Fancy Color Oval

[Evielution]

Hi everyone! long time lurker, I've always browsed and gleaned whatever knowledge I could, and finally shopping.
I am wanting an oval 3-ish carats, either light yellow or light brown. I am unsure which color I prefer; In photos I think I like light brown, but I did visit a Tiffany store last week and really loved the fancy yellow diamonds on me.
I will be viewing the following stones tomorrow. Thoughts?

 

[Evielution]

There is also this stone from online vendor that I really liked, but was hoping to be able to get a larger stone, unless this one is just a really exceptional stone:

 

[kenny]

I am wanting an oval 3-ish carats, either light yellow or light brown. I am unsure which color I prefer; In photos I think I like light brown, but I did visit a Tiffany store last week and really loved the fancy yellow diamonds on me.
I will be viewing the following stones tomorrow. Thoughts?

GIA grades all diamonds on one of their two color scales, White or Fancy Colored.
The white scale goes from D to Z.
Some near WX YZ can have quite a bit of color, but for GIA to place a diamond in their bucket for Fancy Color the characteristics of color itself must meet 'Fancy' requirements, and the diamonds at the WX YZ end of the alphabet do not.
Diamonds that GIA grades on their Fancy Colored Diamond scale are much much more expensive than WX YZ diamonds.
Color is a very complex topic with many subtleties (and not-so subtleties) that dramatically affect the value.

The reports you posted above are not Fancy Colored diamonds.
They are WX so they are on GIA's D-Z white diamond scale and the yellow will not look like the yellows you saw at Tiffany.
Nothing's wrong with them.
Many people love their WX YZ diamonds.
They also love that, for the same budget, their WX be a much larger diamond than an otherwise-similar yellow that GIA graded on their Fancy Colored scale.

Tiffany's website says they carry diamonds graded from D to I; IOW they do not carry diamonds color-graded J to Z.
Tiffany also carries Fancy Colored Diamonds, which are very different animals when it comes to grading, marketing, and pricing.
The yellows you saw at Tiffany could not have been WX YZ diamonds.

But if you love a WX that's all that matters, but it would not be called a Fancy Colored diamond by those in the trade, at least not by reputable pros.
If a retailer is calling a WX diamond a Fancy Colored Diamond that IMO is a red flag.
What else might they be bending the truth on?

I've bought Fancy Colored diamonds, from www.leibish.com and highly recommend them.
I believe sometimes they might have some WX YZ diamonds, but they may not be on their site, so I'd call them.

 

[Evielution]

Sorry let me clarify, I was actually originally looking for a lower color w-Z light brown. My diamond guy advises me that w-Z yellow holds value better than a light brown. He likes the yellow stone better than the brown one. I am unsure which is why Im going to see them in person. I have tried on u-v light brown in a different shape and loved them. But also loved a w-X yellow with white halo... So I'm torn. I have also tried on fancy dark orangey brown, fancy deep yellowish brown, fancy orange-brown, and fancy brown which I like but don't love on my hand, a little too dark overall on me. I found the fancy brown & fancy yellowish brown to have the most appeal in that color group. I also tried w-X yellow, fancy light yellow, fancy yellow, fancy intense yellow and fancy vivid yellow. All with no modifying hue. In that color group I preferred the lower spectrum, fancy light and fancy. These were all cushions and radiants. At Tiffany is where I discovered how flattering the oval is
I understand these arent true fancies, but this is what I've found to be my preference. If in fancy category then only faint, fancy light or fancy at most. With the yellow I seem to prefer yellow with brown as a modifying hue vs pure yellow at least in photos online.
I guess there's nothing for it but to view some rocks and pick what I like
I've been stalking the leibish site daily believe me, but nothing grabs me the way that makes my heart flip. Well nothing in my budget anyway!

 

[kenny]

Sounds like you are enjoying your diamond safari.
It's a fascinating world!

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI Evielution,
Welcome to Pricescope!
SOunds like you have had some interesting diamond experiences already.

