Color and Clarity off Balance?

[kenny]

Isn''t it kind of crazy to buy a D SI2?
How about a K VVS1 or IF?
Should clarity and color be similar, like F VVS2, or I SI2?
Wouldn''t that make the most sense for your dollar?

I realize anyone who sells stones wouldn''t want to say anything unkind about any of their inventory, but as a buyer how do you feel?

 

[Kim N]

As a buyer, I think it''s perfectly fine for color and clarity to be off-balance. What if one buyer prioritizes color but isn''t as concerned about the clarity, and another buyer is vice versa? I''d buy a D/SI2 if I were a little more concerned about color. I don''t care about clarity as long as it is eye-clean, so I''d go for an SI1/2 no matter what color I got.

 

[cinnabar]

I''d buy a D SI2 because the colour (or lack of it) is important to me. I love knowing there is no whiter diamond out there, I have the ultimate in whiteness.

Some people feel the same way about clarity, there''s a feeling of purity about an IF.

I don''t see why everyone would want to compromise on all the Cs; some of us want just one C to be the best there is and the other Cs just aren''t as important. Other people choose size as their priority, and aren''t as bothered about colour or clarity.

(assuming that a nice cut is a given)

I''m a colour ho'', and although I have a VS2 I would take an eye-clean SI2 - there weren''t any around when we were buying though, and our budget allowed for the VS2 because I wasn''t hung-up on size.

 

[decodelighted]

Here''s the thing ... stones in those configuations EXIST. D/Si2''s and K/IF''s. Because they are not in high demand, I bet some savings is built into the prices. They''re actually perfect choices for people who value one "C" more than others. Some of a stone''s qualities are determined by NATURE. Nature is imperfect. Nature doesn''t adhere to our "desires" of balance within a stone. If a buyer''s priorities & budget dictates : why not?

 

[Patty]

I would do it in a minute with a D color stone and SI2 or I1 clarity if the cut is great.

I would NOT do it if it were a K IF b/c for me, I would be able to see the color and I would never want to pay for that kind of clarity.

Wink has some gorgeous looking N stones on his site right now but the clarity is too high for my preference. (IF and VVS1)

Barry (Excel) has had a D, I-1 on his site for a while that looks interesting. It does not appear to be eye clean from the photos but I have not asked him what it''s like in real life.

 

[valeria101]

The balancing act looks like a great stab in the dark for someone who doeasn't know or care to figure out what the grades mean and just knos how to count steps on a scale ...


D-SI2 is both a 'cheap' D and a pricey "SI2' - one may come handier than the other depending on whether you are buying or selling

If it is a perfecty colorless and clean diamond, why not.

 

[picky]

I hate color. Hate it. I can see it like no other. When people on diamond forums say they love H, I, J stones because they can''t see any color, I think "Are they crazy?!" I can see it clearly, from the face up in lovely cuts. I''ve looked ay many stones in person, and a local jeweler tested me because he didn''t believe me.
I passed.

So yeah I''d buy a diamond like that (si/D) because I like colorless stones, but as long as I can''t see the birthmarks I''m fine. I just did actually.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/1/2005 8:26:26 AM
Author: Prisms
I hate color. Hate it. I can see it like no other. When people on diamond forums say they love H, I, J stones because they can't see any color, I think 'Are they crazy?!' I can see it clearly, from the face up in lovely cuts. I've looked ay many stones in person, and a local jeweler tested me because he didn't believe me.
I passed.

So yeah I'd buy a diamond like that (si/D) because I like colorless stones, but as long as I can't see the birthmarks I'm fine. I just did actually.

Valeria and I are Cape fans, it is an individual thing, I would take a well cut L M or N SI2 in a heartbeat! I think it is a good thing that you can try to match your most important C as you can, with the wide differences in colour and clarity. With clarity, as long as I can't see it easily or at all that's fine with me. I love the warmer colours and this all makes it easier to find a much larger diamond than I would otherwise have had

To be honest a D or colourless isn't important to me, just my preference.

 

[windowshopper]

i bought a D VS2 and i had a comment or 2 about that but i feel color should be as high as is possible and clarity as low as is necessary for the cut and appearance.. i actually bought my stone based on cut first...........it happened to be D VS2--I was in search of an E VS1........................i think resale may be asier when they are closer together

 

[FireGoddess]

Ditto to what most have said. I would take a D SI2 if it's eyeclean because the color is visible to me, while the inclusions are not. It also drops the price of the D stone considerably rather than if it was a VS2 for example. I wouldn't go the other way however, with a K IF stone although Mary Alaina has a gorgeous K IF pear stone. I particularly like the icier color stones, so even though the idea of having an IF stone might have some mental appeal, the color is not within my preference, and no one would be able to tell the stone is IF if I didn't tell them so.

 

[Shiny42805]

Aside from cut, color was the most important factor for me, as long as the stone was eye-clean.

I ended up with an E (independantly appraised as a D), SI1 - and i couldn''t be happier.

I''m a very color-sensitive person - I was able to indentify a SET G as a G, not as the "E" the jeweler swore it faced up as.