diamond stud earrings

[jeweln]

Hi
I have been lurking at pricescope for a long time .after much research I decided to buy my diamond stud earrings from whiteflash .I bought 1.20 cttw ACA AGS000 J VS1 and I VS2 and set them in 18 kt yellow 8 prong martini .the pics whiteflash sent were beautiful .and when I opened the box ,the diamonds were sparkly & shiny ,but when I put them on ,they are not shining that much ! Am I expecting too much from studs ? I thought the ACA s were supposed to be firecrackers ! I have a 5 stone diamond ring that is GIA xxx and is super shiny .I am so disappointed that I want to cry !
any help here ?
I dont know how to attch pics here ,but here is one anyway:

https://www.pricescope.com/myimages/forum?id=message#

 

[junebug17]

Is it possible you got fingerprints on them as you were putting them in your ears?

ETA: Just saw your pic, they look beautiful!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I think it must be the lighting. ACA's are certainly bright. The only other potential issue I can think of is that prongs are most often made of white metal because the color will be reflected from the stone. So the 8 yg prongs might take away a little from the brilliance of the stones. But that may not be it at all.

They look really pretty in the picture! Try going somewhere with different lighting and see if you can tell a difference.

 

[stci]

Ho jeweln! I'm sooo sorry for you!

• Good light?
  Dirty?
  Your hair hide the light?

Is the 2 diamond dissapointe you or just one?

 

[jeweln]

ear shot.

 

[jeweln]

well I cleaned again and then put them on .do your studs shine like crazy ? these are AGS 000 so I thought I could not go wrong .

 

[stci]

jeweln... are you sure you feel right tonight? (JOKE)

What I can see in those pictures is divine!

Don't forget it's difficult to be self judge for stud earrings! We need to move to let the diamond do their show!

Ask to your family if they like them and if they sparkle! Think the answers will suprise you girl!

 

[jeweln]

I think maybe I was expecting too much from the studs ! actually I was just crying ! I was so exited to buy these that I bought a big hand mirror to keep by my side so that I can look at them all the time.

 

[Tuckins1]

They look fantastic! It is harder to judge the "sparkle factor" because its hard to get a good angle when looking at our own ears.

 

[slg47]

yeah I think they look great! I would just advise cleaning them regularly and trying to put them on without touching your ears too much. Also, the angle of light hitting your ears is different than when you hold a ring stone directly under the sun, and you are viewing the earrings from a farther distance away.

 

[Gypsy]

I think it might be the viewing angle too. That's what I love about rings.... you can move your fingers and catch light. What happens when you tighten the posts against your ear and you position them so they are facing you in the mirror. Do they look nicer as you move your head? You ears look like they are really nicely tucked close to your jaw (I know strange thing to say), but while it's nice to not have ears that stick out, that also means the best viewing angle is your profile.

Also some people recommend going for slightly shallower stones for earrings than for rings because of the white fire verus scintillation balance. That might be something to consider.

 

[jeweln]

Gypsy ,you are right ! my ears are tucked into my head ,maybe thats what is blocking the light from entering the diamonds .do you think shallower stones might help ? I wanted super sparkly studs that could be seen from across a room .

 

[Gypsy]

No, I think the stones are getting plenty of light. Just... not when you can see them. You don't have eyes on the side of your head!

Here's an idea. Have a friend/sister/mother put them on and watch how they perform on her in various different lighting environments. If you still aren't happy with how they look on someone else then... yes explore maybe some slightly shallower cuts that are still great cuts.

 

[dinamit]

Hi jeweln and welcome to Pricescope.

I know it's hard when an item doesn't live up to your expectations, especially when it's something as personal and costly as jewellery.

Have you tried putting the stud between your fingers, next to the diamond ring? How do the stones perform then? That is what I have done when assessing studs, as I found it impossible to evaluate them properly whilst in my ears.

