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ON BUYING A DIAMOND
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the
colored light that first has been reflected from material of its
mounting. Incidentally, when buying a mounting, make certain the stone
is so placed that no metal is directly in line with a perpendicular to
the facets that it so nearly parallels. The color and the material of
the mounting is important, too. A dull finish will help the stone, a
bright one is harmful, because the first is a poor reflector, the
second a too good one. A gold setting, for instance, may cause an
off-color to appear in the purest white diamond. Platinum is the best
since if it is not neutral it at least flatters the stone, helping to
reflect back the colors accurately and with a blazing fire. But at
best a stone should be set high so that it does not reflect the color
of any metal and the metal should not be close to or behind the culet,
or bottom point, since the color then would reflect through every facet
of the stone. Silver isn't good since it has a tendency to show
blackness, which hardly contributes to the fire of the stone and more
likely detracts from it.
So far as color of a diamond is concerned, the American Gem Society in one of its bulletins says:
As
yet no established standards for the various color grades with which a
jeweler may compare the color of his diamonds has been found. It is
customary for each jeweler to compare his diamonds with a master
diamond which he establishes as being of a certain grade. Hence,
individual judgment of color often results in a totally different
meaning of the terms in different stores. The layman cannot always
compare values by these terms, but had best select a jeweler upon whose
standards and ethical reputation he can rely implicitly. Then, too,
light reflected from blue sky or walls may make the color of diamonds
appear much better; from brown walls, much worse. The actual color of
the diamond is its body color. Therefore, diamonds should never be
purchased in any light reflected from a blue sky. Lamps with blue
reflectors should also be avoided unless they carry the stamp of
approval of a well known
(231)
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