What color is Too yellow?

[Teckie]

Hi,

This is with regards to the Asian culture thingy. I don't know if this helps but I, like tomatoe, live in Singapore as well and in my search for a e-ring, I've visited almost all the jewellery chain stores in Singapore. Never once was I told (by any salestalk) that colour and clarity was a symbol of perfection or the like. Neither has my mum/grandmum ever mentioned about that as well. Most sales assistants will tell me to get a F VS1 minimum but when asked why, they will say anything lower is noticeable. I think we all agree that thats rubbish.

On the topic of sales assistants, can you imagine, one salesgirl actually told me that I'd better not get a SI1 cos diamonds actually become lower in clarity the more you wear them. Like for example, if you hit them against the wall or if you rub them, after a few years a SI1 will become I1... so better get VVS1/2... so degrade to VS1/2 still not so bad! Goodness me....

 

[tomatoe]

Obsessed, I beg to differ. Perfect cannot be rated by someone/ something else, least of all a diamond certficate. Any gift, not only of a diamond, that was made or bought with love, thought, effort and careful consideration of the person receiving is perfect.

 

[Obsessed]

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On 3/6/2004 12:59:17 PM tomatoe wrote:

Obsessed, I beg to differ. Perfect cannot be rated by someone/ something else, least of all a diamond certficate. Any gift, not only of a diamond, that was made or bought with love, thought, effort and careful consideration of the person receiving is perfect.

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Actually I totally agree with what you're saying. What makes a dimaond engagement ring perfect is the love, consideration, and the meaning behind it. I was just commenting about the Korean/Asian cultural beliefs.... although, the only people who would make a comment about technical perfection is someone who doesn't own one or have never gotten one for a loved one. You know, the standard 'put others down when you don't have something'. Like when I got my Audi, the one friend of mine who drives the cheapest car says to me, "oh... thats nice, but a BMW is better!" Or when you get in to UCLA, and somebody who doesn't even goto college says, "oh, you couldn't get into Stanford?" I hate to sound like one of those people on this forum, but maybe I did on that one particular post. In that case, my views were taken out of context... although, I don't blame you for not reading every single post I've written. I believe all engagement ring from a loved one are beautiful and perfect

!

 

[makemepretty]

J or above is a good rule of thumb. I think to the regular person, not a diamond fanatic, J or above is a pretty safe bet for a lovely diamond. I compared an H-I diamond to a colorless diamond at the mall and I couldn't see a difference(neither could the salesperson). When I went to a high end jewelry store and asked to see a 1.5 princess diamond they brought me out an H VS1 and I was so impressed by the whiteness(it wasn't mounted and it was against a white background). I made up my mind right there that's exactly what I was looking for. Of course, I ordered mine on line to save some money. I see no color in my ring and it looks too perfect that I'm sure many will think it's not even real. Actually, it's not so much that it looks white, it's more clear than anything.

 

[Charmed]

Why is E chosen as too yellow? E is colorless! Can anyone explain why E received feedback and F is 0%? Any conclusions are appreciated! I am truly stumped!!!

 

[Charmed]

OOPS, my mistake! E only received 1%. The bar appeared very long to me. Still odd anyway. But I guess it took only one person to vote on E. Sorry about that!!!

 

[abba]

I believe D is way too yellow. I will only buy A or B color diamonds.

 

[carina]

believe it or not I have a great 2.39 ct K color, VVS2, If you hit it right you can get a very faint K color that is hardly obvious.

 

[moremoremore]

LOL- yeah- who voted E....fess up! slap slap

I don't think it's tacky, but I draw the line at below G. A well cut G can blind the best of em! But I do see a teensy bit of tint in the H when looking through the pavillion

 

[Stargazer]

Short but sweet..
I believe up to a 'H' is definately white, from 'I' onwards I personally start to see a 'feeling' of colour, and at K its becoming obvious.(although this is going off mounted stones in rings I've looked at- just as a diamond lover.)
Having said that its in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Stephan]

I would say J can be white or not
as SI1 can be eye-clean or not.

pqcollectible's J is very white, my De Beers Millenium diamond (J color too) is also very white, but sometimes...

