#JOTW Update: My Tiny Fancy Colored Diamond Collection

[chrono]

OK so I couldnt resist and started searching like everyone else. I found some good ones under the 5k budget. I was drawn in by a pink stone that I thought had a great color (in the picture at least). It was even a wearable as a main stone size. Id link it but I dont want to out it if someone else is planning on getting it.

Sadly Im still saving for a white diamond. No fancy stuff till she gets a normal one.

TtP,
Please do not out the pinks yet; I’m still debating getting one of the smaller pinks (under $5K) which looks like a good buy.

 

[brandy_z28]

Thanks, I'd love to do that.
I love what I currently do for a living but I'd photograph gems for clients in a heartbeat.
I just have no clue how I'd find clients.

Notice how this paricular light and environment absolutely killed the color of the Fancy light Bluish-Green diamond, in the lower-right corner.
You'd never guess it from this pic but that is a VERY sparkly diamond with gorgeous color.
I'll post other pics of it to show how pretty it can be in other environments and lighting.
Even the FCSs that are not chameleons are chameleons.

Photographing diamonds is hard enough, FCDs are harder.
Capturing the color of several different colors in the same shot is a challenge.

The first and one of the most important steps in fighting gemstone addiction is not looking...I looked and even had to remind myself to blink...damn you Kenny! I am totally envious, and if you'd just add an orange diamond as well as that bright yellowish green one I might stalk you.

 

[loriken214]

Thanks, I'd love to do that.
I love what I currently do for a living but I'd photograph gems for clients in a heartbeat.
I just have no clue how I'd find clients.

Notice how this paricular light and environment absolutely killed the color of the Fancy light Bluish-Green diamond, in the lower-right corner.
You'd never guess it from this pic but that is a VERY sparkly diamond with gorgeous color.
I'll post other pics of it to show how pretty it can be in other environments and lighting.
Even the FCSs that are not chameleons are chameleons.

Photographing diamonds is hard enough, FCDs are harder.
Capturing the color of several different colors in the same shot is a challenge.

The first and one of the most important steps in fighting gemstone addiction is not looking...I looked and even had to remind myself to blink...damn you Kenny! I am totally envious, and if you'd just add an orange diamond as well as that bright yellowish green one I might stalk you.

What Brandy said!

Lori

 

[isaku5]

Here's another poster who has been seduced by the FCD's and it's all because of kenny!

 

[kenny]

Sorry I'm such a bad influence on y'all.
It's just that FCDs are SO cool, and they make the ultimate photography muses.
... and with some macro gear they look like something from the Tower of London.

Yes that last pic is the most accurate at depicting the color of not just the green, but of all 3 stones.
One reason is the soft even lighting and the even white environment.

Diamonds are good at grabbing light (or dark) from everywhere in the entire sphere around them.
Dark shadows and specular reflections of light sources easily overpower and displace the stone's body color.
When everything around the diamond is white those light and dark contributions are absent so we can finally see the diamond's true body color.

I bought this light tent but anyone can make one by cutting out all but the edges of a cardboard box and gluing white cloth to all 6 sides.
Use velcro to make openable flaps.

I placed the diamonds on a bowl of salt and placed the bowl in cloth tent.
Then I put two large white CFL bulbs in large reflectors on the left and right sides.

In the pic below (taken from a ladder looking down) the top of the tent was unzipped to show the diamonds in the bowl.
For the pic of the three diamonds the white cover was zipped tightly around the lens.
The idea is to surround the stones with soft even white light, blocking out everything but the lens.

 

[T L]

Sorry I'm such a bad influence on y'all.
It's just that FCDs are SO cool, and they make the ultimate photography muses.
... and with some macro gear they look like something from the Tower of London.

You know, I don't even think HM owns a fancy blue, so you have one up on her (well, actually three up on her).

 

[kenny]

HM?

 

[T L]

Her Majesty.

 

[kenny]

Of course.
HRH is was I'm used to.

 

[Rae~]

Kenny, where did you get your flexi-lightbox-thingy? And/or what brand is it, please?

Cool setup.

