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1.0 carat round question: lowest color you''d go? what about clarity?

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DwightHowardz

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
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When I originally just read the pricescope tutorial, the minimum specs I wanted was 1.0 F, VS2, signature ideal

but after doing more reading on the forums, i''m finding myself relaxing the requirements a bit to like 1.0 H, SI1 (a lot of it because of money limitations!)

anyhow, that''s not important for this topic.

how low would you go for color and for clarity for a 1.0c round? assume it''s for your own engagement ring. i will never relax the cut!
 
People vary.
They want different color and clarity grades.

If you asked a large enough sample I think you'd get a bell curve with a peak near I, SI1.
If you take comfort in being like the largest group just get an eye-clean I SI1.

If you are not the type to take comfort in numbers and put more weight on what you'd like, I recommend viewing diamonds in person to discover YOUR color and clarity comfort zone.

Personally I'm an F VVS2 kinda guy - but what good does it do you to know my preference?
You may get 20 responses from I SI1 lovers - but again what good does that do you if you later discover your preference is not I SI1?

One thing is for sure though.
Cut is the most important but least understood C to the beauty of a diamond.
Get the best cut possible.
 
I think anything on the a-z color spectrum I''d be okay with - I don''t like the fancy yellows though... if I *really* wanted a clear diamond I don''t think I''d go lower than G or H and maybe not lower then F. Not sure - I''ve never been opposed to the lower colors - I actually like them.
 
oh and clarity - my sweet spot is VS2... I wouldn''t go higher than VS1 and I probably wouldn''t go lower than SI1 and I''d be picky about it... if it was for a pendant I might go SI2... not sure.
 
would love a well cut G SI1
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If I was sticking to the 1ct size then I would go for a G SI1. I would go down to a J to get notocably bigger though. I recently went to an SI2 to be able to afford a 1.2ct G color.

My ideal is G SI1 though.
 
it all depends on your preference. I prefer the creamy colors of lower colored stones. H down to M. However I can see the beauty of the D to F stones but they aren''t worth the extra cost for what my budget can afford. G is a sweet spot, still very white to the eye but at a better price. At PS get-togethers when I''ve had the chance to compare set D through J stones it was pretty hard to tell the difference when the cuts were comparable (most being excellent/ideal cuts).

Same with clarity. I prefer a larger stone that has been cut to near perfection and will accept lower color and clarity to achieve that.
 
H VS2, though I could be persuaded to buy a good SI1 for noticeable size increase. Wound up with a G VS1 though.
 
Date: 12/11/2009 1:33:45 AM
Author: swingirl
it all depends on your preference. I prefer the creamy colors of lower colored stones. H down to M. However I can see the beauty of the D to F stones but they aren''t worth the extra cost for what my budget can afford. G is a sweet spot, still very white to the eye but at a better price. At PS get-togethers when I''ve had the chance to compare set D through J stones it was pretty hard to tell the difference when the cuts were comparable (most being excellent/ideal cuts).


Same with clarity. I prefer a larger stone that has been cut to near perfection and will accept lower color and clarity to achieve that.
Click to expand...


this is interesting, because the jewelers i''ve met haven''t really given me a good selection to look at and it''s encouraging to know that we might like lower colored stones... possibly as far down as to the J!
 
I *like* off white stones- say, K-O/P, which are not actually yellowish looking face up but are a soft antique white/cream color, especially in antique cuts. My e-ring is an M colored Old European Cut, with the clarity being an IF with a chip (visible under magnification only) that makes it a VS2. So really, as far as clarity goes, as long as it's eye clean, anything is OK with me. I would not trade it for a colorless stone if they were the same price- I like the color. To wear a low color stone like that, you pretty much have to, because it does have visible body color face up. Not a lot- it looks mostly like it's a bit "steely" (with a sort of silvery cast) face up, it's really only from the side that you can see that it's actually a yellow tone the diamond has, not grey. (And I do adore that my preference in color lets me get bigger stones without feeling like I compromised on anything- colors below J are *very* affordable, oftentimes.)

I have an N colored OEC as a right hand ring, and that one has more of a cream colored tone at first glance, not steely looking like the M. Neither color bothers *me*, but it's not everyone's taste.

Typically I can see color face up, in a well cut, set stone with no other color of diamond right next to it for comparison, at about J or K. If it's on someone's finger and they're not actually showing me their diamond on purpose, it's even harder to judge color.

If you or your GF is the sort that scrutinizes your diamond for any hint of color and would hate seeing any, at any angle under any lighting conditions, I'd bet G or mayyyybe H would be the lowest possible. A well cut stone shows more color from the side, so if you're tilting it and obsessing over a hint of color (and we all have our quirks, I'm by no means trying to sound critical) most people would find it in an I or J color. If you're a bit more laid back then Js can certainly face up quite white. Also J is a broader category of color than the colorless range, so they're not all really the exact same color. A "high" colored J (that is, close to I) and a "low" J (closer to K) would have a lot more visible difference between them, while still both actually being J colored, than an F could exhibit. If I explained that clearly!
 
A poorly cut J will look more yellow than a well cut J. If you compare stones at a jeweler''s make sure the cuts are equal. A lot of people end up looking at a poorly cut J that doesn''t have an AGS or GIA report and is probably closer to an L or M. They get turned off to the lower colors, especially if the store really wants to sell them a higher priced E or F.

The Leo diamond (Kays) and Peerless diamond (Jared) are good to comparing colors. You can then decide for yourself where your tolerance is. Those branded stones are very well cut but over priced.
 
