Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

how accurate are D&J rare gems photos

So sorry to hear this. I bought a dark blue spinel from John and it definitely has less sparkle than other spinels I have, however it still shows light blue sparkles in the dark blue color. I don't have any other dark spinel so not sure if they can sparkle more when they are quite dark to begin with.
 
 
 
Sorry it didn't work out, Niel. But it's always good to try!
 
Niel: thanks for posting the results; its really helpful to hear that his photos are not far off the mark, though this particular stone turned out to be a loser.
 
Sorry it didn't work out, but can I make a tiny suggestion? For stones that dark, you might want to look close at Portuguese cuts. Its one way to get a dark stone but because of the amount of facets, you still get some sparkle too. Emerald cuts don't lend themselves well to dark stones like that; you get a flash or 2 but even then the stone has to really be cut really well. Just my experience.
 
Arcadian|1452545438|3974380 said:
Sorry it didn't work out, but can I make a tiny suggestion? For stones that dark, you might want to look close at Portuguese cuts. Its one way to get a dark stone but because of the amount of facets, you still get some sparkle too. Emerald cuts don't lend themselves well to dark stones like that; you get a flash or 2 but even then the stone has to really be cut really well. Just my experience.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Like I siad I wasn't looking, I was just hoping this particular one would be nice.

Live and learn
 
It turns out that for darker material, designs with many facets don't work that well. It's better with dark stones to have fewer facets. When I cut darker garnets, I have a round design with larger, fewer facets on the pavilion. The flip side is more facets create more scintillation, but more facets in a dark stone, just create a darker stone.
 
Gene,
Will more facets on the crown help it flash more? Say, a checkerboard style.
 
Chrono|1452605534|3974692 said:
Gene,
Will more facets on the crown help it flash more? Say, a checkerboard style.
Click to expand...

Yes, you can get what looks like flash and sparkle by more facets on the crown. What you are really seeing is glare on certain facets, but it gives the illusion of sparkle. Often an a dark stone I'll use a very simple pavilion to push light to the crown, but then checkers or multi facets on the crown to create this look of a lively stone as the stone is moved.
 
PrecisionGem|1452605352|3974691 said:
It turns out that for darker material, designs with many facets don't work that well. It's better with dark stones to have fewer facets. When I cut darker garnets, I have a round design with larger, fewer facets on the pavilion. The flip side is more facets create more scintillation, but more facets in a dark stone, just create a darker stone.
Click to expand...

Hi Gene. I guess it would depend on how dark, right? Maybe a trick of light or whatever, but I always found that Portuguese cuts to be look best on darker stones.
 
Arcadian|1452625764|3974855 said:
PrecisionGem|1452605352|3974691 said:
It turns out that for darker material, designs with many facets don't work that well. It's better with dark stones to have fewer facets. When I cut darker garnets, I have a round design with larger, fewer facets on the pavilion. The flip side is more facets create more scintillation, but more facets in a dark stone, just create a darker stone.
Click to expand...

Hi Gene. I guess it would depend on how dark, right? Maybe a trick of light or whatever, but I always found that Portuguese cuts to be look best on darker stones.
Click to expand...

I have always found it to be quite the opposite. Portuguese cuts tend to darken a stone, and on a dark stone make them look black. Often commercially cut Portuguese cuts are cut with large windows, and the window may make the stone seem brighter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP

Featured Topics

Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top