FANCY COLOR DIAMOND ADVICE

[ioannis]

Dear Sir or maddame
Last days 2 fancy yellow diamonds came to my ownership.They looked very preety to my eyes i would say fancy intence yellow...
As it is expected i sent those 2 diamonds for certification to GIA..before that their partners in Belgium offered photograph cervices and when i saw my diamonds under proffesional photos i recognized only the shape..the color looked totaly different to that i initially saw..
i would like to know based on your expirience the most possible color of those diamonds and if possible if they are fancy fancy intence or fancy deep..
Here are the photos
**edited by moderator, please upload photos to forum directly per our policies**

 

[kenny]

You can't officially judge diamonds from photos, but since those have a nice white background I'd guess the dominant hue is Brown, not Yellow.
Seondary or tertiary hues may be Yellow, Green and even perhaps Orange.

BTW, do they change color?
Some FCDs of this color range actually change color when kept in the dark or are heated.
Those are called, chameleon.

I believe Brown is one of those hues for which GIA never assigns Fancy Intense or Fancy Vivid grades.
I believe gray is another.

If the pics are accurate I think GIA might grade them something like a Fancy Deep (or Fancy Dark) Greenish Yellowish Brown.

BTW, when it comes to FCD grading GIA is the gold standard gem lab.
Buyer beware ... sometimes sellers will send them to other labs to get more appealing grades.

Brown doesn't sound as glamorous as the terms often used in retail, champagne, chocolate, or cognac.
(I might buy a beer diamond. )
But you'll never see glamor names on a GIA report, just what it is ... Brown.

 

[ioannis]

The most stragne think it that under the loop and white light those diamonds looked no brown at all yes i could see the greenish yellow...wondering how can they be graded as brown since they are yellow even to the reaction to fluorecence light
concerning your question i think one of them showed a little orangy hue after staying in darkness

 

[kenny]

The most stragne think it that under the loop and white light those diamonds looked no brown at all yes i could see the greenish yellow...wondering how can they be graded as brown since they are yellow even to the reaction to fluorecence light
concerning your question i think one of them showed a little orangy hue after staying in darkness

Like I said you can't grade FCDs via pics ... but these two pears are nowhere near pure Yellow.

What matters is what GIA grades them.
... unless of course you bought them for prices appropriate for Fancy Vivid Yellow or Fancy Intense Yellow, then sent them for GIA grading and they got Brown as the dominant hue.
Then you would have overpaid.
Let's hope that's not the case.

How did you get them, gift, inherit, purchase?
If you bought them what color grade did the seller claim they were?
Did they have any kind of lab report from an independent lab?
IMO, 'appraisals' paid for by the seller are not worth the paper they are printed on ... conflict of interest and all.

Here are yours next to one from www.leibish.com that GIA graded Fancy Vivid Yellow.
Yes, we're comparing pics ... but both appear quite professional and have pure white backgrounds, which usually indicates the color is pretty believable.
Notice the hues are nowhere similar.

 

[ioannis]

they were parts of a 1.06 carat ring they came to my panwshop and i gave proximately arround 1000 usd for those 1.06 carat diamonds
0,53 each clarity around si1-si2 what do you think over paid or normal paid?

 

[kenny]

they were parts of a 1.06 carat ring they came to my panwshop and i gave proximately arround 1000 usd for those 1.06 carat diamonds
0,53 each clarity around si1-si2 what do you think over paid or normal paid?

IMO if GIA grades them Yellow, Vivid or Intense (like you feel they are) you did okay.
If GIA grades the primary hue to be Brown then I'd think you overpaid, especially as a business which must resell at a profit after paying rent, utilities, expenses, GIA fees for the reports, shipping and insurance and income lost because these two diamonds are not available to sell because you're waiting several weeks for GIA grading.

Since chameleons may command a higher price I'd ask GIA whether they automatically check for color change.
You could check for color change, but a GIA report documenting anything holds more water which can translate into $$$.

Sorry I'm not saying what you hoped for when asking for advice.
I assume you wanted honest feedback, not just compliments.

 

[ioannis]

I am a professional life is like that thank you very much for your time and your honest advices...i accept the truth asi it is for further details i will let you know...

 

[ioannis]

Dear friend
Just to continue our discussion gia lab results came as
1) Fancy deep brownish yellow
2)Fancy intence orangy yellow
Something is wrong. I believe with the photographer not with the lab...all the best from my site and again thank you for your time

 

[kenny]

Dear friend
Just to continue our discussion gia lab results came as
1) Fancy deep brownish yellow
2)Fancy intence orangy yellow
Something is wrong. I believe with the photographer not with the lab...all the best from my site and again thank you for your time

I'm very surprised by #2.
I have no explanation ... but then ... gem photography is a can of worms.

 

[kb1gra]

Dear friend
Just to continue our discussion gia lab results came as
1) Fancy deep brownish yellow
2)Fancy intence orangy yellow
Something is wrong. I believe with the photographer not with the lab...all the best from my site and again thank you for your time

I'm very surprised by #2.
I have no explanation ... but then ... gem photography is a can of worms.

I can't possibly think of a trick of the light that would lead to either of these stones being graded fancy intense orangy yellow. That stone should be VERY CLEARLY a citrusy color. Not seeing it here.

 

[ioannis]

I am also very surprised maybye more than you...
Somethink that may give result is that both diamonds appear green fluorecence...practically i dont know what kind of light they used to make these photos...

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Kenny,
Nice job on the color call! You pretty much nailed stone #1.

The photo of #2 looks nothing like the color call on the GIA report. But the OP has good paper to work with on that one

 

[Sunstorm]

Fancy colors with multiple hues can get surprise grades at GIA or possible elsewhere too just do not have that much experience with that. Based on the photos I would have also guessed, like Kenny, that brown was the primary hue with green definitely present and yellow then perhaps orange to a lesser degree. They looked like possible chameleons. Might be worth asking about that. They also appear quite similar colorwise, I am also surprised about the second stone graded what it was graded. For sure it does not look like yellow is the primary hue but it may be the photos. You may want to take new photos of them. I am also surprised where is the green? On these photos it is most definitely there, as to me the strongest secondary hue. Maybe we need Kenny to photograph them.

 

[ioannis]

Actually i l try my best to make new photos....my self maybye they will help little more

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Fancy color diamond fans here might be interested to know that a new world record price was set this week. The highest price ever paid for any diamond of any color. The Blue Moon, a 12.03ct IF Fancy Vivid Blue sold for $48 million!

http://www.sothebys.com/en/news-video/blogs/all-blogs/all-that-glitters/2015/11/record-setting-blue-diamond.html

Here's a little article that gives a bit more background on the Blue Moon.
http://www.whiteflash.com/about-diamonds/news/the-blue-moon-diamond-1491.htm

note that pre-auction estimates indicated that the diamond might be worth as much as $35 million

Also note that the Blue Moon will be on display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County until January 6, 2016. So if your out in SoCal you have a chance to see it before it goes into to some secret bank vault somewhere.

 

[ioannis]

Yeah we heared something is this gem the one that a wealthy businessman bought for his 12 year old daughter?

 

[gr8leo87]

Yeah we heared something is this gem the one that a wealthy businessman bought for his 12 year old daughter?

He actually bought 2. Bought a fancy vivid pink the previous day for $28m.