Feedback on pinky brown diamond appreciated !

[mixprints]

Hi all ! First post but long time reader of Pricescope - such an awesome resource and great advice!

After searching long and hard for an upgrade and going through what seemed like hundreds of diamonds, this one REALLY caught my eye and I kept going back to it and felt like it was such a great unique diamond - I just finalized the upgrade (woo!)
Not that much information around on browner based diamonds but the consensus was pretty great, I felt it faced up white and was competing price wise against lower clarities and the HCA score was really great. I love the fact that it's not showing yellow as I highly dislike that and honestly can't afford a colorless diamond, I don't mind warmth just not yellow.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.55-carat-j-color-vvs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2122987

Would appreciate some thoughts on this/if this was a good purchase and find.
Will post pics of it in its setting as well - it's a white gold thin french cut pave in a 6 prong instead of 4

TIA!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

It is cut round and shallow so it will probably not show a lot of the color of the material itself.
You could lower your clarity and find all sorts of stones that weight from $3k upwards https://www.jamesallen.com/fancy-co...Sort=Price, DefaultOrder&ViewsOptions=Images

 

[evergreen]

I'm no expert, but I also love faint brown diamonds & would definitely go with that over a yellow given the choice! It looks like a beautifully cut (and VERY clean) stone. I hear the resale market isn't as enthusiastic about brown or grey overtones, which is reflected in the price you paid. Who cares? If it's perfect for you, it's perfect, and I'd love to see photos of it set!

(And if you don't like the color or cut, or the comparison with white-white melee, when it arrives, JA's return policies are stellar. I just went through a diamond exploration process with them and everything was so straightforward from a customer service perspective that I wouldn't at all be hesitant to take a chance on a stone that ticked my boxes, as this seems to do for yours!)

 

[kenny]

A little clarity on the color ...

The body color of D-Z diamonds can be of various hues, yellow, gray, brown etc.
Sometimes GIA adds a note stating such a hue is present.
In this case GIA did not.

GIA graded it J on their D-Z scale for 'white' diamonds.
If there really is pink/brown hue present there was not enough for GIA to grade it as a Fancy Colored Diamond.
If GIA didn't call it a pink brown diamond I wouldn't tell people, including myself, that's what it is.

Keep in mind photography is a minefield when it comes to believing what we see on our screens.
Absolutely NO criticism of JA whatsoever, but I'd never believe, or make a buying decision, based on what hue/tone I see on my screen.

If you are hoping for noticeably pink/brown hue without paying the massive upcharge for a diamond GIA graded as an FCD, then keep in mind you are hoping for lottery-winning odds.
FWIW, you could ask JA to pull it as ask if they detect the desired hue.
And of course there is always JA's wonderful return policy.

Good luck!

 

[evergreen]

Kenny, I may be wrong, but I don't think GIA notes "faint brown" on J stones, only K and lower.

However, as Kenny points out, if there were significant pink undertones to the brown, it would be a "fancy very light pinkish brown" or similar -- i.e., would be graded as a fancy-colored diamond, not on the D-Z scale.

Nonetheless, others have successfully developed a pinkish undertone in D-Z faint brown stones by setting in rose gold. I don't imagine that a white gold setting would do the same. But also, "brown" ranges a lot from greyish-brown/cool-brown (which I'd say this is) to yellowish-brown. I have an easier time "imagining" pink undertones in cool-brown stones than in yellow-brown stones.

And it sounds like you're just looking for a budget-friendly alternative to yellow undertones for a diamond that isn't *meant* to look fancy-colored -- in that case, I think you're on the right track. Do let us know how you like it in person!

 

[kenny]

Kenny, I may be wrong, but I don't think GIA notes "faint brown" on J stones, only K and lower.

Thanks evergreen.
Always glad to learn more.

 

[Aurora43]

I have always loved unique stones too. While I am no expert on diamonds by any means, I think this stone would look lovely in a simple yellow gold ring setting and worn as a pinky ring. The diamond is a good size so that it will be noticed, but is not to large and flashy for a ring worn on your pinky.

 

[mixprints]

Hey guys!
Thanks for all of your feedback, I don't think I was super clear in my initial post
I am not looking for a faint fancy pink diamond, I was looking for near colorless and had a J/VS1/XXX before that faced up very white that was true hearts and arrows BUT the yellow tone in it bothered me but not enough to go up a couple of color grades and down some clarity as yellow bothered me regardless - I would have kept it around VS2-VS1 but this one came as competing against those clarities and I's and J's and I read on several sources GIA grades brown tones tougher than yellow tones - I could be wrong but the tone it gave off appealed to me a lot regardless of that knowledge.

Finding this one to upgrade to as my Ering (I have size 4 fingers) - I was super excited to come across it because I MUCH prefer these tones and it has amazing fire and brilliance in person, I will try and take some pics, as it sparkled more than my J - VS1, H&A

 

[mixprints]

I'm no expert, but I also love faint brown diamonds & would definitely go with that over a yellow given the choice! It looks like a beautifully cut (and VERY clean) stone. I hear the resale market isn't as enthusiastic about brown or grey overtones, which is reflected in the price you paid. Who cares? If it's perfect for you, it's perfect, and I'd love to see photos of it set!

(And if you don't like the color or cut, or the comparison with white-white melee, when it arrives, JA's return policies are stellar. I just went through a diamond exploration process with them and everything was so straightforward from a customer service perspective that I wouldn't at all be hesitant to take a chance on a stone that ticked my boxes, as this seems to do for yours!)

Right - I wasn't looking for validation, I do love it and worked with JA a few months ago, this is just an upgrade I don't care for the resale value as I would probably just do the upgrade process again in a few years with JA as they have been a dream to work with twice now. I'll take some pictures of it set and post it, I was super stoked to find this on the website as these tones seemed non-existant in their offerings and it's not as if Blue Nile is easy to spot a tone like this