h vs j

[msindecisive]

Help! I received a 1.59 princess cut si2 h color from my fiance which i adore.
However, theres an inclusion which i keep noticing. We recently went
To our jeweler and were looking at a 1.78 princess cut vs2 j color. I'm torn on
What to do. I like the color of my current stone which is in a white gold setting
With small side stones and am worried if i choose the j color it will look yellow.
Do i go for a better color and less clarity or better clarity and less color???
Any advice? Which would you choose?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I'd ask the jeweler to call in a couple of H SI1's for you to look at. Or maybe I color. But I think you'll see a difference in H to J in princess cuts.

 

[msindecisive]

Unfortunately, the other diamonds we looked at were out of our price range.

 

[yssie]

I'd ask the jeweler to call in a couple of H SI1's for you to look at. Or maybe I color. But I think you'll see a difference in H to J in princess cuts.

Ditto, I can't imagine you wouldn't see a difference if you're looking for it, esp. in this size. BUT I don't think some random stranger admiring your ring will see anything other than "white princess", if that's the main concern.
The "apparent colour" will be unevenly distributed through the stone as well - the corners will look more tinted than in the middle, not like with an RB where the entire stone looks the same colour face-up. That's because a princess' faceting usually changes from slightly larger chunkier facet areas in the middle to very tiny facet areas at the corners, and those areas with different types of faceting return light differently. Some types of faceting & proportions (esp some branded cuts) can minimize that apparent colour differential effect. I say 'apparent' because the body colour of the stone isn't actually changing - all parts of the stone have J body colour, it's just that how much of that colour you see face-up is a function of light return quantity and type.

It sounds like you saw the J though, in the store, what did you think? Go back and look at it in a variety of lights - in the spotlights, in the diffuse back office lights, by a window. Get it dirty - get your fingers all over - and inspect through those lights again. Do you have any photos of the stones you can post here?

 

[msindecisive]

I do have a picture of my h stone. Its not allowing me to upload it right now but
As soon as i can i will. I have looked at the j in many different lights at the jewelry store.
Mainly noticing yellow, when right next to my h. Im having them set the j in my setting
Thursday because i thought thats what i wanted but now im leaning towards keeping
My h. Should i just let them set the j so i can see if its at all yellow looking on its own
And if i hate it just have them put my h back in??

 

[msindecisive]

Also, the j color is VERY sparkly. Ive read that a white gold setting may make it
Look more yellow but i do not like yellow gold.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

If you could see the tint, I would not accept the stone. I wouldn't want to keep setting and unsetting stones. I think you'll either need to get a smaller diamond or pay more to get better clarity.

 

[GMUAlum08]

is it bad to unset and reset a stone? ie cause damage to the stone or setting?

 

[yssie]

is it bad to unset and reset a stone? ie cause damage to the stone or setting?

Setting can only take so much stress - the prongs are particularly delicate. Also depends very much on the metal and type and quality of manufacture. Alloyed gold - particularly Ni-wg, which is the US standard - is known to be brittle.

 

[jstarfireb]

This is a tough decision. I'm not very color-sensitive, but I usually draw the line at I for whiteness in a princess cut (which, like most fancy shapes, tend to show more color than rounds, even when well-cut). Each color grade is actually a range, not a single color (and I happens to be the widest range of grades). I consider the "higher" I range and above as white and the "lower" I range and down as light yellow, cream, off-white, etc. So I wouldn't choose a J in a princess if I wanted a white stone.

However, unless it can be completely covered by a prong, an eye-visible inclusion is more of a dealbreaker for me, so I would probably go with the J. It's bigger and you mentioned it's sparkly. If you get the J, you could put it in a setting that covers most of the side view, because most of the color will be seen in profile. Too bad your jeweler doesn't have any I/SI1 stones that would split the difference between color and clarity within budget.

I actually think the jury is still out as to whether a white or yellow gold setting will minimize yellow in a stone. I personally prefer white metals. I think yellow gold is actually reflected in the stone and makes the diamond appear *more* yellow. But others may disagree. I don't think there's a real consensus.

 

[motownmama]

are these GIA stones?