 

[starfire]

Hi Nicrez,

Personally, I think that colour is highly subjective and everyone has their own opinion. However, in our experience in Singapore with Gabrielle Diamonds, we have had customers who even bought N-O colours while others prefer to stick to D-H colours.

This is probably peculiar to Gabrielle Diamonds because they tend to be more "sparkly", and may not apply to H&A diamonds in Singapore. But generally, in Singapore, people do tend towards colours in the range of D-K colour.

There are some who prefer "higher" colours, while some place more emphasis on "better" clarity. In the end, as I am sure you know, it all boils down to what the customer values most within the 4Cs.

When you use the term Asian, frankly, I am a little bewildered. It covers 3 billion people and so many cultures - of which many are completely different - that this term is irrelevant. Pakistan is Asian, and so is Japan. But I would find it very difficult to find commonalities between the two.

GENERALLY, high colours sell well in Japan, yes. IDEALLY, most women might aspire to a "D" colour. Some women will want the best of ALL worlds and go for SIZE, Colour AND Clarity.

Really, it all comes down to the individual looking at the diamond...

Just my 2 cents' worth...

Best regards,
Stephen Tan
Charlotte Atelier
Singapore

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On 3/4/2004 9:52:57 AM Nicrez wrote:


Tomatoe, I respect your opinion, but I stick to mine. SOME Asian cultures believe in the purity of the stone, just as some Americans and others all over. But generally, I have been told by 3 of my Asian friends that purity is a big thing in their 'culture', Two are Chinese, One Vietnamese. All three woudl want high color, high clarity. Also 5 jewelers asked me if my BF was Asian, because we were looking for colorless and high clarity. To me, that says there's a trend.


If we didn't generalize about anything, we would be so specific and conversations would never end. For the sake of time and illustrating a trend, I said it, and I still stick to it. Just yesterday a jeweler told me that she always sends all her high color'clarity stones to Japan because they really sell there much better than here. She's been a jeweler for 30+ years!


If I am wrong, then I truly apologize, but let's not get all sensitive. Everyone is already bickering over size (too big / too small), why fight over such a silly point? I accept totally that their are acceptions to all generalizations, that's why I didn't say ALL Asian people like...I tried to keep it general. It's like saying ALL PS people are over 30years old. Some are, many are not, NOTHING is ever totally one way. Can we be friends now?

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[starfire]

Hi Mara,

I agree with you. I have seen some nice J-K diamonds, and when set in a nice ring with the appropriate lighting, they don't look yellow. Unless you spend 5 minutes staring into it...

If you get a lower colour diamond (say, J-K) with medium to strong blue flourescence, it can look very nice provided the blue flourescence does not make the diamond look cloudy or oily. Such a combination is actually very good value, compared to a high-colour diamond.

Best regards,
Stephen Tan
Charlotte Atelier
Singapore

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On 3/3/2004 2:21:44 PM Mara wrote:


I personally would say 'tacky yellow' is around N stage. UNLESS you want a warmer stone. But if you thought you were getting a whiter stone and have an N...

I had N colored earrings for 2 years and didn't even know it! They just looked a little warm.


I have seen some online pix of amazing J stones and they are not yellow at all!


Okay and who is the person who voted H? Speak up now.

Have you even SEEN an H in person? My H Regent is SOOOOOOOOOOOO white, honestly....I don't see a tint of color.

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[Todd07]

We have a 1.6c J/SI1/H&A in a solitare and were at BB&B looking at the Ritani Endless Love bezel for our ultimate setting.

The sales gal said “honey, you don’t want to do that to that gorgeous stone. Now if that stone were like a J and SI1 or 2, then I’d say ok, put it in the bezel, but don’t put that stone in a bezel”. When we told her it was a J/SI1, she quickly changed the subject. /idealbb/images/smilies/naughty.gif/idealbb/images/smilies/naughty.gif/idealbb/images/smilies/naughty.gif

Finding a great lower color and clarity diamond is a bit of a treasure hunt. If you do your homework, you get a beautiful stone at a great price that the Pros can't spot.

 

[Blueman33]

Too yellow? It depends.

For Granny Milstrom the best stone is 4 carat L, I5, cause she can't see. You could spray paint a chipped marbel and she'd be happy.

