Diamond melee, does colour matter much?

[Snowdrop13]

I’m setting a pinkish stone in a yellow gold halo- will there be much difference between D and G/H melee??

 

[lulu_ma]

If there isn’t a big price difference, I would go with D (or E/F) to provide more contrast to the center stone.

 

[Ionysis]

If setting it in yellow gold it will look tinged anyway. I wouldn’t pay the extra.

Check this out for example.



Amazing ring. But the pears take on the tinge of the setting - they are D colour. I wouldn’t have bothered paying the extra cost of WHITE white if they are going to look tinted anyway.

 

[chere]

If there isn’t a big price difference, I would go with D (or E/F) to provide more contrast to the center stone.

I'd do this too.

Could you ask the jeweler to order in D and G/H stones so you can see them side by side?

 

[Ionysis]

If you’re going to go I for white melee you might consider rhodium plating the metal in your halo to avoid the yellow reflection.

 

[Snowdrop13]

I'd do this too.

Could you ask the jeweler to order in D and G/H stones so you can see them side by side?

I might do this! Good idea.

 

[yssie]

Melee usually comes in parcels, and different retailers call those parcels different things. So your vendor's D vs. G/H might be another vendor's D-F vs. I/J. Maybe. Can't know for sure.

Getting the vendor to do a show and tell is a great idea. And so is having the interior of the halo rhodium plated.

In my experience the body colour itself isn't really what you notice - what you tend to see (if anything!) is a change in the "overall effect" of localized melee + surrounding metal. Overall creaminess or overall iciness.
FWIW, here's a thread from eons ago. It's about single cuts, not full-cuts, so not exactly the same. I still have the lower coloured band (colourless is long gone). Maybe helpful? Maybe not
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...r-actually-matter-in-single-cut-melee.237010/
(And re-reading that thread - my description of which band is which isn't the clearest. The band with D-F stock melee is on the right!)

 

[Snowdrop13]

Melee usually comes in parcels, and different retailers call those parcels different things. So your vendor's D vs. G/H might be another vendor's D-F vs. I/J. Maybe. Can't know for sure.

Getting the vendor to do a show and tell is a great idea. And so is having the interior of the halo rhodium plated.

In my experience the body colour itself isn't really what you notice - what you tend to see (if anything!) is a change in the "overall effect" of localized melee + surrounding metal. Overall creaminess or overall iciness.
FWIW, here's a thread from eons ago. It's about single cuts, not full-cuts, so not exactly the same. I still have the lower coloured band (colourless is long gone). Maybe helpful? Maybe not
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...r-actually-matter-in-single-cut-melee.237010/
(And re-reading that thread - my description of which band is which isn't the clearest. The band with D-F stock melee is on the right!)

Great thread, @yssie! Both bands look lovely to me, but I think I‘m pretty colour insensitive. The jeweller normally works with D-F melee, they’re checking with their supplier if they can get lower colours.

 

[Ionysis]

Great thread, @yssie! Both bands look lovely to me, but I think I‘m pretty colour insensitive. The jeweller normally works with D-F melee, they’re checking with their supplier if they can get lower colours.

Yeah jewellers always say that. Believe me it’s not HARDER to source GH melee than D-F melee. It’s designed to make you feel like you’re a cheapskate abberation “everyone else has standards so we ALWAYS use D colour… but if you insist on inferior goods we can try to find it somewhere in the dregs of our suppliers basement”. Please don’t fall for that crap.

 

[yssie]

Yeah jewellers always say that. Believe me it’s not HARDER to source GH melee than D-F melee. It’s designed to make you feel like you’re a cheapskate abberation “everyone else has standards so we ALWAYS use D colour… but if you insist on inferior goods we can try to find it somewhere in the dregs of our suppliers basement”. Please don’t fall for that crap.

The times I’ve requested lower colour melee I’ve paid either at best same as the stock colourless stuff, usually more.

Part of that is of course a low quantity premium - you don’t get to take advantage of bulk pricing! And part of it definitely seems to be a “high colour = high clarity = better cut, low colour = low clarity = foggy cr*p” mentality when it comes to melee manufacture. Finding lower colour + high clarity + nicely cut is more of a challenge.

 

[Snowdrop13]

Jeweller got back to me- they can source G/H stones but the price difference is minimal! I think I’ll be going with the higher colours.