Color grade v.s brilliance

[Daniel B]

Does a higher grade color diamond (D,E,F) show more brilliance, or if you mind, clearer brilliance, as opposed to lower color (H,I,J)? Since there isn''t as much tint to shine through in the higher grades I thought it would shine more than the lower grades. Is there any validity to my assumption?---I''m curious to see what everyone says.

 

[ScheinerDiamonds]

Brilliance does not have to do with the color. The diamonds quality of cutting makes up the brilliance. A Z color diamond can be more brilliant than a D color diamond if cut better.
Hope this helps,
Michael
www.thediamond.com

 

[researcher]

Date: 11/30/2005 3:29:30 PM
Author: ScheinerDiamonds
Brilliance does not have to do with the color. The diamonds quality of cutting makes up the brilliance. A Z color diamond can be more brilliant than a D color diamond if cut better.

Hope this helps,

Michael

www.thediamond.com

I second that!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 11/30/2005 3:32:39 PM
Author: researcher

Date: 11/30/2005 3:29:30 PM
Author: ScheinerDiamonds
Brilliance does not have to do with the color. The diamonds quality of cutting makes up the brilliance. A Z color diamond can be more brilliant than a D color diamond if cut better.

Hope this helps,

Michael

www.thediamond.com

I second that!

All in favor, say 'aye.'

Correct. Remember that diamond’s refractive index (2.42) and dispersion (0.044) are constants, regardless of the color grade. A perfect diamond crystal has only carbon atoms. Such a diamond is colorless. The presence of nitrogen is responsible for color, and the amount of nitrogen present when the diamond was formed underground determines the degree of yellow tint it will show.

Color changes the character of the light passing through the diamond but does not have a big influence on brilliance. The cutting, the cleanliness of the diamond and the lighting environment will have much more influence on performance than the color grade.

 

[Daniel B]

Date: 11/30/2005 3:33:54 PM
Author: JohnQuixote



Correct. Remember that diamond’s refractive index (2.42) and dispersion (0.044) are constants, regardless of the color grade. A perfect diamond crystal has only carbon atoms. Such a diamond is colorless. The presence of nitrogen is responsible for color, and the amount of nitrogen present when the diamond was formed underground determines the degree of yellow tint it will show.

Very cool, I never knew that

 

[valeria101]

This is getting interesting!

I wonder how practical the scientifically correct answer is.


In theory.. yeah...

Practically - maybe not. You need lots of color to dim that brightness. Even fancy color diamonds are still allot brighter than most other white or similarly washed out gems although at that point, in theory, color should have some effect.

''Guess it depends on whether you consider this an experiment of physics or shopping hint.

Btw. there ''s something funny about near-colorless diamonds - say J or so where a slight tint is visible but not enough to make out a true color through the sparkle. Only bottom up you may be able to tell which J-Ks are yellowish, brownish or grayish. Many describe these stones as ''darker'' because the very slight color is undescribable is just enough to give a puzzling impression rather than expected discernible tint.

 

[oldminer]

The color of most diamonds has such little effect on light behavior that one could barely notice any difference in the total amount of light that is emitted from any color versus a D color. If you only want to measure White Light, then there would be less of it as color intensifies and goes further from the colorless (white) state. There are intensly colored diamonds that emit virtually no white light.

Body color does have a measureable effect if you consider the odd-ball diamonds, like black stones, or very dark green ones. Not only are the colors deep, but these stones tend to become translucent to even opaque. Then body color is just a part of the overall picture where the clarity, transparency, of the diamond has been affected.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 11/30/2005 3:55:31 PM
Author: oldminer
The color of most diamonds has such little effect on light behavior that one could barely notice any difference in the total amount of light that is emitted from any color versus a D color. If you only want to measure White Light, then there would be less of it as color intensifies and goes further from the colorless (white) state. There are intensly colored diamonds that emit virtually no white light.

Body color does have a measureable effect if you consider the odd-ball diamonds, like black stones, or very dark green ones. Not only are the colors deep, but these stones tend to become translucent to even opaque. Then body color is just a part of the overall picture where the clarity, transparency, of the diamond has been affected.

Fair enough I had written 'in colorless, near-colorless, and most conventional grades descending towards fancy colors' in my post above, but took it out since the OP asked specifically about DEF versus HIJ diamonds.