Paul Diamond Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA

RG, You tend to give good advice. This time, I can tell you from experience about halogen lights in the studio. Terrible choice. Short burning life and high price, usually need to be diffused in some way to make the light less directional - at a high price for overall light loss. And, it is possible to use a studio setup for any selected degrees K lightsource. Your post processing can be set to color correct every picture. But why?

And, in almost any room used for a studio or temp studio, Halogen lights burn hot and raise the room temperature excessively.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

I know these are colored stones. I cut for fun and profit. The blue one was an experiment. Lol. Point is I lit them with an flashlight at different angles until I get what I'm looking for. You can never capture the true depth and beauty.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Gemstones and jewelry, for commercial photography and especially DIAMONDS, can be challenging as to lighting.

My grandfather was a jeweller and watchmaker so from hanging around his shop as a kid, I learn quite a bit about diamonds- well, at least the terminology which began to make more sense later on in my life as a photographer. Diamond of various cuts and shapes have "facets", those are many surfaces that will reflect light in many different directions. The colour of the stone has much to do with its value. A high-quality (regular clear) diamond is said to have"fire", which is high reflectivity with a neutral or slight blue tint. Yellow or yellowish diamonds are considered of lesser value and are often used for industrial purposes rather than jewelry. There are coloured diamonds, they too are valuable but are not problematic to photograph. Retaining the whiteness, sparkle and "fire" is the objective is where some difficulty occurs.

Another issue is black spots or carbon spots. Too many of these spots reduce the value of a diamond gemstone- so we don't want to create the appearance of black spots where they are not actually present but are caused by a dark field in the lighting.

The trick in gettg good sparkling images of demons lies in understanding and utilizing the angle of incidence theory and manipulating the light accordingly.

So...the angle of incidence = the and of reflection. If you look at the image of the coins you will notice that most of them appear as a metallic silver and gold yet a few of them are BLACK The bright shiny ones are in a LIGHT FIELD and the black ones are in a DARK FIELD so when you are shooting diamonds you need to avoid too many dark fields as per the lighting angle. Slight incremental movement of the lights and the stone will alter the fields as the fascets receive light from various angles.

The image of the diamond-encrusted watch was difficult because the client wanted emphasis on the gold case and yet wanted the demons to appear neutral to bluish.

Note: Many of the jewelry advertising you see in catalogues and brochures is heavily retouched to enhance colour and sparkle. I try to avoid the necessity for extreme retouching in that it is time-consuming and costly for the clients and can look very artificial. Transilluminatng stones in certain settings in rings can be very difficult. I have a jewelry job coming into the studio shortly and I am working on a setup utilizing high-intensity small LED lights- I'll post some results soon.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

Yes cutting stones is a good bit of education and a lot of practice. I made Grand Master after only 5 years of cutting. I was on the board of the United States Faceting Guild but it took to much from my cutting time. I got into photography to take pics of my stones and then never really needed to as all have sold immediately. I have been able to keep 2 of them so far. Lol. One the blue one and experiment and the other a piece of ametrine. Now I shot wildlife as much as possible. Lol

Paul Diamond Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA

I never received acknowledgment of others for my gemstone experience. But, then, I never tried, either. I have over 25 years in gemstones and even have the full set of GIA Gemstone books used for training/certification of gemstone evaluation. It is more than book knowledge. It is practical experience. It is actually faceting your own gemstones to a particular design. I've always had a duplicity and many more possible contentions than 2 on what and where to apply my experience and knowledge in the field of gemstones and diamonds. Can I today take and pass at GIA Certification for Diamonds or Gemstones? I'd study a bit for the "final." But I have confidence about the outcome. I do love faceting. And I do miss using either one of the two faceting machines that have been sitting unused for far too long. But, my interest and fascination begins with the process of formation and continues to the stream gravel or stone that is mined from the rock. I dearly love every aspect of geology and gemology.

I did serve two local gem and mineral 'societies' in a variety of positions to share my interest and love of knowing this subject to inspire others. And, now, at a more senior age, I'm in the process of sharing the specimens I collected as well as the equipment and books to examine them by others much younger than me. It seems to give meaning and purpose to life - what you can pass along and share with others. Hopefully, to inspire others, too.

