What is Shrinkage?

[MINE!!]

I have heard people in other forums on PC talking about ''shrinkage''? What is it? What does it mean? I just don''t understand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MINE!!]

LOL... let me specify.. Shrinkage for a diamond that has been set......

 

[FireGoddess]

LOL...It means that when you first get a stone/ring, you marvel at how big and huge it looks...and then as time passes...the stone seemingly "shrinks"....it doesn't seem as big to you and you start thinking how nice a BIGGER stone would look in its place.

Dangerous thing...and for many people inevitable...until they get a huge monstrous rock that placates the shrinkage monster.

 

[MINE!!]

LOL... Thanks.. for a few minutes there I thought that my geology Prof. had lied to all of us!!! I understand teh shrinkage thing, I am suffering from it and I do not even have the stone on my finger yet.. Maybe I am jsut GREEDY!!

 

[IrishEyes]

Shrinkage is when the diamond that you own, love and adore, suddenly starts to look waaaaaayyyy smaller one day. You can''t believe your eyes, you obsess over it. You stare at the diamond 52 times a day, hoping that you''re just crazy, it can''t be smaller, it just CAN''T be!!!!

Then the hunt begins. You "casually" start looking at loose stones that are slightly bigger. All of a sudden, you NEED an upgrade!!! You can''t possibly keep the current stone, you MUST have a 1 carat, or 1.25 or 1.70 or whatever your heart is shouting to you........

UGH!! I am currently in therapy for this condition most commonly known as DSS (Diamond Shrinkage Syndrome). I see my jeweler twice a week. I will not be "cured" until I''ve gotten my 1.30 ct. princess cut....

OR WILL I ??????????

 

[ame]

Yknow when a guy gets out of a pool and the air gets him....the unfornate side effect that tends to come from that where his goody bag kinda...deflates as a result of cold air.

 

[ame]

Oh. Not that shrinkage...

Uh...its when you feel like your stone ain''t big enough.

 

[Christy42]

Shrinkage is why jewelers begin to know your name.

Shrinkage is the answer you give when your husband says, "I thought you said that one was the rock of your dreams." or " I thought you said that was the last diamond you just had to have." Not!

Shrinkage is the reason I''ll never get a completely new car.

Shrinkage is the reason I found this website.

Shrinkage is the reason we''ll be buying a bigger boat now. Fair''s fair......Tit for tat....

Shrinkage is the first sign of DSS, as mentioned above, and unfortunately I don''t believe is ever completely curable even with lifetime therapy.......

 

[ForteKitty]

Date: 3/9/2005 12:34:15 PM
Author: ame
Oh. Not that shrinkage...

Uh...its when you feel like your stone ain''t big enough.

How''s that any different?

 

[belle]

this was bound to happen...

 

[MissAva]

Can you experience this prior to receivng your ring? I always thought I would be happy with 1 carat or so RB....but as I walk across campus I feel the need for something more towards 4 or 5cts....why did I choose to come back south for college?

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 3/9/2005 1:32:23 PM
Author: Matatora
Can you experience this prior to receivng your ring? I always thought I would be happy with 1 carat or so RB....but as I walk across campus I feel the need for something more towards 4 or 5cts....why did I choose to come back south for college?

You sure can experience this prior to receiving your ring...esp. if you thought the size you were getting would satisfy you...and then you see stones 4 or 4 times the size of yours walking around!!!! But I think that''s always bound to happen, there will always be someone with a bigger rock...the question is, how big will it have to be to satisfy you?

I don''t know the answer to that yet.

 

[websailor]

Of course you should check out the "What carat size Do You consider to be Big??" thread.....

 

[MINE!!]

LOL... Thanks everyone. I actually am looking at a 1 carat with a pave ''ring'' around it... so the 1 carat round will look much bigger. I wear a 5 1/2 and though I wish that I could pull off a larger carat, I am not entirely sure that I can.

 

[deny]

I am so happy I found this site and all of you. Now I know I am not nuts!!

 

[Christy42]

Oh, I''m sure you can......the question is will you and when? Maybe...Likely....Especially if you hang out on PS. I think we''re all junkies.....

I love your userID ...."Mine" is a staple word in my vocabulary when I see a diamond.

Anybody ever see Finding Nemo? The seagulls.....mine,mine,mine,mine....That''s me....

 

[MINE!!]

Definitely one of my favorites!!

I can''t go to the beach now without hearing the gulls say mine!! LOL

 

[Dancing Fire]

OH GOD,another easy question for FK.

 

[ForteKitty]

Date: 3/10/2005 1:38:52 AM
Author: Dancing Fire
OH GOD,another easy question for FK.

Sheesh... for some reason, you seem to think i''m a pervert. *hmmph!*

 

[AGBF]

I think I coined this term. Sometimes one is sure he has an original idea and it turns out that he has actually heard it elsewhere and forgotten that he heard it. If anyone wanted to research the origins of this, I would be most interested!