IN terms of holding value: First off, I would strongly advise that you buy a diamond as a financial investment in yourself ( or your intended/DW etc) as opposed to trying to use potential future sale price of that diamond.
Consumers selling diamonds are generally on the loosing side of the stick
BUT_ even having said that, I don't agree that a W-X light brown is necessarily less valuable than a W-X ( no brown)
I have found that in these colors, actual appearance makes a difference in price.
IN other words if the brown stone is more attractive than the "regular" W-X, it might bring a higher price.

About cut- notice that there's two types of shape classifications on the GIA reports.
"Oval Brilliant" and "Oval Modified Brilliant"
While it's not possible to draw accurate differences that will hold up stone to stone, there's a few potential differences you may notice.
Oval Brilliant has a pavilion ( bottom) which is directly translated from a Round Brilliant. The main facets on the pavilion go from the Girdle to the culet, uninterrupted.
On an Oval Modified Brilliant, there's some additional facets below the girdle, so you don't have the main facets in a straight line from Girdle to Culet.
Both can be beautiful.
In general, Modified is preferred on a diamond that looks yellow ( like a W-X)
The reason is that the cutter can adjust the bottom of the stone to provide an even sparkle coming out of the top of the stone, which can increase the perception of that yellow hue. Less contrast.
This means you won't see any sort of bow tie in the best examples.
The well cut Oval Brilliant will have more contrast- leading to single facets flashing brighter than you'll find on the modified- but next to the bright \flashes the contrast means you'll have some darkness.
This is not necessarily bad, because in best case stones, the "bow tie" flashes on and off rapidly in a beautiful display. IN other cases you get static darkness ( bow tie) that can be unattractive.
You'll notice that of the two stones you're going to see in person there's one of each.

I agree with Kenny that sellers should be clear about the grades of the diamonds they are offering.
A big problem has been that stones in the U-V, W-X, Y-Z grades are set, then submitted to EGL who will grade them Fancy Intense.

On the other hand- you've already seen that the differences between single grades can be small- so a Y-Z can look so close to a Fancy Light Yellow that the difference is imperceptible - especially once the stones are set. For this reason I've always loved the less expensive "alphabet" diamonds.
Good luck in your search- and please report back!

 

[Evielution]

What do we think of this Oval? It's the W-X on the cert I previously posted. ::edited to add this is the LIGHT BROWN W-X::
I don't think I can upload video so I'll try to post a few stills.

 

[mrs-b]

Evielution -

Pls listen to everything Rockdiamond says to you on this issue. He is an extremely experienced vendor of colored diamonds and the information he gave you has true value.

You're not going to get better advice than what he gave you. For what it's worth, I'm not a fan of the stone in the photo you just posted. It seems very uneven to me, both in faceting and in color.

I wish you well on what I suspect will be a difficult trail to find the right diamond for you.

 

[Evielution]

Evielution -

Pls listen to everything Rockdiamond says to you on this issue. He is an extremely experienced vendor of colored diamonds and the information he gave you has true value.

You're not going to get better advice than what he gave you. For what it's worth, I'm not a fan of the stone in the photo you just posted. It seems very uneven to me, both in faceting and in color.

I wish you well on what I suspect will be a difficult trail to find the right diamond for you.

I'm not finding it too difficult so far, on the other hand it's actually a lot of fun! This is after all a happy and positive purchase!

As I understood it, Rockdiamond advised me to go with what color is pleasing to me personally vs what someone told me is worth more. Which is exactly what I'm doing and why I've discounted the yellow oval in favor of the light brown since that is the color that really appeals to me.

The photos are stills from a video of the stone being rocked back and forth, I tried to post pics of the stone more angled rather than straight on. It maybe be cut uneven, it may also be that it's being slightly tilted in each photo.

 

[Evielution]

There is an N very light Brown oval at Leibish, I looove the color, but wonder if it really looks like that in person?? I had no idea an N could exhibit such color?


http://www.leibish.com/rings-jewelry/very-light-brown-oval-diamond-ring-26922

 

[Evielution]

Is N a color I should search for if it is light brown?
I found this stone the is N, Very Light Brown. Looks very sparkly to me. I would most likely set it in rose gold to accentuate the color.