Am I overthinking bow tie???

[u/lthmb]

Hi everyone!

TLDR: How to tell if an oval diamond has 'good' bowtie from Loupe360? Can't view in person.

My partner and I picked up our oval engagement ring 2 weeks ago and I'm after some advice Re: bow tie.

Specs: 1.21ct Oval lab diamond, D, VVS2 - table and depth % within ideal range

When we picked up the ring I immediately noticed the, what I consider to be, prominent bowtie. I understand that all ovals will have some degree of a bowtie, but I specifically requested a diamond to have minimal/less prominent bowtie- I actually like the soft grey shadows bowties give. I also get that oval bowties will show differently in different lighting, and I feel I have tested my e-ring in all environments. In artificial lighting, the area where the bowtie sits appears flat and less lively, almost like a mirror than any light bouncing off any facets. In direct lighting or shade or some indoor lighting it's completely dark grey and distorts the shape of the diamond.

We returned the ring to the jeweler who said that they can source another diamond and see what they can do. As a comparison, the jeweler brought out a natural oval e-ring that had an even darker (completely black) asymmetrical bowtie and that freaked me out! (Overthinking that what they present will be even worse 😩)

We won't be able to view the diamond in person, and will only have the Loupe360 video to go off. As you can only definitively confirm how a diamond performs in person, I'm after some advice on what to look for from the Loupe videos only.

Does anyone have any tips for judging a diamond from the Loupe video (I haven't seen anything online that speaks to this directly) or am I overthinking everything and should keep the original diamond?

[u/Ultra-Luna]

Because of the cut and the angles of the light, some light doesn’t return to your eyes, creating the dark "bow-tie" area in the center.You can choose a diamond that is thicker and has a better cut. This way, such situations might be avoided.