diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yellow?

[vanilla87]

I asked a B&M jeweller today about making a setting in yellow gold with yellow gold prongs and they told me they dont do it often as the yellow can refect from the prongs and make the diamond look yellow? i have never heard this before and had a little trouble believing the sales person. Does anyone have any photos of rings with yellow gold prongs? any opinions on this??

The diamond i am looking is an F colour.... i thought the yellow gold would show off the whiteness of the diamond!

im confused

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Well, I will tell you that yellowish color diamonds are almost always set with a yellow gold bezel or prongs to enhance the yellow while most yellow gold rings have white gold or platinum heads. So I believe that is for a reason.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

A diamond will reflect whatever color it is surrounded by so they are absolutely correct. Most diamond rings in yellow gold have platinum prongs both for strength and color.

 

[yssie]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

A diamond will reflect whatever color it is surrounded by so they are absolutely correct. Most diamond rings in yellow gold have platinum prongs both for strength and color.

This.

The light output won't be affected by a yellow setting by any realistic metrics, but the surface of the diamond will reflect the colour of the prongs and so will appear more tinted.

 

[Andelain]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Here's a 'D' sitting way down in a very yellow gold mount. Having a high color stone helps it show very little of the metal color. One thing I like so much about it is the contrast between the gold and the diamond.


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[vanilla87]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Here's a 'D' sitting way down in a very yellow gold mount. Having a high color stone helps it show very little of the metal color. One thing I like so much about it is the contrast between the gold and the diamond.


https://www.pricescope.com/forum/files/img/LW-ACA-DirectSun.jpg[/img

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Andelain, i love the contrast of your D with the yellow gold. In your photos your D does not look yellow at all, do you find it look yellow under certain lighting conditions?

 

[vanilla87]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Im assuming the size of the stone would alter the appearance also? ie. bigger stone, larger surface area hence more light relection?

My stone is a .80ct OEC F colour.... in this size would it really be noticebale?

 

[Andelain]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Andelain, i love the contrast of your D with the yellow gold. In your photos your D does not look yellow at all, do you find it look yellow under certain lighting conditions?

There's a few lighting conditions over here where it does, but so did my 'F' that was set in platinum. Most of the time the bright whiteness stands out from the yellow gold. The alloy in that ring makes it darker and yellower than my 18kt pendant. My stone is .84 ct.

 

[stci]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Im assuming the size of the stone would alter the appearance also? ie. bigger stone, larger surface area hence more light relection?

My stone is a .80ct OEC F colour.... in this size would it really be noticebale?

My answer is no! I had a cathedral setting yellow gold and prong gold too many years ago and a .80 G color diamond. The yellow prong never reflect in the stone. I promise! Don't be worry!

 

[stci]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Andelain, i love the contrast of your D with the yellow gold. In your photos your D does not look yellow at all, do you find it look yellow under certain lighting conditions?

There's a few lighting conditions over here where it does, but so did my 'F' that was set in platinum. Most of the time the bright whiteness stands out from the yellow gold. The alloy in that ring makes it darker and yellower than my 18kt pendant. My stone is .84 ct.

Your diamond seem really white Andelain, no doubt for me! Many pics to proove it!

 

[yssie]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Ande I would submit that your setting proposes a different scenario from having yellow gold prongs around a near-nearcolourless diamond.

Your setting is big and bold. Add to that fact that your diamond is pure, pristine WHITE with no tint whatsoever, and the pavilion is quite covered, and I'm not a bit surprised that it is the contrast between rich yellow and bright white that strikes you.

Yellow gold prongs, though, would be dainty, and prong-settings usually leave the pavilion quite open so you see the colour of the prongs reflected onto the pavilion surface, giving the appearance of deeper body colour.

 

[petrock<3]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

I would definitely go with white prongs. With such a high colored diamond, why risk it? You don't want to pay for an F and have it look much lower.

 

[vanilla87]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

The only picture i have found so far with yellow gold prongs is Msee's [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-anniversary-band.90202/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-anniversary-band.90202/[/URL]

Funny actually as this is the same setting i had in mind - see my avatar

I understand her diamond is an I colour and it is hard to tell from pictures but i am having trouble seeing any relection of yellow. Does anyone have any more pics?

Thank you

 

[JulieN]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

I think all-gold rings are spectacular. One of my favorites is Blenheim's https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-quest-e-ring.45361/

 

[vanilla87]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

I think all-gold rings are spectacular. One of my favorites is Blenheim's https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-quest-e-ring.45361/

Very pretty! I think if am going to go with yellow gold it will have to have yellow gold prongs, i am not a fan of the two tone look at all!