I wasn't sure about a pair that had top cut branded stones and only when I saw them next to my e-ring, which is also a great cut, did I realise how well they perform. Being able to look at the stones straight down really helped.

Luckily, you bought from Whiteflash so if you are still not happy, you can return them.

dinamit

P.S. I forgot to say that I this the earrings do look wonderful, but if you don't, do what makes you happy.

 

[TimMD]

I think it must be the lighting. ACA's are certainly bright. The only other potential issue I can think of is that prongs are most often made of white metal because the color will be reflected from the stone. So the 8 yg prongs might take away a little from the brilliance of the stones. But that may not be it at all.

They look really pretty in the picture! Try going somewhere with different lighting and see if you can tell a difference.

I actually was thinking the exact same thing, I just bought some 0.86 ctw for my fiance (not shipping til her birthday) and I loved the 8 prong setting but I decided against it because I thought maybe it would be a little much (especially for my size stone). I am not sure how much the yellow adds to the effect but that was my first impression looking at them.

Also, I agree a million percent with the viewing angle and would love to see your impression with a direct on/active view with someone else wearing them. Trying to look in a mirror while you are wearing them definitely changes your viewing angle and is more stationary (I assume you stand still and glare) and maybe why you loved them much more in the box (moving the box around in your hand with direct on angle). I bet if you saw what everyone else sees when you wear them, you would think they are stunning. They look stunning to me in the photos and I usually prefer white metals.

 

[D&T]

Those are incredibly gorgeous! I love 8 prongs. Please don't fret, it is just gorgeous and like other's have said, it is harder to move those babies in all angles to catch those lights and see all the effects that you would otherwise see if it were on your hand instead.

 

[jeweln]

here they are in my 6 year old's ear ,they look better on her than me !

 

[jeweln]

maybe I should have set them in white gold ,but my ears are sensitive to 14 kt so I thought better stick with real 18 kt .compared to my GIA XXX 5 stone ,the studs look more yellow than white or they are almost the same .

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Beautiful ring and earrings!

To be completely honest, I think the yg prongs take away from the stones. In your ring, the prongs disappear and you mostly see the diamonds, whereas with the earrings, you have a lot of very prominent yg prongs that stand out, in my opinion. In fact, I see the reflection of the yellow gold in your pictures. I think fewer prongs and white metal would be better. Ask for something like Stuller X1 or some alloy without nickel. To me, the less prongs showing on earrings, the better. But everyone has different preferences, of course. You could rhodium plate these settings to make them white, but I think fewer prongs would cover up the stone less.

 

[kittybean]

In your comparison picture, it seems like the YG prongs are "eating up" your pretty earring stones. I think a three- or four-prong setting in WG or platinum would make the diamonds look more like the ones in your five-stone.

Other than that, they are very, very pretty earrings! If you like the YG, I think there's no reason to return them.

 

[yssie]

They are very pretty jn!

However, I agree with PPs - diamonds are essentially mirrors and windows, and they reflect all the light that is immediately around them - including light which is bouncing off yellow prongs. I think white prongs will give you the aesthetic you are after - very white-looking diamonds, and will also make the diamonds look larger because the eye is drawn to the white outline that the prongs make, which is somewhat larger than the actual circumference of the stone.

If you have nickel allergy issues you could ask about palladium (hypoallergenic like plat) if plat. is out of budget, or you would prefer to avoid the weight of plat. in your ears.


Re. dirty stones - unfortunately that is just an inevitable part of owning diamond studs! If shallow diamonds, dirt on the pavilion will have less effect on light return, so if you find that white prongs do not fix your issues you might investigate changing stones.

 

[jeweln]

yes I think that maybe part of the problem ,I mean the 8 yellow prongs .I think I will have to change the setting to 18 kt white gold .but I cant decide between 8 prongs or W prong , from whiteflash ? I chose the 8 prong setting originally because I thought the W prong was showing too much metal compared to the diamond .