Date: 12/11/2009 3:02:54 AM
Author: swingirl
A poorly cut J will look more yellow than a well cut J. If you compare stones at a jeweler''s make sure the cuts are equal. A lot of people end up looking at a poorly cut J that doesn''t have an AGS or GIA report and is probably closer to an L or M. They get turned off to the lower colors, especially if the store really wants to sell them a higher priced E or F.


The Leo diamond (Kays) and Peerless diamond (Jared) are good to comparing colors. You can then decide for yourself where your tolerance is. Those branded stones are very well cut but over priced.
Click to expand...

good point. i should ask my jeweler if the cuts are equal when he shows me like a "G" and an "I"... i''m betting that they usually aren''t
 
clarity: I have VVS1 and all the way down to I1. The upgrade is just bought is F SI2, and it's not totally eye clean, and it has a table area inclusion, to boot. But it's still a lovely diamond and the clarity trade-off was worth it for the the F bright white color.

You can look all the way through the e-rings eye candy thread in SMTR forum. Here are links for individual colors. Keep in mind that you can't always go by photos. Strong lighting will wash the color somewhat. And the color grades I and lower can sort of change personality with different lighting, more than G and above do. I is generally where most people start to notice tint. Since owning and F, I can see tint in H and lower.

I:
I color
another I

J:
J color
another J

K:
K color
another K

range:
colorWD.jpg
 
^^ thank you for that nice post!
 
there's another color comparison lineup here at Brian Gavins' site:
http://www.brianthecutter.com/all-about-diamonds/the-4-cs/color/ link

I think those threads that I listed above should be stickies. I have most of them bookmarked from when I was trying what diamond to buy, which turned out the be the F SI2. I already have a big J or possibly it's a K diamond, though. Decided I wanted a higher color that I didn't already own. G is kind of a good value, if you want high color and reasonable cost. There's a post on here from 'way back where one of the jewelers or appraisers said he'd put a G on his wife's hand. G, especially high G almost F, is very white.

The Brian Gavin lineup looks realistic to me. My H diamonds, unmounted and face down, can look alarmingly tan, lol. They are white face up, though.

Also, as you start going down the color scale, the bands (except I) get wider, i.e. a J might be rather pale or rather tinted, depending on which end of the range it is. I color is a narrow band due to some error in how the parameters were set. Ask denver appraier or old Miner for more info on that.

And L and M, I think are gorgeous colors. They are definitely not trying to be white. They are ivory.
 
H SI1
 
O VS2
 
Date: 12/11/2009 2:22:45 AM
Author: LittleGreyKitten
I *like* off white stones- say, K-O/P, which are not actually yellowish looking face up but are a soft antique white/cream color, especially in antique cuts.
Click to expand...

I think they look like the color of straw and I love it. I don''t know. That''s just me.
 
I personally don''t like to go higher than I, since I too am a fan of lower colors. So I''d be fine with anything down to a Z, although I don''t love fancy yellows either. Ivory is where my heart goes
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If I were buying for someone else, though, or advising a friend on a suitable e-ring diamond, I''d probably tell them to stick with I and eyeclean SI1 or better, unless I knew for a fact that the end recipient was a warm-color lover too. It''s just safer to be more conservative since most people don''t know much about lower colors or haven''t seen any in person and, based on marketing, think of them as "bad." So to avoid that stigma, I''d tell someone else to stick to the higher colors.
 
E VS2. For an OEC I would take any color but stick with VS2 clarity. You have to go with what you feel comfortable with, so start looking!
 
My favorite range is H-J, VS2-SI1.

We ended up getting a J, VS2 and I love the color/clarity combo. We picked two sidestones of the same combo to make it a three stone.
 
My sweet spot is F VS2 for a diamond ring. It is what I wear (a 1.5 ct stone that I got after 25 years of marriage). I own a couple of smaller stones, too, and they are F VS1 and E VS2. I would go a bit smaller than 1 ct if money was tight, because I love my icy white stones. I could see possibly going to an I SI1 if size was more important to you. But, that wasn't what I personally chose.
 
Anything D-I for an RB, eyeclean I1. For an OEC - the lower the better! I just think old cuts are supposed to be creamy, wintery romantic colours rather than the stark precise white I prefer in modern RBs.
 
what''s OEC?
 
I''d be comfortable with an H or I VS2/SI1.
 
I-J VS2/SI1. I like just a hint of warmth in the diamond.

That said, one of my favorite stones on PS is glitterata's S color I1 clarity Inifinity. It is so unique and gorgeous!
 
Choice of diamond characteristics is a balancing act and each person will be different.

If 1ct was really important, I'd go down to J colour and SI2 clarity (eye clean). Perhaps even lower, for a great stone. But I would need to be sure that the recipient was prepared to trade colour or clarity for bigger size. Some people actually like the "warm" colour of H and lower stones.

If a little less than 1ct was acceptable as a trade-off for higher colour, I'd prefer G SI1 as a good balance that should please most people.

But my "sweet spot" is F colour and VS2 clarity. I won't say no to a D colour, but I have little interest in flawless or VVS stones because I like some inclusions that can be found with a loupe. They serve as unique identifying marks and they verify that your diamond is genuine and the one that you paid for (assuming that you have an insluion plot on the diamond certificate to match against the diamond).

The colour and clarity scales appear to have greater "tolerances" within the bands (wider range of colour or clarity within the bands) as they get lower. I can easily tell H from F (2 grades), but I can't tell F from D (2 grades).
I consider that F VS2 is the point at which the stone is indistinguishable from D IF to almost everyone.
 
I love my Infinity I1 S

I1Shand2.jpg


Edited to add: I just noticed Jet2ks beat me to the punch. Thanks for the sweet comment, Jet!
 
H, eye-clean SI1 (or a good SI2). If budget allowed, an F VS2.
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