help!why does my diamond appear smaller?

[MoonRiver]

dear all,

i''ve been a lurker and enjoyed reading everyone''s post. i''ve got a question.. please don''t laugh.

i was shopping today in a high end mall and was walking pass an upscale diamond boutique. they had some really gorgeous diamonds but a 2.01ct display really strike me... it looks really huge...

Then i took a look at my 2.35ct diamond it looks smaller than the 2.01ct on display behind the glass...I bought my ring in a normal B&M store, its not upscale but its a GIA certified...

why does my diamond appear smaller? is it because of lighting? the glass had some magnifying effect??? or my diamond is not cut as good as the designer cut in the upscale diamond boutique...

 

[stone-cold11]

depends on the cut of your stone.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/6/2009 9:53:47 AM
Author:MoonRiver
dear all,

i've been a lurker and enjoyed reading everyone's post. i've got a question.. please don't laugh.

i was shopping today in a high end mall and was walking pass an upscale diamond boutique. they had some really gorgeous diamonds but a 2.01ct display really strike me... it looks really huge...

Then i took a look at my 2.35ct diamond it looks smaller than the 2.01ct on display behind the glass...I bought my ring in a normal B&M store, its not upscale but its a GIA certified...

why does my diamond appear smaller? is it because of lighting? the glass had some magnifying effect??? or my diamond is not cut as good as the designer cut in the upscale diamond boutique...

Hi Moon

Could be various reasons on speculation, also if the other diamond was cut shallow then it could look larger than yours for example, in order to know more we would need all the info on your diamond, depth, table, angles, diameter and so forth to get a meaningful idea. It isn't always good to have a diamond which looks much larger for the weight as this can often be at the expense of cut quality.

 

[tyty333]

Yep, what SC said...maybe your stone is deep...maybe that other stone is shallow. Is your stone clean? I know when mine is dirty its
size looks very finite. When its clean it seems to glow more and its size somehow looks larger to me (maybe its a figment of my
imagination

). You can give us the numbers off your GIA cert and maybe we can tell you exactly why.

EDIT - I must have been typing at the same time as Lorilei so ditto what Lorilei said also!

 

[marcy]

I agree it would depend on the cut. Many of the gemstones I see in mall stores are cut for size not quality.

 

[Lynn B]

Oooooooor.... you could have Diamond Dysmorphic Syndrome (DDS!)

like I do! I know my 2.36 RB is well cut, and it faces up at just the ideal size that it "oughtta"... but dang Martha; it looks small to me!!!! I am sick,sick,sick!!!!

 

[TripleG]

It could also depend on the setting it was placed in. Sometimes a 6 prong setting can make a diamond look bigger if its sitting up higher than a 4 prong setting. Im not sure if all things were equal but besides the cut it could be an issue of the setting.

 

[glitterata]

I recommend Glitterata''s Cure for Diamond Shrinkage Syndrome:

Get a ring with a much smaller center stone--preferable a diamond or diamondlike stone, but a colored stone will do too. Put your big honker away in the safe for at least three days, preferably a week, and wear the smaller stone. Don''t peek at your big diamond until the week is over! When you put it on again, it will look gigantic.

 

[tap02150]

lol to the above post. I like that idea

 

[Tuckins1]

Date: 9/6/2009 10:04:19 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 9/6/2009 9:53:47 AM

Author:MoonRiver

dear all,


i''ve been a lurker and enjoyed reading everyone''s post. i''ve got a question.. please don''t laugh.


i was shopping today in a high end mall and was walking pass an upscale diamond boutique. they had some really gorgeous diamonds but a 2.01ct display really strike me... it looks really huge...


Then i took a look at my 2.35ct diamond it looks smaller than the 2.01ct on display behind the glass...I bought my ring in a normal B&M store, its not upscale but its a GIA certified...


why does my diamond appear smaller? is it because of lighting? the glass had some magnifying effect??? or my diamond is not cut as good as the designer cut in the upscale diamond boutique...

Hi Moon


Could be various reasons on speculation, also if the other diamond was cut shallow then it could look larger than yours for example, in order to know more we would need all the info on your diamond, depth, table, angles, diameter and so forth to get a meaningful idea. It isn''t always good to have a diamond which looks much larger for the weight as this can often be at the expense of cut quality.

Yep, ditto Lorelei. I was going to say that the store stone was probably cut shallower, with more of a table, so that it would face up bigger.

 

[Allison D.]

It could be a few things.

6-prong setting tend to make a stone look bigger than a 4-prong setting because our eyes are conditioned to see edges/lines, so they are drawn to the circumference of the prongs.

Was there a difference in shank size? If so, that could do it also.

Was there a difference in cut? A less well cut stone may be deeper in the pavilion and therefore have less up-top diameter. Also, less cut stones may leak light around the edges, causing the stone to visually appear smaller than a well cut stone.

 

[bgray]

if you share your GIA cert specs maybe we can offer some thoughts on why

 

[Laila619]

What are the measurements of your diamond in mm?

 

[MoonRiver]

hi all,

thanks for your replies.

my diamond is about 8.45mm plus plus, i cant remember the numbers off hand as the certificate is not with me. my diamond is set in a 6 prong... the one on display is 4 prong... however i know my cert is ex cut. the diamond in the boutique is a Lazare diamond...

is it true the lazare diamond looks bigger?

 

[swingirl]

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-infinity&id=409

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4601/

Here are links to 2 well cut stones close to the size of yours. The dimensions are very close to the dimension of your stone. So your stone is sizing up where it should be. The stones you were looking at must have been cut shallow.

Tolkowsky and Lazare Kaplan are related and use the same proportions for cutting an "ideal" diamond.

 

[Laila619]

Certain settings make diamonds look bigger as well. I know you said you have a 6 prong, but is your setting plain? Does it have side diamonds?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/7/2009 2:54:17 AM
Author: MoonRiver
hi all,

thanks for your replies.

my diamond is about 8.45mm plus plus, i cant remember the numbers off hand as the certificate is not with me. my diamond is set in a 6 prong... the one on display is 4 prong... however i know my cert is ex cut. the diamond in the boutique is a Lazare diamond...

is it true the lazare diamond looks bigger?

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/mm-to-carat-stone-conversion-chart.17578/

The above chart gives diameter measurements for carat weight so if you can get the exact diameter of yours off the report you can see how it measures up.