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Fancy light colors - yellow or brown?

BeekeeperBetty

BeekeeperBetty

Shiny_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 15, 2015
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272
I'm curious, if you were looking at buying a diamond in the fancy range or in the U-Z range, would you prefer a yellow or a brown? And why.

I think I'm starting to narrow down what I want for my last major project, and I've come to the realization that I'm not wanting a colorless diamond. I have a small light yellow that I love, but I've never seen a light brown in person. I'm intrigued by them, especially the value, but I'm unsure if it's what I want. I'm definitely looking for size and sparkle, and I am unsure how a light brown will sparkle.

Since I'm stuck, I really want to hear PS opinions on what they like. Feel free to say neither! I'm not a delicate flower, so please be truthful. I've got no one in real life to hammer this out with, and I'm at an impasse (in my own head).
 
I love the light yellow colors. I really like them with halos so you can see the contrast. I especially like OECs in light yellow. But...I
also like the light browns (haven't seen to many though). That one bright ice posted is gorgeous!
 
I would love to have an AVR in a low color with either a brown or yellow undertone :lickout:
 
Brown, if the brown read as pinkish/champagne. I feel like it's a bit more unusual to have brown over yellow.

Yellow is wonderful too, there's many beautiful examples on PS :)

But brown would be my first choice.
 
This is a great question!
The funny thing is, they are almost like two entirely different animals.
The yellow diamond at the bottom of the alphabet range is going to look quite a bit like a fancy light yellow.
If it's brown, it can take many different directions. In my opinion, the reason for this is that Brown is a more complex color with more potential sub tones.

One of those brown sub tones is pink. I have seen cases of brown diamonds at the bottom of the alphabet that do have a bit of a rosy hue.
Given that pink diamonds are extraordinarily expensive – this is a very cool aspect in my opinion. But – it is much more rare to find the brown in this color range and yellow.
Good luck in your search!
 
I can't figure out how to multiquote, sorry.

I love that ring posted, but it's quite a bit bigger than I can afford at the moment. I found it when I was searching through old posts and it made me think again about browns.

I also very much love that pink/champagne color, as well! It is so elegant and sophisticated to me. In all actuality I will probably end up with both, one now and one in the future when I save up. So which one to get now...

I also absolutely love old cut diamonds! But I think they are a bit trendy now, and the prices seem to have gone up. I'm going to hold out until they go back out of fashion again. I have been pouring over JbG and love affair diamonds, though, just in case.


Rockdiamond|1460038767|4016546 said:
This is a great question!
The funny thing is, they are almost like two entirely different animals.
The yellow diamond at the bottom of the alphabet range is going to look quite a bit like a fancy light yellow.
If it's brown, it can take many different directions. In my opinion, the reason for this is that Brown is a more complex color with more potential sub tones.

One of those brown sub tones is pink. I have seen cases of brown diamonds at the bottom of the alphabet that do have a bit of a rosy hue.
Given that pink diamonds are extraordinarily expensive – this is a very cool aspect in my opinion. But – it is much more rare to find the brown in this color range and yellow.
Good luck in your search!
Click to expand...
I'm glad you chimed in! Once I get it all straight in my head I was going to contact you, because I have some things I would like in this stone that may be a bit unusual, and I think you could help me. Plus, you know, that whole champagne taste and beer budget thing. I've got about 5k for the stone, but it's flexible.

I do love the browns with the pink undertones. Especially if they look more pink when set. I honestly love that shade more than the real fancy pinks. But they seem hard to find, as you said, and I think you pay a premium for this color. They look so gorgeous in rose gold, which I love, and white diamonds as a contrast. I think I may love some of the more melon browns, as well, but I haven't seen any in person so I'm not sure. And then, of course, I am easily seduced by size. You have a 4 carat brown I2 stone that I have been coveting, but it's out of my price range. :(sad

But then I talk myself out of it because I love the cheery light yellows so much. I have a .40 Y-Z yellow and while it's small it is my very favorite diamond RHR. It's so sparkly and cheerful, like wearing sunshine on my hand. So that makes me think I will be happier in the long run with another yellow, but larger.

Such a conundrum. :boohoo:
 
Hi Beekeeperbetty :wavey:

I was on a similar path a couple of years ago and spent some time considering all kind of shades of brown. I was drawn to a few light colored yellow/browns and brown/yellows but in the end opted for a fancy light pinkish brown which actually shows up pink in some lighting.