 

[yssie]

yes I think that maybe part of the problem ,I mean the 8 yellow prongs .I think I will have to change the setting to 18 kt white gold .but I cant decide between 8 prongs or W prong , from whiteflash ? I chose the 8 prong setting originally because I thought the W prong was showing too much metal compared to the diamond .

The w prongs will likely make your stones look square-ish from afar, I think, and will not contribute to making them appear larger. Whereas the 8prongs will make your stones look round and larger. So this would sway me toward the 8prongs, personally.

Would you prefer that your RBs look square-ish - rather like cushions - in your ears? If so the Wprongs would be a lovely choice

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Could you consider regular 3 or 4 prong settings? I think those prongs cover too much of your stones. I like studs to show minimal metal. The regular 4 prong basket setting has much smaller prongs and all you see is the diamond! Same with the three prong martini settings. Look through the thread on studs near the top of this forum. You'll see what I am talking about.

Here is a thread with the w-prong setting and I don't think the prongs are small and don't really change the round appearance:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...nt-be-my-last-purchase-from-whiteflash.79457/

 

[jeweln]

actually I would prefer 4 prong basket setting ,but whiteflash has them only in 14 kt gold ,not 18 .
also I noticed that as soon as I handle these studs ,they get dirty .Do you think shallower diamonds will shine more ?
thanks for every ones help .

 

[Andelain]

I'm inclined to agree with the school of thought that the yellow gold doesn't do the diamonds any favors, bit I disagree with the people who say the 8-prong settings don't look good one the diamonds. I think in white gold it makes the stones look bigger, rounder, whiter. I have a pair of .82 CTW in white gold and love them. Here's a couple pics.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

As soon as you handle any studs, they will get dirty. No, I don't think you should get shallower stones...I think the ACA's are gorgeous and are extremely bright!

Andelain, you are right that the white gold makes a LOT of difference! Either your prong tips are smaller than hers or it is just that the yg makes them so much more pronounced! I think your earrings are beautiful!

Have you actually asked WF about getting you 18k wg 4 prong baskets? Just because they may not be listed on the site doesn't mean they can't order them for you. They just can't keep everything in stock, but I am sure they'd order them for you.

 

[Andelain]

As soon as you handle any studs, they will get dirty. No, I don't think you should get shallower stones...I think the ACA's are gorgeous and are extremely bright!

Andelain, you are right that the white gold makes a LOT of difference! Either your prong tips are smaller than hers or it is just that the yg makes them so much more pronounced! I think your earrings are beautiful!

Have you actually asked WF about getting you 18k wg 4 prong baskets? Just because they may not be listed on the site doesn't mean they can't order them for you. They just can't keep everything in stock, but I am sure they'd order them for you.

Diamondseeker, I'm pretty sure it's just the huge difference the YG makes because my prongs aren't any smaller. If anything they're larger in proportion to the stone, sine mine are only 41 points each.

Jeweln, something else I just thought of concerning getting shallower diamonds. Maybe even more so than you, my ears are just about pinned to the side of my head. Having shallower stones would decrease the viewing angle that looked good to me. For my next pair of studs I chose to go slightly deeper instead. (August Vintage Rounds)

 

[jeweln]

I emailed whiteflash today about the sparkle factor and asked them about changing the settings ,I think they should reply by Monday .I really dont know whether I should keep these diamonds or ask them to look for brighter ones ?

 

[Gothgrrl]

I agree with Andelain. I also own WF 8 prongs and I absolutely love them. Mine are in platinum, I can't wear white gold. I'm not a fan of yellow gold for me. My coloring is pretty pale so I look better in white metals. Hopefully WF can do the 8 prongs in white gold.

I really think those ACA are fire crackers. Somehow, the minute you put on earrings you have your finger prints, oils, whatever else on those stone. After I put on my earrings, I wipe my stones with alcohol. That seems to clean them up a bit, so they look sparkly. I hope that helps.