Emerald Cuts, Color and Yellow Gold

[mmmgood]

So I am a little stuck and have a few questions. I recently went out shopping and decided the perfect stone for my soon-to-hopefully-be fiance is an emerald cut. After doing my homework, I went with a:

.57ct.
E VVS1
Ex polish, Ex Sym.
5.56x4.26x2.77mm
table 62% Depth 65%
thin girdle

It came in the mail today and I felt a bit dissapointed with the size.
Now I plan to set this in a yellow gold solitaire split shank band and while looking around found for a similar price:

.84ct
I VS2
VG polish Ex Sym.
6.28x4.78x3.14
table 63% Depth 65%
thin girdle

Will the yellow gold setting hide the I warmth, or similarly taint the E whiteness in a step cut stone? Will the size difference be noticeable?

I'm agonizing over this because I want it to be perfect!

Thanks in advance.

 

[yssie]

1. The size difference will absolutely be noticeable.

2. Colour... is such a picky, individual thing. I'm doing my best w/ my observations, but it might be garbled - fair warning

I do think in these sizes you'd see the difference between the E and the I if you had them side by side, but once set, one at a time without the other right next to it for comparison, they'll both look "white" by most everyone's definition.

Technically if your stone has any "leakage" (light escape through the pavilion, instead of being reflected back to your eyes) - and all do, some more than others, some lots more than others, this is also shape and cut reliant so will depend on your specific stone - and you choose a setting with a lot of yellow gold in the undercarriage below the stone, that metal colour will reflect onto the sides of the stone and through the stone where light is allowed to escape and re-enter through the pavilion, and around the stone from that entry point. Whether or not that makes any notable difference IRL again depends on your stone's proportions, which determine to what degree this is happening, and your vision. For a better explanation w/ pics of stone colour vs setting configuration see LovingDiamonds' post about halfway down the page of this thread [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hi-would-you-look-at-a-sapphire-with-me.156194/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hi-would-you-look-at-a-sapphire-with-me.156194/[/URL] in Coloured Stones about closing the window (leakage, essentially) in her sapphire

But, more importantly, it's not just the colour of the stone and the colour of the metal, it's how they look together, the overall aesthetic of the piece - what type of setting you have (is there lots of metal next to the stone or very little, for example)... Assuming both the E and the I are well proportioned and finished, with little leakage, in these sizes they're unlikely to be significantly tinted to your eyes - they'll both contrast pretty strongly w/ the rich yellow gold. It's been my experience that the more contrast there is between stone and setting colour, the whiter the stone looks, so I think either of those stones would look very white in a yg setting! Check out the discussion on stone vs metal colour, which I think is what you're asking about, in this thread [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/which-metal-compliments-a-warm-stone-best.160706/?hilit=bgd']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/which-metal-compliments-a-warm-stone-best.160706/?hilit=bgd[/URL]

 

[mmmgood]

Thank you for the reply Yssie, more reading to do!

Cheers,
Matt

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yes, I would absolutely go down on color and clarity to get more size! But even if you go with a yellow gold setting, the prongs are better in white metal unless the stone is very low in color and you are wanting to enhance the yellow. You'll see the reflection of the prong tips in the stone, so white metal does not show up. So just be sure to ask for the head of the ring to be in white gold or platinum if you go with a yellow gold ring (and I assumer she has expressed this preference for yg, right?).

 

[Amys Bling]

Given your scenario, I would go down in color and clarity, I would look for a VS2 or even an eyeclean SI1, and then a g-h-I in color. The jump in size will be way more noticeable than the clarity drop. Color is definitely subjective and I think GH stones are a safe bet, but an I is also going to look very white.

 

[mmmgood]

Thanks guys, I will post back when I get it all set!

 

[marcy]

You will notice a definite size difference. Some people are more color sensitive than others and it is also a personal preference. I think you'd be very safe looking at G / H EC diamonds especially for YG. An eye clean Si1 diamond would be a good option to go up in size. I am an EC fan so I will be anxious to see what you get.

 

[zip99]

H/I & VS2/SI1 would be a a much better choice in my view for your budget.