BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HELP!!!

[MrsDrP]

After at least 10 visits to the jewelry store, I have narrowed my long search for the perfect engagement ring down to 2 different diamonds. I decided on the setting after the first two visits or so.

The two diamonds I am trying to pick from are....

Diamond 1:
Cut: Daussi Cushion (rectangular)
Color: J
Clarity: VS1
Weight: 0.9
Fluoresence: none

Diamond 2:
Cut: Daussi Cushion (square)
Color: D
Clarity: I1
Weight: 0.75
Fluoresence: Faint-Medium

The wow factor on Diamond 1 is that it looks HUGE! Henri Daussi cuts his diamonds so that they "face up." They appear 20% larger than the actual weight. This diamond is just under a carat, but it looks like it is almost 2 carats! It has very chunky facets which I LOVE and is very, very sparkly. My beef with this diamond is that it is a J in color, and although that is in the near colorless range, I can see a faint yellow tint to it at certain angles and in certain lighting. I think I could live with it, but it MIGHT bother me.

Diamond 2, on the other hand, is colorless. It's the whitest diamond I have seen so far! The drawback on it is that it is smaller, and it is lower on the clarity scale. However, even though it is an I2, it is eye clean. It has a decently large pinpoint cloud on the very edge of the diamond which I could only see with the 10x loop, and then i got a closer look at it under the microscope. I also has a small pinpoint in one of the corners, which is covered up by the prong. No matter what angle or lighting I held it in, I could not see a single inclusion with my naked eye. The middle of the diamond is totally clear! it is VERY beautiful, but I'm worried about it being too small.

I also can't decide on which shape looks best on my hand. The square or the rectangle? I honestly love them both!

I need to make a decision ASAP! These diamonds are on loan to my local jewelry store from Henri Daussi New York. They sent them to my jeweler for me to look at.

The plan is to take one of them out of the setting it is in and put it in the setting they make for me. I have a size 4.5 finger so they have to use a different mold. Apparently the settings they already have made can't be sized from a 6.5 to a 4.5 due to the diamonds in the side.

The pictures below are of the smaller, D colored diamond. The setting it is in is NOT my setting. I will post pictures of the bigger J diamond under this. The setting that the J diamond is in is already in the setting style I will have made.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I have read so many posts on here that have been very, very helpful!

Thanks in advance!

 

[MrsDrP]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

Here are the pictures of the bigger J diamond

 

[slg47]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

does the tint bother you?

I would probably want a medium size G/H color VS2 or SI1, but that is me.

 

[centralsquare]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

Do they have anything in between? Do you know the specs? What does your setting look like? If you can only see color at certain angles perhaps you can "hide" with the setting?

 

[MrsDrP]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

The tint bothers me slightly, only because it doesn't match the color of the diamonds around it which are in the G range. I am on a budget, so I know I am going to have to give somewhere. Ideally, I'd like the size and clarity of the bigger diamond and the color of the smaller one. But there is no way on earth that I will make that happen in the price range I have to stay in.

Should I go for size? Or color?

My setting looks like the setting that the bigger diamond is in.

Can you see the pictures I attached?

 

[slg47]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

since you are getting a halo setting the larger diamond does not look that much larger. I would inquire about a G/H VS2/SI1 diamond in your budget. I think you will notice a big difference in color between G/H and J.

 

[EHR2009]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

There has got to be a middle ground. Don't feel pressured to stick with one of those two. There is plenty in between those two color ranges and clarity levels. I am biased because I have a D, but I love the iciness of colorless diamonds, and I think it makes them appear bigger and cleaner, in a strange sort of way. What about an F or a G in an SI1?

 

[jstarfireb]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

This is tough because the colors are so far apart on the scale, not to mention the issue of clarity. I had an I and a J, and I could see enough tint in the J that it bothered me (and it was a superideal round brilliant, which should mask tint). So I upgraded the J to a G. However, my I princess doesn't bother me that much, so I draw the line between I and J now. With that reasoning, I'd get the D, regardless of size. However, I also draw a line with clarity way above I1, so I would not accept the second stone either. I think there's a middle ground out there if you keep looking, but right now it seems like you're favoring the J. I just don't want you to regret getting the J if you notice and don't love the color.

 

[Gypsy]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

Yeah, I'd want a G-H Vs2-Si1

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

I would keep looking for something in between as well. I prefer smaller diamond in halos, but wouldn't want to pay the premium for a D color and would have issues with the I1 clarity.

 

[MrsDrP]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

So far, I have looked at a total of about 9 loose diamonds of various specs. Most of them were in the G-H range and even those bothered me with tint. You're supposedly not supposed to be able to see yellow in G-H diamonds but I can...I noticed they were slightly yellowish before he even told me the color grading. I guess I have a very strong affinity for colorless diamonds? Which is unfortunate for me because of my budget.

I was starting to think that a diamond in the D-F colorless range was going to be out of the question until the stone i previously mentioned came in. But for color I had to trade clarity. When he told me it was an I1 clarity I thought he was mistaken! There seriously isn't any thing visable to the naked eye, and it is very clean under 10x magnification where it counts. The inclusion is a pinpoint cloud on the very edge of the diamond that I had a lot of trouble finding with the loop. Even under the microscope it is very clean.


Can anyone else notice slight color in G-H diamonds?

