Need some opinions on a GIA G color

[Dgk30]

So I just bought a loose diamond from Blue Nile, did a lot of research and looked at some stones in stores. I decided on a GIA .90 ideal cut VS2 G. Found one with a great spread and scored 1.4 on the cut advisor (excellent light return, excellent fire, very good scintillation, and excellent on spread). It came in the mail and it's a great looking stone expect to me it looks a little yellow, maybe I'm just being too critical as obviously when I pop the question I want her to think its perfect. So I took it to a reputable jewelry store and the gemologist said its a beautiful stone beautifully cut and very clean for a VS2 and that it looks like a G color. So my question is, should I be able to see a little color in a loose G color diamond and will it look better once mounted? It's going to get mounted in a halo setting. Just want a little sanity check to make sure I'm not being too critical I love the diamond all around it's just the color that getting me, I didn't think I would be able to see color in it by looking at it by itself. Thanks

 

[luvdajules]

Maybe take it to an appraiser with GIA master color stones? This sounds a little strange, I would not think it would look yellowy at all, but maybe you are super color sensitive? My J when loose looked super white to me. I have to admit it looks a little creamy in some lighting now that it's set. I'd take it to an appraiser and also take it to a jeweler to set on top of some settings so you can assess the color once it's set, so you can see if you like it or need to go up in color before really setting it. Some people really do need DEF colors. Good luck to you.

 

[SirGuy]

If a G looked exactly the same as a D, it would be a D. Unmounted, face down and from the side, seeing a little tint isn't unreasonable.

By the way, GIA doesn't grade cut as "ideal," as its highest grade is "excellent." Something to note when considering the details of your stone's report.

When mounted and getting the full effect of its light return, the color shouldn't be as obvious when looking at it from the top. (Assuming it's cut well.)

 

[Gypsy]

G is very safe and VERY white.

It is important to remember is that color is graded FACE DOWN. Where there is NO light return. Not face up where there is light return and refraction. You wear diamonds set. FACE UP.

Within one color grade, even the labs can't agree on the color grades of stones and something could be a "high" H or a "low" E. So... no. Not really. Within 2 color grades it is hard. Not impossible. But very hard. And it gets harder once set. If you are talking ideal rounds, or any stone with ideal light return and no sharp corners it gets harder still because the ideal light return masks body color.

Generally we say to be conservative stay above H.

If you are talking fancy shapes without ideal light return (because there is no 'ideal' for EC's Radiant, etc) it's a bit different.

This is how I think of it.

Ever gotten one of those HUGE paint fan decks? Where there are literally 100s of colors of whites? And when they are RIGHT next to each other you can TOTALLY tell that one is bluer/colder and one is a bit warmer and which one is one is TOTALLY warmer. One there's one that's slightly greener. One that's slightly pinker? But really. They are all white?

Then you pick one after agonizing over this white or that white and when it's on the walls and people are like: Oh. You painted again. And it's STILL white. Great.

And you're all... BUT it's BLUE white. Or it's a WARM white now. It used to be ____ white. It's TOTALLY different.

It's like that. You are talking about shades of white. D is colder... J is warmer. But it's all white.

YES. If you have an accurately graded D and an G THAT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE you are going to be able to tell them apart when you compare them side by side. Just like you would be able to tell if you painted your walls a warm white, but painted the crown molding a cold/straight white. But both are STILL white, you only see the contrast because of the proximity. But it's very slight, you could set an F center with G sides and never tell the difference. And even H sides depending on the setting and the size of the sidestones... especially with round brilliants.


I want you notice all the qualifiers thought. I'm talking about stones with the SAME performance. An ideal H will out white an F that has compromised light performance from a poor cut for example.

NOTHING impacts the appearance of a diamond as much as cut. CUT is king.

You want the shinest whitest and brightest diamond out there: Cut is King. No other factor, not color or clarity or anything else impacts how white bright an shiny a stone is.

 

[canvasback]

G is very safe and VERY white.

It is important to remember is that color is graded FACE DOWN. Where there is NO light return. Not face up where there is light return and refraction. You wear diamonds set. FACE UP.

Within one color grade, even the labs can't agree on the color grades of stones and something could be a "high" H or a "low" E. So... no. Not really. Within 2 color grades it is hard. Not impossible. But very hard. And it gets harder once set. If you are talking ideal rounds, or any stone with ideal light return and no sharp corners it gets harder still because the ideal light return masks body color.

Generally we say to be conservative stay above H.

If you are talking fancy shapes without ideal light return (because there is no 'ideal' for EC's Radiant, etc) it's a bit different.

This is how I think of it.