 

[Andelain]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Ande I would submit that your setting proposes a different scenario from having yellow gold prongs around a near-nearcolourless diamond.

Your setting is big and bold. Add to that fact that your diamond is pure, pristine WHITE with no tint whatsoever, and the pavilion is quite covered, and I'm not a bit surprised that it is the contrast between rich yellow and bright white that strikes you.

Yellow gold prongs, though, would be dainty, and prong-settings usually leave the pavilion quite open so you see the colour of the prongs reflected onto the pavilion surface, giving the appearance of deeper body colour.

Hi Yssie, you make a good point, but I'm going to disagree with you a bit here. My pavilion is not so covered as you may think, in fact it's fairly open. Looking from the side it's almost the equivalent of a tension set, except you can't see the culet.

 

[Lew Lew]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

On the Cartier website, it shows the 1895 solitaire with yellow gold prongs:
18k gold solitaire: http://www.bridal.cartier.us/#/brid...-rings/solitaire-1895/h4166900-solitaire-1895
18k gold solitaire with sidestones: http://www.bridal.cartier.us/#/brid...-rings/solitaire-1895/h4142700-solitaire-1895

"Cartier diamonds are selected exclusively with those of a rating of D to H, ensuring that they are all white in color." http://www.bridal.cartier.us/#/bridal/the-expertise/the-4cs/color I guess they don't think yellow gold prongs will make their white diamonds look yellow. I've never seen a Cartier ring in real life, so I don't know.

 

[yssie]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Ande I would submit that your setting proposes a different scenario from having yellow gold prongs around a near-nearcolourless diamond.

Your setting is big and bold. Add to that fact that your diamond is pure, pristine WHITE with no tint whatsoever, and the pavilion is quite covered, and I'm not a bit surprised that it is the contrast between rich yellow and bright white that strikes you.

Yellow gold prongs, though, would be dainty, and prong-settings usually leave the pavilion quite open so you see the colour of the prongs reflected onto the pavilion surface, giving the appearance of deeper body colour.

Hi Yssie, you make a good point, but I'm going to disagree with you a bit here. My pavilion is not so covered as you may think, in fact it's fairly open. Looking from the side it's almost the equivalent of a tension set, except you can't see the culet.

It is always interesting to me, the disconnect between what *is* and what *we see*... we know that neither is more valid than the other - but the human eye does work in bizarre ways sometimes!

I love your setting Ande. But I maintain that your setting and stone in combination gives off a different 'look' and effect than a delicate yg pronged piece would wrt to reflections and body colour

 

[Tuckins1]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

This is my friends new custom ring. The whole thing is in yellow gold, and I think the stones look great! (Not the best pictures I've ever taken, but you can see the yellow color next to the stones...)
[urlhttps://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-friends-new-new-ring.150384/][/url]

 

[Tuckins1]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

This is my friends new custom ring. The whole thing is in yellow gold, and I think the stones look great! (Not the best pictures I've ever taken, but you can see the yellow color next to the stones...)
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-friends-new-new-ring.150384/

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

This boils down to personal taste. White metal prongs let the diamond be the sole focus as the prongs are not noticeable. The yellow gold prongs are going to make the setting more prominent. I think many here are into super ideal diamonds and we don't want anything to distract from the beauty of the stone. I, personally, would never put yellow prongs on a white diamond, and definitely not on a diamond that was not colorless. I think all yg is a newer trend (judging from the fact that I'll bet Cartier hasn't always made a complete yg 1895 ring) and it will be more subject to going out of style. My original set is yg, but the head of the ring is wg. I do not consider it two-tone, because the whole purpose of the wg prongs is to make them almost invisible since they are white like the diamond. But again, it is a matter of personal taste and not everyone likes the same thing.

 

[Natylad]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

My sister in law's ER is a solitaire in 18ct yellow gold. The center stone is half a carat and in E color. Whenever i look at her diamond, it looks crispy white and wonderful. Not once have i seen any yellow tint being reflected in the stone.
Before she got her ring, i was totally against yellow gold for setting diamonds, for the exact same reason that we're discussing. I tried to convince her to change her mind but she didn't want to hear about it, coz she only wears yellow gold and she wanted all her pieces to look assorted. When my brother went to the jeweller to pick up the ring, i went along and at the moment he opened the box my reaction was: Aaaahhhh... Crispy white, sparkling and not the slightest yellow tint...But maybe the small size of the diamond (0.50 ct) in combination with the E color and the excellent cut, which makes it sparkle so much, make the big difference. I don't know how would the same ring look if the diamond was a 1.50 - 2.00 ct size.