Deborah

 

[JCJD]

Date: 3/9/2005 3

1

0 PM
Author: denyRN
I am so happy I found this site and all of you. Now I know I am not nuts!!

Well that''s just ridiculous - of course you''re nuts!! You''re just in good company!

Just kidding!!! And your 1ct RB plus halo should look amazing!! Treysar said it best - the pave halo is like a push-up bra for diamonds!!!

 

[deny]

Date: 3/10/2005 11:39:54 AM
Author: JCJD

Date: 3/9/2005 3

1

0 PM
Author: denyRN
I am so happy I found this site and all of you. Now I know I am not nuts!!

Well that''s just ridiculous - of course you''re nuts!! You''re just in good company!

Just kidding!!! And your 1ct RB plus halo should look amazing!! Treysar said it best - the pave halo is like a push-up bra for diamonds!!!

Hi JCJD, thanks for the confirmation! I am hooked on this site already. I think it is Mine!! who is looking at the RB plus halo though. I have just upgraded to a three stone but haven''t been able to post pictures yet. I keep getting ''error'' when I try.

 

[JCJD]

Lol!! I need to read before I post! Thanks for the correction! What does your 3-stone look like? RB''s? RE: uploading pics, you need to make sure the pic is a supported file type, like .jpg, .gif, etc, and that it has a completely unique name from anything else on this server - try something like "myring1234abcd.jpg" instead of "myring.jpg" for example.

 

[deny]

Thanks for the info JCJD! I will have to wait until my husband gets home, since I am very limited on the computer. Since you asked...my new three stone is 1.52 center RB. It originally came with .40 round sides but I just had it changed to sapphires. I knew I had originally wanted a three stone with sapphires but could not find one that I loved. Then, I found this three stone with a wonderful center stone. So I got it knowing I would change it. I then had my previous anniversary ring, which was straight, remade to shadow my three stone. Can you tell I am excited?!


I now have my two sides of .40 each and my .67 RB from my original e-ring...waiting for something to be done with them! Oh, the obsession!!!

Back to the OP...shrinkage, I am glad I now have a name for my problem...

I am already looking at my new 1.52 ct and thinking it really "isn't as big as I thought it was when I first got it." Sometimes I have to get my .67 out and put them side by side to see the reality of it! That really is scary to me, but I am glad to hear I am not alone.

 

[Patty]

denyRN, keep trying to post your pictures! Make sure that they are not too big and try renaming them. Give them a very odd name that no one else would have used on this board. That''s often why you get the error message. Sometimes I have to re-name my photos two or three times before it works.

If that doesn''t work, you can e-mail me your pictures and I''ll post them for you. I''m dying to see your diamond and sapphire ring!

 

[deny]

Hi Patty. I will have my husband try again with the new info you all have given me. He has to work late tonight and I have to work tomorrow, so it may not be until the weekend. I tried a few times in the last week but it didn''t work, but I will work on it again in the next few days.

I have admired your ring since I have been coming to this site. I love sapphires! Thanks again for the information.

 

[aljdewey]

Shrinkage is what happens to the wallet post-diamond purchase!

 

[codex57]

Date: 3/10/2005 5:44

1 PM
Author: aljdewey
Shrinkage is what happens to the wallet post-diamond purchase!

Especially since most jewelers don''t seem to have payment plans.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 3/10/2005 6:36:39 PM
Author: codex57

Date: 3/10/2005 5:44

1 PM
Author: aljdewey
Shrinkage is what happens to the wallet post-diamond purchase!

Especially since most jewelers don''t seem to have payment plans.

even if they offer payment plans,20+ % apr

will really shrink your wallet.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 3/10/2005 9:36:20 AM
Author: AGBF
I think I coined this term. Sometimes one is sure he has an original idea and it turns out that he has actually heard it elsewhere and forgotten that he heard it. If anyone wanted to research the origins of this, I would be most interested!

I spent some time researching the etymon of the term "diamond shrinkage". It is now used all over the ''net and I remember being around when the term was first introduced! Well...I cannot take credit for the term, after all. Research has shown that although I was an early user, the credit for the term must go to two posters on Diamond Talk: spring on 6/28/00 and Adamas2 on 9/15/01. I was, at best, an early user (9/27/01).

Spring used the term in the sense of a diamond being made to look smaller, but she used it to mean a diamond made to look smaller by a setting. That has to be said to have opened the door to the idea that a diamond could "shrink". She said, "I agree with those who say the 6 prongs enhance the round look of the diamond although they also shrink your diamond a little bit."

However, Adamas2 appears to be the first person to use the term to mean that a diamond looks smaller over time due to one''s becoming accustomed to it, which is certainly the current usage! She wrote, "Diamonds shrink with age!" as the title for one of her postings in a thread about diamond size.

I had to do this. Needing to know about the past is what led me, once, to pursue a Ph.D in history! I know my research is not infallible, though. If anyone else digs up any old use of the term, please let me know!

Deb