Also, I don't know very much about fluorescence except that it is graded using UV light. I have heard that sometimes a blue tint can be seen in sunlight and that fluorescence can make a diamond look cloudy in certain lighting. This stone has faint-medium. Should I pass on this diamond because of this characteristic? If anyone has a colorless diamond with fluoresence and can give me details or pictures that'd be great! The pictures posted above were taken in direct sunlight...and I don't think it looks cloudy. But i'm not really trained to notice what a cloudy diamond looks like. Does it look cloudy to y'all?

 

[slg47]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

it is very rare that a diamond will look cloudy because of fluorescence...this is generally only with strong or very strong fluorescence and in a very small percentage of diamonds. faint or medium fluor is nothing to worry about.

does the I1 have diminished light return due to the cloud? I would be worried about an I1...what about an E or F SI1? But if it is eye-clean enough for you then go for it! you should get a diamond that appeals to you and you may have different priorities about color/clarity than others

 

[Amys Bling]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

Couldn't agree more!! Don't feel like you have to pick either or- you can always be a pain and look fir the middle ground between color and size.

 

[Amys Bling]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

***seems to me like if you see a tint in the J and it already bothers you that it stands out against the melee of the setting--- this will only amplify once you are wearing that ring on your hand everyday!!!

 

[Mayk]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

I love the setting the "J" is in... I think it looks lovely on your hand... the "D" is a great looking stone and in a halo and a small size finger I think it would be beautiful color would not be an issue... I would just be sure the clarity is not an issue for you...

 

[Cehrabehra]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

Can anyone else notice slight color in G-H diamonds?

A lot of people can notice the slight color in g/h stones. Noticing it and caring about it are mutually exclusive things. People who buy J and lower stones don't do so because they CAN'T see the yellow, they do it because they either like it or they don't care. Just wanted to clarify that.

From what I've read from you I would buy the D.

 

[moosemom]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

If you feel you absolutely must choose one of these stones, based on what you have written so far, I also think you should go for the smaller D. That being said, I would look for something in between.

 

[rainydaze]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

based on what you have said so far, i think you should go for the D. if the tint in a G/H bothers you, then i think long-term you will definitely not be happy with a J! i think given the setting you are getting, the smaller size is the lesser evil to the tint *for you*.

if you are willing to give it some more time, i agree with the other posters that it might be worth looking around for something that is more middle ground. if you are set that it must be one of these two or bust, it sounds as though this is a good find for an I1, and you definitely sound more confident about the clarity issue vs. the color issue. you are defending the clarity of the D/I1, while trying to justify the color of the J/VS1. that tells me you really want the D!

 

[MrsDrP]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

Wow! Thank you all so much for your input. Is it that obvious that I really want the D? From the vibes my boyfriend has been putting off, it appears as though I no longer have the decision in my hands. He is acting almost like he already pulled the trigger for me and went ahead with the ordering process. I had ititially told him that I liked the D color diamond, so I am hoping that is the one he picked!

I was very hung up on the size of the J diamond. It just looks so big on my hand! But as most of you said, if the J color annoys me now, the annoyance will only intensify with each passing day for the rest of my life!

Thanks so much again. All of you were very helpful. If he has indeed ordered it, it should be finished in 4-6 weeks and hopefully he won't hide it from me for TOO long. I can't wait to see how that diamond looks in my setting and how the setting will look on my hand as the correct size! I know he wants to spring it on me out of the blue, so I'll just go along with it and try my best to be patient

I will post another topic when that day comes with pictures!

 

[minmin001]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

anyway you'd like to settle in the middle of them? for a G or H VS2 or SI1? I would not want a I clarity diamond...

 

[kindred]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

I think you made the right choice, as it sounds like the color of the J would have bothered you. I would not have a problem with an I1 as long as it was eye-clean or prong-able.

 

[Black Jade]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

Yes, you sound as if you wanted the D.
But did you say it was I1 or I2? Did you check for problems with the structural integrity? Especially if you are planning to change the setting, which can be stressful for a diamond?
diamonds are graded I for a reason, make sure you know what the inclusion is, exactly, even if you think the diamond is eye-clean. I have an I1 diamond, so I'm not saying this out of prejudice.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

I much prefer the D on your hand.

 

[CaprineSun]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

From reading your posts, I would pick the D.

IMO, I would put the D in the setting for the J. The single band (along with the halo, of course) will make it look a little bigger. This should help with both your color and size preferences.

 

[AprilBaby]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

I would also choose the D color.

 

[MrsDrP]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

From reading your posts, I would pick the D.

IMO, I would put the D in the setting for the J. The single band (along with the halo, of course) will make it look a little bigger. This should help with both your color and size preferences.

That's exactly what I told him I wanted! I can't wait to see it....6 weeks seems like an eternity right now!

 

[centralsquare]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

From reading your posts, I would pick the D.

IMO, I would put the D in the setting for the J. The single band (along with the halo, of course) will make it look a little bigger. This should help with both your color and size preferences.

That's exactly what I told him I wanted! I can't wait to see it....6 weeks seems like an eternity right now!

Post hand shots!!!

 

[heididdl]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

If I can only pick one of these two i would go for the .9 J vs1 stone. It does look huge. I agree with other that I would rather see g-h but if you only have these two pick .9

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

If I can only pick one of these two i would go for the .9 J vs1 stone. It does look huge. I agree with other that I would rather see g-h but if you only have these two pick .9

This thread is from 2011. Be sure to check dates before you bump up an old thread.

 

[diamonds-are-friends]

Re: BIGGER J color diamond VS SMALLER D color diamond....HEL

the input is late but it's still an nice post to read with great pictures.