So, I suggest and plea - please share your knowledge and experience with local (within state) Gem and Mineral Societies memberships. Ask if you can give a presentation to the membership about (choose a subject). Then prepare and do it. Not to 'toot your own horn' but to inspire, hopefully, at least one other person younger than you. And, you should consider your success as judged by the ones you inspire to learn and explore.

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

Thanks.
Just sharing my way.
I'm sure there are other and maybe even better ways to accomplish the goal.

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

Thanks.
It really is work we do product shoots for the company.

copladocus

Good advice here. May I add, get a piece if clear plastic or glass and drill a 1/16" to 1/8" hole in the center and use that to hold each diamond. Use lighting as described and experiment. Here is a reality, however, getting those diamonds appraised by a registered gemologist is the best way to market them. The photos, no matter how technically perfect they might be, will only entice the more uninformed diamond buyers. Without the documentation from an appraiser you might as well be selling photogenic fakes and trust me, there are a lot of them out there. An appraisal is money well spent, especially with a handful of unmounted gemstones. Good luck with your project and sale.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

If you want an appraisal that actually means something you will have to get a GIA appraisal. A bit costly but if the stones are truly valuable no one will pay a large sum without GIA certification.

Paul Diamond Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA

Agree. With several diamonds to be graded, you will be negotiating a 'package' price for grading all of them 'at one time.' The price should be much lower, unless you expect a GIA stamped logo with each appraisal. Less than a full written appraisal of each stone should be much less costly. - Recommend that you not choose a less reputable institution than GIA for the appraisals. And it will really help you have credibility when you are ready to sell them.

copladocus

BINGO! Yes, I failed to add "GIA" to the Registered Gemologist comment. All the worse since I am half way to getting that certification. And, yes, negotiate a bulk pricing but be sure each individual stone is appraised and a Certificate of Appraisal is issued. Anything less would be a waste of your time and money. And, FYI, unmounted stones are comparatively easy to appraise (I would certainly offer a discount) as you dont have a mounting obscuring details and the Gemologist does not have to do complex calculations of weight based on sometimes hard to get physical measurements of size.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I don't think the OP is looking to illuminate a whole studio. He just wants to illuminate small collections of gemstones. And if he has a tripod, the lighting doesn't have to be particularly bright. If halogen lights help to produce the desired effect (sparkle), I think they're worth considering. I got this from a Google search of "Lighting for displaying jewelry":-

What light bulbs do jewelry stores use?

Halogen bulbs create beautiful, strong spots of light that really enhance jewelry to the max and cause them to sparkle with life and fire. Not only do jewelers have bright flood lights that point down at their lovely merchandise, but they also have the overhead fluorescent bulbs that create wonderful ambient light.

KindaSpikey Loc: English living in San Diego

Well, the advice given here is, while very good, some of it is getting extremely in depth and a little complicated. Also I'm not sure if the original question was asking about appraisals? Honestly, if it were me, I'd try the most simple setup to get the shots desired. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I thought that was the original question asked. I would just get a light box, and experiment moving a couple of light sources while looking at the screen on the camera until the "sparkle" occurs, then shoot, adjust, shoot again etc until the results are what's wanted. Maybe I'm wrong, and I'm sure "more qualified" folks will criticize me, but that's where I'd start. Quick and easy without too much time spent learning and trying to remember what to do. By the way, my father was a diamond setter and goldsmith working in Hatton Garden, in London for 50 years, (this was when jewelry was made by hand, not mass produced by machines), I watched him stage and photograph his products many times as I was growing up. Currently my sister sells "costume jewelry", and although not genuine gemstones, the process of photographing them is the same. My father, and sister both used light boxes, (not for every shoot), with great results. It's worth a try with nothing to lose really. Ultimately, just do whatever you're comfortable with, have fun with it, and good luck with your venture.

scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

I got them appraised and have the paperwork. I think it was about $100 apiece with the paperwork.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

Cool now if you decide to sell retail you have a good possibility of a sale. Of course wholesale diamonds are not worth much unless you want to trade and or purchase. I don't deal in diamonds but do sell a lot of colored gemstones. When I cut a piece that is highly valuable I always have GIA do the appraisal. It's the best way to document value and customers who buy expensive stones will usually not buy without. If I can be of any help please feel free to PM me. I do not sell diamonds and don't deal in diamonds but do have a good knowledge of the gem trade.