 

[yssie]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

An unscientific illustration of the reflection (and refraction) of prong colour:

I painted my old (plated) wg setting red. White printer paper all round photo setup, halogen bulb (camera auto wbal).

Stone is a decently cut E

I chose red to make the fact that reflection occurs obvious. BUt, because red is such a bright colour against the virtually colourless diamond the fact that it is a reflection, w/ a clear outline, is obvious. Yellow/brown as diamonds are coloured is much less 'bright' and obvious a colour to the human eye - and it will only be less obvious against a more tinted stone where reflection and body colour are closer in hue, so the eye cannot make out each individual reflection as such - will just look like an area of strong tint in body colour. Will see more red face-up in a poorly cut diamond that leaks light, obviously.. and since a diamond is cut to return light face-up, leakage through the pavilion view is par for the course - so the colour you see on the pavilion is both reflection and refraction right through the stone

Stone is a bit too small for the setting, so from face-up views there is more red than when stone is set because the prong is reflecting both downward and onto proximal facets . BUT w/ yellow gold prongs the prong still rises and sits on top of the crown, so the facets adjacent to the prongs WILL reflect this yellow colour in much the same way as photographed, it will just be less obvious than here where the prongs tower over the stone..

 

[yssie]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

more

 

[D&T]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

I have all yellow gold ring and also with white prongs but a jeweler once told me that they like to set lower color less than I color in all yellow because it actually makes the duamond appear whiter especially when appraise it jumps up in color not sure how accurate that statement is but if you clicked on my all topics posts you will see my super ideal k set in all yellow gold semi bezel as well as prongs.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

I think you might see some reflection of yellow in the stone, as Yssie's experiment demonstrates, but I also believe that the contrast between a colorless stone and the yellow gold makes the diamond as a whole appear brighter and whiter. In much the same way that diamonds look whiter on people with tan/brown skin tones as compared to how white they look on people with pinker/lighter skin tones. When I see diamonds in yellow gold I think it looks yummy.

 

[yssie]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

I think you might see some reflection of yellow in the stone, as Yssie's experiment demonstrates, but I also believe that the contrast between a colorless stone and the yellow gold makes the diamond as a whole appear brighter and whiter. In much the same way that diamonds look whiter on people with tan/brown skin tones as compared to how white they look on people with pinker/lighter skin tones. When I see diamonds in yellow gold I think it looks yummy.

Re. contrast - I agree - I think Andelain's ring is a great example of that. I wonder if most people would agree on what the optimal boundary between 'reflection-tint' and 'contrast' is? Ande's is an extreme case - D diamond, rich 18k setting.. my own ring is the exact opposite, the J body colour and the unplated wg 'match' in most lighting..

ETA haha with so many different tastes most probably not, I think I just answered my own Q!

 

[Andelain]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

Another thing to consider would be cut quality. In Yssie's example I can see a bit of leakage, so less light return. That's going to make a stone show more color from the prongs, your hair and shirt, etc. BTW, Yssie that was brave to paint your setting like that. Now what are you going to mount in it? In the case of my ring there's gold on each end of the stone all the way up the pavilion then wrapping around well up the crown, but both sides are open. However my stone is an very ideal (WF ACA) cut, so leakage isn't a factor.

I'd be curious about the cut of that 'F' colored stone mentioned in the OP.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

I dunno Ande, I think a well cut stone reflects MORE environmental colors back at the viewer, no?

 

[LGK]

Re: diamond ring with yellow gold prongs - diamond looks yel

I see a lot of estate jewelry, which includes tons of mediocre cuts of various colors set in yellow gold. IMO it doesn't really contribute a yellowness *in colorless diamonds*. A colorless diamond is absolutely the best bet to set into yellow gold, IMO. My experience is that diamonds much lower than, say, G or H start looking yellowish/off white, and especially lower colors like K and beyond. It *does* make it hard to judge the color of stone- they all just sort of have a middling off white tone to my eye- but it isn't a look I like, and I think it isn't flattering for near-colorless diamonds at all. (For whatever it's worth, I've found for lower colors no melee and a platinum setting is the very best way to make K and lower colors look white- I know some people are advised that yellow gold makes such stones look less yellow, but my eye disagrees, lol.)

I'd probably think a .80 ct colorless stone would be fine with yellow gold prongs if it's what you want. Personally I'd probably go with white gold or platinum prongs just to make the prongs less noticeable on the stone, but that's totally personal taste.