For the first wife, it was a D
Second wife, it's an E
Mistress got a D, which was thrown at me in the first divorce, and recycled.

and just to clarify, D, E, F, G, H, I, etc etc DON'T REFER TO YELLOW. They refer to color which is usually yellow but could be gray, brown, blue, or hot pink. I once saw a P colored hot pink diamond. too awesome. it's amazing. You can drop in in pink champagne and it vanishes. loved it so much, i bought the mine.

I am selling shares for the pink diamond mine, and have patented the word 'pinkstone', just send me $1000 and i'll send you how ever many shares you want me to print up.

 

[Blueman33]

ok, the wife thing was a joke. i am not married.

I got my sweets an I and spent my money on cut. I thought it looked great!

Until I put it against a D.

I immediately sent it away to DaveAtlas to make sure it isn't really an M.

Next time I would sacrafice a little more cut for color and carat.

I purchased 1.16 super ideal AGS 000 hearts and arrows and when I see a cheaper stone with VG symmetry and VG polish, I can't tell the difference. When I looked at a true H & A side by side with a "6 good arrows, two are busted" stone away from the loup, I couldn't tell.

Sparkle and Shine,
Blueman

 

[stephinextremis]

I can't choose an answer...but then, my e-ring is a Y-Z color, and I wanted it because it was yellow. Like the color of a Post-It, or a legal pad

But I suppose I am in the minority here.

Stephanie

 

[researcher]

When I first started looking at princess cut diamonds, I would not go lower than a G. I saw WAY too much yellow in them. But, when I finally came across an excellent cut H, it looked as white as most of the G's I'd seen. I then lowered my "color tolerance" to H colored stones, and finally to H/I (I saw some I's at Tiffany's that showed no color face up). The stone I ended up with is an I, which really surprises people when I tell them. I mean, I'm one of those people who sees the base colors in white paint! I am extremely picky with my blacks matching, and would DIE if my stone showed any yellow at all! Fortunately, it doesn't except when I'm in the BMW with a tan leather interior that has a yellow tint to it. And I can deal with that!

 

[mrs jam]

I'm a proud owner of a 2.56ct K, courtesy of GOG. I was extremely leery of going with a K, especially since I wasn't able to see it in person, but I am so glad I did. I'm sure that I would see the difference if I held it next to a D-colored stone of similar size, but when I look at it, all I see is white sparkle and rainbows.

I have a 1ct OEC that belonged to my mom that was appraised as a K or an L, and you can definitely see the yellow warmth in that stone. I guess cut must make all the difference in the world in how color is camouflaged.

 

[lmurden]

The only way I could really answer this question is if I saw D-L color loose diamonds that were all AGS000, because every time I saw loose diamonds from store to store I-K color they looked different. In the end I think it is all about the CUT!

 

[Jennifer5973]

I've said it before and I'll say it again in this context--people see sparkle and size. Unless it's really yellow/dingy (and I mean the bad kind not a nice fancy) combined with a mediocre-to-poor cut, no one but the wearer will notice. I am sure there are exceptions, people with diamond-savvy friends (or perhaps the cultural sensitivity to quality some have mentioned here), but I've had my 3.01 ct H for almost 3 months and all people want to know is how big it is.

After all the exhaustive obsessing over cut, color and clarity (don't even get me started on that--everyone asks if my SI2 is "flawless"), most people are just size obsessed. The cut paid off in the sparkle and clarity--you can't see squat but flashes and fire in this thing.

The parametes of well-cut are somewhat defined (although we see right here many healthy debates over the new cut grading systems and stones that defy the numbers game)--that's almost the easy part. Each individual must conclude on her own what her color and clarity tolerances are. Look, look, look...then know.

 

[msbennie]

Mrs. Jam...is that your "K" in your avatar....if so, it is soooooo white!!!!! I have a "J" (which is also my avatar) and definitely faces up white....

 

[moremoremore]

I tried on a ten carat asscher at e-rings direct today. It was a BIG mofo. it was a K. I never ever ever ever would have guessed. It was not yellow to me at all. Not at all. And in an asscher? And in that size? OMG- just a TINY bit too big for me LOL...and about 100000 out of my budget LOL...but NOT yellow at all!

It was lovely!