But there may be something else going on that we can't tell from the pics. Maybe if OP could post the cert number, people might be able to get a better idea or maybe take some pictures in a variety of lighting, or just send it back and come back here for some help picking one that WILL be sparkly.
 
Thank you all for your responses.
I did take my diamond to a jewellery store today to compare with the other diamonds there and it doesn't sparkle like the ones there. I think I am going to exchange it for a different diamond. Could you give me some suggestions? I paid around $6000 for it and got it from blu nile. Also, what is your opinion on lower colors?
 
You have to get this straight first:

- Under defuse lighting conditions (for example, your office, or cloudy day time without direct sunshine), you will not see fire (sparkle), you will only see brightness (whiteness).
- Under direct lighting conditions (preferably yellow lighting), you will then see fire.

Your pictures clearly show that you took them under defuse lighting condition, of course you won't see sparkle...
 
ritas|1361387183|3385460 said:
Thank you all for your responses.
I did take my diamond to a jewellery store today to compare with the other diamonds there and it doesn't sparkle like the ones there. I think I am going to exchange it for a different diamond. Could you give me some suggestions? I paid around $6000 for it and got it from blu nile. Also, what is your opinion on lower colors?
Click to expand...


I think we all want to help you here and I do think if it wasn't sparkly at the jewelers then it needs to go back, but I also think there's some things that would help us clear things up, as Silencer said so we might understand what could be going on with it.

Could you post a the Certificate number (people can look up the certificate from knowing it) so we can see ALL the specs on it, like cut quality, which lab graded it, measurements and so forth, possibly remarks on the report about inclusions....

Can you tell us what type of light you were in when you took the picture you posted? Did you use a flash?

I'd get the return straightened out, then come back here and start a new topic saying you have a budget of $6K and are looking for a really nice round brilliant....

Color is a personal desicion, and does not affect whether a diamond sparkles or not. They may tell you things like that in a jewelry store (I wouldn't be surprised) but it is the quality of CUT that matters, ie how well proportioned it is. Here is a thread showing H, I, J, and K colored diamonds in it:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-k-color-diamonds-w-strong-blue-flor-still-show-color.185783/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-k-color-diamonds-w-strong-blue-flor-still-show-color.185783/[/URL]
 
The gia number is 1156110248.
 
ritas|1361409536|3385873 said:
The gia number is 1156110248.
Click to expand...

I can't find anything in the report that might be contributing to lack of sparkle. Did you have the fluorescence assessed? It very likely is NOT the culprit but since I don't see anything else...

I wondering if your expectations may not be reasonable? I know that there was so much talk about the incredible light performance of a MRB, that I just had to have one. I had previously only owned fancy cuts, so I when I received the round I had really high expectations and was a bit disappointed at first. It took me almost a week to fall in love with my stone. Now, I'm really happy that I hung in there, but it was a bit shocking when it didn't come out of the box shooting fireworks!

Have you had an opportunity to view the stone in many other lighting environments? What happens when you take it into the bathroom and look at it in the mirror? Do you see lot's of colored light or is it still meh? What about a big box store? Home depot? If your still not getting lots of dancing in these environments than I would send it back and start over.
 
It doesn't matter where I buy as long as it is a reputable site. Could you suggest me some other sites?
 
Good Old Gold
Brian Gavin Diamonds
Whiteflash
James Allen

just a few to get you started -
 
ritas|1361458290|3386383 said:
It doesn't matter where I buy as long as it is a reputable site. Could you suggest me some other sites?
Click to expand...

There are quite a few that have been suggested to you. I would post a new topic (don't continue with a new question in this one) with a title asking for help buying a Round Brilliant 1+ Ct Stone. In the topic post your budget and desired specs (color preferences, size preference, clarity preferences) and people will start posting possibilities from the various sites and discuss the stones with you.
 
Ritas, How long have you had the ring? Did it sparkle when you first received it?

I'm not knowledgeable about round brilliants, but if the folks here can't see any possible explanation based on the cert, I am left to wonder if perhaps the ring just needs a good cleaning - dirt and oil buildup are sparkle killers!

Soak the ring in very hot water with a little dish soap. Scrub it with a soft toothbrush and make sure you scrub in between the prongs and scrub the pavilion of the diamond. Then soak it again. Then rinse it with clean water and dry with a paper towel. Repeat. Then see if there's any improvement.

Good luck!
 
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