 

[kelpie]

Oh Kenny, your collection and photgraphy skills are so enviable! Maybe you can start a DSLR for dummies thread? I still don't understand aperture.
I have a .85 brown marquise and a .57 pinkish brown radiant but I really was craving a pure color after seeing yours. I gambled on this .64 EGL certed yellow on ebay, I'd love to hear your thoughts:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=290506353779&si=F5Dl%252B7uKHMz0zdp2M4uRloCWKrM%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3AEOIBSA%3AUS%3A1123

 

[kenny]

Kenny, where did you get your flexi-lightbox-thingy? And/or what brand is it, please?

Cool setup.

http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/ezlite.html

http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/jephki.html

http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/lightbulbs.html

 

[kenny]

I have a .85 brown marquise and a .57 pinkish brown radiant but I really was craving a pure color after seeing yours. I gambled on this .64 EGL certed yellow on ebay, I'd love to hear your thoughts:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=290506353779&si=F5Dl%252B7uKHMz0zdp2M4uRloCWKrM%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3AEOIBSA%3AUS%3A1123

The problem with buying a stone with a grading report from EGL is you are not as certain of the grades as compared to GIA.
That diamond may or may not be a good deal.
There is no way to know because it has an EGL report.

GIA is seen as less sloppy and more strict than EGL.
The diamond itself is no different - the description is just more believable with GIA.
IF you can't believe the grading report how can you believe the price is fair?
You can't.
YMMV, but that's my opinion.

 

[kenny]

Oh Kenny, your collection and photgraphy skills are so enviable! Maybe you can start a DSLR for dummies thread? I still don't understand aperture.

Ah yes, aperture.
Todays automatic cameras do all the thinking for you so few people bother to learn all this technical stuff.
Usually the results are fine when taking a pic of Jonny and Susie in front of the Christmas tree.
It's with the unusual pics that automatic cameras are less likely to satisfy you - like extreme close up.
That's when learning more and controlling everything yourself gives you better pics.

Aperture is the variable-diameter hole in the camera lens.
Like the pupil in your eye it is an opening that varies from large to small.
When open (larger hole) it lets more light in when it's dark; a smaller hole reduces the light coming in when it is bright.

The f-stop is the name associated with the aperture setting - or the size of the hole.
Unfortunately in photography some Einstein assigned the f-stop numbers backwards.
f22 is a smaller hole and f4 is a larger hole.

Aperture is one of two ways to control how much light gets into the camera.
The other is shutter speed, or how long the shutter stays open to let light in.

Aperture happens to do something else too.
The smaller the hole the deeper the depth of field (depth of focus in front of and behind what you focused on).

When I learned photography in the 1970s my camera was fully manual.
The operator needed to understand stuff and make decisions.
Now they've convinced us to turn our brains off.

There, now you know everything I know.

 

[Imdanny]

Danny, I just shot the combination you requested.
Frankly these are also my favorite three.
(I emailed you a 7 MB version.)

Kenny, thank you!

 

[Rae~]

http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/ezlite.html

http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/jephki.html

http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/lightbulbs.html

Thank you, kenny - I appreciate the links.

ETA: Is yours the 12" one?

 

[kenny]

Yes.
IMHO, 12" is sufficient for most gem stuff.
I also got a 20" one but rarely use it for gems - only when HRH sends the crown jewels over for glamor shots.

These things are cool; they fold up flat and come with a nice storage bag!
If you have a long exposure you can just move one light around outside the box during the exposure.
This gives a super even and shadowless light.

I also bought the lights in the above pic from them, but Home Depot cheapos (reflectors and bulbs) will fork fine too.

 

[Imdanny]

Speaking of photography the black and white shot of the set up is very interesting. The diamonds look so tiny in relation to the whole picture and yet they're the focus of attention and when you see them close up- wow!

You were missed around here, Kenny. I'm glad you're back.

 

[sphenequeen]

Circling back on this thread - I'm curious to know if Kenny has acquired any more FCDs for his collection. I've been out of the loop for a while and wanted to check in.

 

[MarionC]

You are breaking my heart in the best possible way with this beautiful collection

 

[kenny]

Sorry, I meant no harm.

But thanks.

 

[Pecel]

Kenny, what an awesome collection!

I wonder how it has expanded since this thread began in 2010!