better color smaller size?

[rosy]

Hi,
Just wanted an opinion would anyone be willing to go down in size to get a better color? I''m looking at an I colored stone 1.35 carats vs. an E stone 1.23 carats. I know that color is a very personal thing but so is size. Please help!

 

[researcher]

For that small of a difference I would go for color--and I have an I/SI stone. As you probably know, cut is the most important factor. I would choose the stone with the best cut, then go for carat, then color (though no lower than H/I), and finally clarity (though no lower than SI1). But, when you're NOT talking about a very noticeable size difference and you ARE talking about a noticeable color difference, I'd go for color

 

[Kamuelamom]

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On 10/23/2004 5:28:58 PM researcher wrote:

For that small of a difference I would go for color--and I have an I/SI stone. As you probably know, cut is the most important factor. I would choose the stone with the best cut, then go for carat, then color (though no lower than H/I), and finally clarity (though no lower than SI1). But, when you're NOT talking about a very noticeable size difference and you ARE talking about a noticeable color difference, I'd go for color

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What she said.

 

[aljdewey]

If they are both equivalent in cut properties, then I'd likely go with the E as long as it's eyeclean.




In this size, the small amount of extra carat weight won't be as noticeable as the improvement to color will.

 

[sluke]

Yes, I did. I was down to two diamonds, 1.51ct E color and 1.65ct H color. Both were eyeclean SI-1, about the same price and both ideal cut. Tough choice. In the end, for the minimal size difference, I opted for the slightly smaller E color. I prefer the icy white (even if it was very slight). However, if the H color was ideal 2+ carat, it would be a different story!

 

[perry]

Yes, I will compromise on size for color. Fact is that I cannot afford to buy the size diamonds I would like to, so I must compromise.

My first focus is on getting a good cut (and light return). Then I want to have a stone that is in the VS2 or SI1 range, then the compromise is on color and size. But in the end, I will compromise stone size to maintain the color I want.

Overall I have identified a total of 10 factors involved in buying a diamond (7 C's, 2 T's, and 1 N): Only the wealthy seems to have the money to buy top notch in all factors.

1) Cut
2) Color
3) Clarity
4) Carat

Renee Newman also list in her book Diamond Ring Buying Guide

5) Cut style and stone shape

6) Transparancy (cloudy or transparent
7) Treatments (clarity enhancement / color changes)

I would personally like to add to the list:

Natural

And the final 2 factors that we all seem to deal with is:

9) Cost
10) Compromise

In your case there are several factors to consider with a nominally I colored diamond:

A) How good is the color rating. It is not uncommon for an I to be an H or a J. Certain labs have better records on this than others. The local jeweler may be good or very bad.

B) What color setting are you putting this into. A yellow gold setting will hide slightly yellowish stones (such as I or J). A rhodium plated white gold (and almost all white gold is rhodium plated) or Platinum ring will not hide the slighly yellow color.

C) How good is your eyesight at seeing color. I suggest going to a couple of Jewelery stores and looking at their "master stone" set to see how well you can see when the color starts. Note that different stores will have different master stone sets as there is not yet a good established standard.

D) what is the shape of the stone. Round Brilliant will hide color better than princess, etc.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hest88]

Yep, for that small of a difference, I'd certainly opt for the higher color.

 

[bnas95]

What is a clarity enhancement Treatment ?