 

[yssie]

This is a tough decision. I'm not very color-sensitive, but I usually draw the line at I for whiteness in a princess cut (which, like most fancy shapes, tend to show more color than rounds, even when well-cut). Each color grade is actually a range, not a single color (and I happens to be the widest range of grades). I consider the "higher" I range and above as white and the "lower" I range and down as light yellow, cream, off-white, etc. So I wouldn't choose a J in a princess if I wanted a white stone.

However, unless it can be completely covered by a prong, an eye-visible inclusion is more of a dealbreaker for me, so I would probably go with the J. It's bigger and you mentioned it's sparkly. If you get the J, you could put it in a setting that covers most of the side view, because most of the color will be seen in profile. Too bad your jeweler doesn't have any I/SI1 stones that would split the difference between color and clarity within budget.

I actually think the jury is still out as to whether a white or yellow gold setting will minimize yellow in a stone. I personally prefer white metals. I think yellow gold is actually reflected in the stone and makes the diamond appear *more* yellow. But others may disagree. I don't think there's a real consensus.

To add to this - old thread where Oldminer talks about the colour ranges and how they affect price - actually he says the opposite, that I is an unusually narrow range! [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/are-there-different-shades-of-i-colour-diamonds.121594/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/are-there-different-shades-of-i-colour-diamonds.121594/[/URL]

 

[jstarfireb]

This is a tough decision. I'm not very color-sensitive, but I usually draw the line at I for whiteness in a princess cut (which, like most fancy shapes, tend to show more color than rounds, even when well-cut). Each color grade is actually a range, not a single color (and I happens to be the widest range of grades). I consider the "higher" I range and above as white and the "lower" I range and down as light yellow, cream, off-white, etc. So I wouldn't choose a J in a princess if I wanted a white stone.

However, unless it can be completely covered by a prong, an eye-visible inclusion is more of a dealbreaker for me, so I would probably go with the J. It's bigger and you mentioned it's sparkly. If you get the J, you could put it in a setting that covers most of the side view, because most of the color will be seen in profile. Too bad your jeweler doesn't have any I/SI1 stones that would split the difference between color and clarity within budget.

I actually think the jury is still out as to whether a white or yellow gold setting will minimize yellow in a stone. I personally prefer white metals. I think yellow gold is actually reflected in the stone and makes the diamond appear *more* yellow. But others may disagree. I don't think there's a real consensus.

To add to this - old thread where Oldminer talks about the colour ranges and how they affect price - actually he says the opposite, that I is an unusually narrow range! [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/are-there-different-shades-of-i-colour-diamonds.121594/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/are-there-different-shades-of-i-colour-diamonds.121594/[/URL]

Oh, did I get it backwards? I seem to recall people saying it was a wide range, and it's relevant to me because I have an I. Thanks for the correction!

(ETA: and I had even responded to Dave's comment - d'oh!)

 

[msindecisive]

H stone is EGL certified and the other is uncertified.

The inclusion on my stone is noticible to me but no one that i've shown my
Current h stone to have noticied. I pointed it out to my fiance and he said he did
Not even see that when he picked the diamond out but he can see it now that
I pointed it out to him. I think i'm just going to let the jeweler set the J and if its not for me
I'll switch back to my H. I just picked out my setting so if the J is set in it, it will be the first
Time a stone was set in it, so i'm not really worried about it being a big deal to set my h
Back in if i dont like the J.

I'm just hoping that i LOVE the J and it faces up white as opposed to tinted :/
I wont find out until Thursday though!

 

[msindecisive]

Also, we did look at another si2 I color 1.78 ct which i liked but it was more than my h
And the J. By quite a bit...

 

[Dancing Fire]

H stone is EGL certified and the other is uncertified.

i think you should look at some GIA stones.

 

[jstarfireb]

An uncertified stone is a big red flag for me. You don't really know what the color and clarity are unless they're graded by a reputable lab. Most PSers don't consider EGL a reputable lab for that matter, but it's better than nothing! So in that case, I'd like to change my answer and say get a smaller GIA- or AGS-graded I or higher colored diamond.