Ever gotten one of those HUGE paint fan decks? Where there are literally 100s of colors of whites? And when they are RIGHT next to each other you can TOTALLY tell that one is bluer/colder and one is a bit warmer and which one is one is TOTALLY warmer. One there's one that's slightly greener. One that's slightly pinker? But really. They are all white?

Then you pick one after agonizing over this white or that white and when it's on the walls and people are like: Oh. You painted again. And it's STILL white. Great.

And you're all... BUT it's BLUE white. Or it's a WARM white now. It used to be ____ white. It's TOTALLY different.

It's like that. You are talking about shades of white. D is colder... J is warmer. But it's all white.

YES. If you have an accurately graded D and an G THAT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE you are going to be able to tell them apart when you compare them side by side. Just like you would be able to tell if you painted your walls a warm white, but painted the crown molding a cold/straight white. But both are STILL white, you only see the contrast because of the proximity. But it's very slight, you could set an F center with G sides and never tell the difference. And even H sides depending on the setting and the size of the sidestones... especially with round brilliants.


I want you notice all the qualifiers thought. I'm talking about stones with the SAME performance. An ideal H will out white an F that has compromised light performance from a poor cut for example.

NOTHING impacts the appearance of a diamond as much as cut. CUT is king.

You want the shinest whitest and brightest diamond out there: Cut is King. No other factor, not color or clarity or anything else impacts how white bright an shiny a stone is.

Gypsy is incredible.

 

[Dgk30]

Thanks for the replys, I forgot to mention it's a round brilliant. Anyway, I never thought about a lesser color diamond looking whiter due to a better cut, makes sense and thanks for explaining I always thought of cut being that driving factor only towards the "shine and sparkle" non technical terms but you know what I mean, I didn't realize it had just as much effect on color. I was most interested in buying a stone that created as much light return and shine as possible and I think I've done that. Also to SirGuy I did mean to say it's GIA excellent cut not ideal. So going back to cut this diamond should look better once set due to excellent cut grade? I hate to send it back over the color I mean it's got everything else exactly how I want and the spread is a bonus at 6.31mm so Maybe I'm just a little color sensitive.

 

[Gypsy]

Regarding GIA excellent cut:

If you want to shop at Blue Nile, that's your choice. You should always the stones through the HCA. And read the below (so you understand what the HCA is).

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough. And you must stick to GIA and AGS only. EGL is a bad option: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/[/URL]
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. BGD, James Allen, GOG, HPD, ERD and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.


Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium.

 

[Gypsy]

I suspect your stone might be too shallow.







Thank you Jeremy.

 

[Dgk30]

I used the HCA as a rejection and the GIA report as a selection tool. I selected stones based on the specs I wanted and then eliminated anything over a 2. I have attached the measurments of my stone for you to review. I will work on having a store get me an idealscope image if I can find one that does it.

 

[Dgk30]

It scores a 1.1 on the HCA ( I know I said 1.4 earlier, that was a typo, sorry). I wouldnt think a diamond too shallow would score that well but please have a look at my GIA sheet I attached in the previous reply and let me know your thoughts. I am going to look at getting an idealscope asap although I wont be able to share the images with you guys to review ( I probably really wont know what im looking for as well as you all would)

 

[ecf8503]

Yes it's normal. A G is not a D - G's do have a very very slight tint, but they face up nice and white when set, especially in a halo where you won't be looking at the pavillion anyway. I have a D (w sbf) and 2 G's, and I can see the color in the G's when I'm looking for it, especially in direct sunlight, but they face up very white and are by no means yellow. Color is personal - some people want only ice white D's, others are ok with more tint as in the JKL range. Most people lie in the middle, which is the GHI range. The question is whether or not the color bothers you, not whether or not it is there, because it is, just very very slight.

 

[Dgk30]

yes it does look better face up, and honestly in the sunlight the diamond looks great, its in the lighting in my house that it looks yellowish which im sure is part of the lighting being yellow tinted as it can only reflect what it gathers. The more places and lighting situations I take the diamond the more comfortable I am becoming with it, its not so bad in some light but it is noticable in others.

 

[pyramid]

It is a 60/60 diamond but with a depth just below 60. The crown angle is 32 degrees, most ideal cut diamonds are above 34 degrees with tables below 58%. Still will be a good looking diamond as the 32 degrees will be complimented by a 41 degree pavillion. An ideal cut pavillion is usually about 40.8 degrees. I can see color in a G diamond that is why it is near colorless grade and not colorless. Not noticeable though to onlookers.

 

[Gypsy]

The crown is lower than I'd want in a ring stone, even for a 60/60. I think crown height of over 33.5 for 60/60 stones.

And also I wouldn't buy a 60/60 without an idealscope.