This one came from Leibish and they made the ring also, with a rose gold open cup under the centre stone to play up the pink. One problem that I think light brown diamonds can have, is that can look a kind of dirty brown in some lights. They do seem to change a lot in different lighting which is quite intriguing, but (in my opinion anyway) some lower lighting is really quite unflattering for them. Having said that, I feel like I avoided that problem with my particular diamond, but this was only after trial and error with several other candidates who looked great under shop lighting but not so good in natural light.

I agree with you that the soft yellows of the lower alphabet colors can be very attractive. Most people would recognise these as a yellow diamond, and in the UK where I live, these are more highly prized than any shade of brown.

I think you cant really go wrong with a light yellow if its nicely cut, but there is more scope for disappointment with a brown, depending on exactly what "flavour" of brown you go for. Having said that, if you do get just the right "flavour" of brown and you have road tested it in all lighting conditions then you can end up with something really unique and special.

pink_champagne_ring_099.jpg

pink_champagne_ring_1.jpg
 
For me definitely brown. I feel like it's more attractive to my eyebthan a very light yellow. Plus in rose gold its perfection.
 
For me, it'll depend on any secondary colour that the diamond has. I don't want any brown with my light yellow but would love some pink with my light brown. In the first, I would set in high kt yellow gold, and for the second, I would set in rose gold.
 
Here's one I've been looking at for a while. Three well matched, well cut light brown diamonds in a beautiful setting. Some of the pictures have a coppery color I love.



But look how white the stones can also appear. Someone should buy this one. I keep trying to talk myself into it! I just don't really "need" a three stone ring....

dbl3stonebrown.jpg

dbl3stonewhitebrown.jpg
 
For me personally, I'd pick yellow. There's something about the look of sunshine that comes from yellow diamonds that is just so enchanting to me.
 
I enjoy both for their own unique character. I have a fancy light yellow pendant and it sparkles like sunshine on my neck. Also have a rhr, the marquise is a K, faint brown set in rose gold. I enjoy the pinkish/champagne hue tones it throws off. Each stone has their own individual personality. Have fun shopping!! :wavey:
 
Winks_Elf|1460129156|4016958 said:
For me personally, I'd pick yellow. There's something about the look of sunshine that comes from yellow diamonds that is just so enchanting to me.
Click to expand...

Yep, yellow for me too.

Brown can be okay, esp set in rose gold, but it depends. I have seen some good ones, but also some really ugly ones.
 
What's interesting to me is that when you set a light/faint brown diamond, it's very difficult to predict exactly th result
They don't always behave the way you think they might
 
Yellow for me!
 
Interesting question. Oddly enough, I'm sort of opposite when it comes to yellows and browns. I love bright, sunny, intense yellows, but light yellows do absolutely nothing for me. I adore light/faint, sparkly browns (in the right setting), but I'm not a fan of dark browns. This would be an easy choice for me: I'd get a light brown and set it in a quality, rose gold setting.
 
Thank for all of your opinions. I think I am starting to get this straight in my head, and I am very, very grateful. I think I'm going to go with the light yellow, even though I have a small one currently.

Diamondhoarder, you really helped me out, because while your ring is gorgeous, some of the things you mentioned about some browns you saw made me realize that finding the perfect pink brown is a project for me later on. I don't think I can devote the attention I would need to finding just the right stone right now. Your ring is catalogued in my head now as something I am going to try to create in the future. It is simply perfection.

So, now on to focus on the light yellows. :read: I am hoping for a cheery lemony or sunshiny yellow with strong/very strong fluorescence because I am frequently taking my kids to theme parks and seeing it glow under the black light will be so cool for me. And maybe a little distracting while we ride Peter Pan for the 500 millionth time.
 
BeekeeperBetty|1460252457|4017459 said:
Thank for all of your opinions. I think I am starting to get this straight in my head, and I am very, very grateful. I think I'm going to go with the light yellow, even though I have a small one currently.

Diamondhoarder, you really helped me out, because while your ring is gorgeous, some of the things you mentioned about some browns you saw made me realize that finding the perfect pink brown is a project for me later on. I don't think I can devote the attention I would need to finding just the right stone right now. Your ring is catalogued in my head now as something I am going to try to create in the future. It is simply perfection.

So, now on to focus on the light yellows. :read: I am hoping for a cheery lemony or sunshiny yellow with strong/very strong fluorescence because I am frequently taking my kids to theme parks and seeing it glow under the black light will be so cool for me. And maybe a little distracting while we ride Peter Pan for the 500 millionth time.
Click to expand...

I'm glad my feedback was helpful. And thanks for complements on my ring. You never know - by the time you get to the point when you are ready to persue your "pink/brown project" I may be ready to sell mine in order to fund one of the many new projects that are always circling around my brain! :naughty:

Good luck with your yellow project, I will look forward to seeing the pics when its done. :)
 
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