Why does my diamond look bigger and brighter in dim conditions?

[SolitairesAlways]

Hi everyone! My new ring is finally back from resizing and I have been observing her under various lighting around the house to try to understand her different characters better!

In doing so I’ve found that she looks best when I place my hand under the table. What gives? She pretty much glows and looks bigger than under brighter lighting. Am I hallucinating? I would be lying if I said I didn’t wish she would look like photo number 4 below all the time She just looks so much bigger, brighter and whiter!

Some casual shots under different lighting below, I’d love to hear any thoughts or explanations you guys might have!

1. Taken indoors in a room with quite a bit of wood and creamy yellow curtains. Only light source is a single white light from the ceiling, slightly above/behind my head which could be causing a bit of obstruction along with my black phone.


2. Taken outdoors in a shaded balcony, sunlight is coming in from the direction where my fingers are pointing (top right of photo). Stone looks sliiiiightly (by a really tiny amount) smaller to me than in #1.


3. Taken at the same balcony as #2, with an effort to prevent obstruction (hence the strange angle). I spy pretty colours! Stone looks smaller to me here than in #2.


4. Taken in the same room as #1, same lighting conditions, but with my hand under my sturdy wooden study table. Stone is glowing and looks bigger than any of the other photos above. Finger coverage looks far higher. It’s not just on the camera, it looks bigger to the naked eye as well! How? Why??

 

[laken70]

Your ring is gorgeous. Diamonds look different in various lighting. What are the specs on your diamond?

 

[flyingpig]

What is the color of the wall and ceiling in #1 and #4?

 

[SolitairesAlways]

Your ring is gorgeous. Diamonds look different in various lighting. What are the specs on your diamond?

Thank you, you are too kind! It is a 0.78 carat round brilliant, GIA 3EX. 55T, 62.5D, 35.0C, 40.6P. I prioritised cut over all the other Cs and it’s a touch deep but it was the best I could find. Though our budget could have gotten me a 0.85-0.90ct with a poorer cut I decided against it, but to be honest I’m now not sure if that was the right decision… would I even be able to see cut differences in so small a stone? Wouldn’t I be better off with finger coverage? But then again could I even see the difference if it was a 0.85ct?

What is the color of the wall and ceiling in #1 and #4?

The walls and ceiling are a greyish white, there’s quite a lot of wood and cream/yellow tones in the room in terms of furniture. I was wearing dark clothing when I took the photo. I’m now worried… is there something wrong with the cut or the stone given how it seems to grow in dim light and shrink in bright light?

 

[denverappraiser]

It has to do with the way your eyes work in different lights and with different backgrounds. It's the same as the reason the moon looks bigger than the sun.

 

[kenny]

If the question is how can a diamond be brighter than its surroundings, the answer is .... it's a mirror.

Diamonds reflect light.
Imagine being outside at night in the middle of the wilderness far from any lights on a moonless night.
If someone turns on a flashlight behind you as you are looking at your diamond you're diamond will reflect that light.

Like a mirror a diamond will reflecting any light, or color that it can "see".

 

[laken70]

I honestly think your diamond looks really pretty and totally normal in those various lighting conditions. What’s the color of your diamond?

 

[DejaWiz]

That's a well cut diamond's brilliance in diffused lighting presenting as a white glow coming through. Your diamond look great!

 

[MrsBlue]

Just chiming in to say that your ring is beautiful and the size looks graceful and flattering on your hand. Lovely proportions.

 

[John Pollard]

Stone is glowing and looks bigger than any of the other photos above. Finger coverage looks far higher. It’s not just on the camera, it looks bigger to the naked eye as well! How? Why??

In keeping with the observations made above, your diamond remains bright from edge to edge under the table, while the background - including your hand - become darker. It makes the diamond stand out.

Going under-table, desk or counter is one of my favorite approaches when training jewelers to show well-cut diamonds in store. Especially when they want to demonstrate how a well-cut diamond seems to grow in normal/indirect lighting, compared to a cut that goes dark at the edges.

https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-carat#lighting

 

[SolitairesAlways]

Thank you everyone for chiming in and for all the information! That explanation of bright diamond vs dark hand contrast makes sense, explains why my eyes are tricked! I still love that glowy huge stone look though

I had actually worried about that 40.6 pavilion being possibly low and resulting in obstruction in some areas (read some threads here on the dangers of GIA rounding) but this one seems fine at least to me?

@laken70 It’s a D coloured stone. I am awfully colour-sensitive, and the options available to me then were D or H. So I went with the D!

@DejaWiz That the glow is just brilliance in diffused lighting is so reassuring to hear!

@John Pollard Your explanation on how a stone that can retain its end to end brightness under the table is a well-cut one puts me at ease. I had truly thought something strange was going on, what with it looking smaller under white lights and bigger in shade!

 

[John Pollard]

@SolitairesAlways , I'm glad it helps.

It sounds like you're enjoying your diamond journey - keep it up. You'll find that, with time, your eyes become even more attuned to what's happening in your diamond and, resultantly, in others.

Here are some fun facts about direct sunlight and well-cut diamonds, if you get outside with your firecracker this summer it can be a pretty awesome spectral show, especially with the darkened background.
https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-cut#sunlight

 

[SolitairesAlways]

@John Pollard I’ve just had a look through that article and I’m definitely going to bring my little one out for a whirl and try out things like standing under a tree with branches gently swaying in the breeze! Can’t wait to see what it will look like! I’ve tried it under direct sunlight and as expected it pretty much just went dark on me under the table

 

[flyingpig]

In #4, the diamond is positioned in a dark area. But this does not matter. What matter is what the diamond is facing. It is facing the white ceiling amd the diamond reflects the white light.

In #1, the diamond is positioned in a brighter area. But, it is facing the dark wall and probably dark furnitures behind you. That is why the diamond looks dull. There are a few bright spots which is from the ceiling light and other bright spots. But in general, the diamond is facing and reflecting the dull environment.

The diamonda appears well cut amd performs as expected.

 

[flyingpig]

All same diamond

 

[SolitairesAlways]

@flyingpig Thank you for sharing those photos! Can I just say that those arrows are lovely, so defined and symmetrical! I’m so relieved to hear that my diamond is performing as expected, thank you!