How Color Sensitive Are You?

[mwhite88]

Well, shoot. Now I'm worried the warmth in an H is going to drive me crazy!

 

[etudes]

I got perfect score. I didn’t know I was that color sensitive.

 

[hmr_mama]

Fun post! I scored an 8 but was happy with my I/VS2 and now my H/VS1 (although I do see tint in both). I am far too low maintenance for anything higher than a G.

 

[TreeScientist]

I got a 0. Finished in about 3 minutes. Kind of pointless for me to do this test though, seeing as my job is based in large part on discriminating colors. If I didn't have perfect color vision, I probably would've F'ed up something in my job by now.



Regarding the whole "color sensitivity" topic though, I think it has a lot more to do with "Are you bothered by the color?" than "Can you see the color?" Yes, I am very sensitive to color. But more importantly, it also bothers me. I personally like diamonds that are either very white (D-E) or obviously colored (U-V or below. Down into the fancy yellow range). Actually, I saw this really beautiful pendant with a U-V radiant on Diamonds by Lauren recently that I think is absolutely beautiful:
http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/index.php/jewelry/212ct-u-v-vvs2-radiant-diamond-pendant-r7339

Some people may be just as sensitive to color as I am, but may like diamonds in the near colorless range. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[TreeScientist]

I agree - there is color sensitivity and color tolerance. I am *very* color sensitive, I completed the test pretty quickly and scored a 0 on the first go, but I am also color tolerant - I don't mind a bit of color in my stones.

You know what my husband's favorite game is? When I ask him to grab something and I describe it by color. As in, "Honey, could you grab my sweater? The poppy color one." Poor man had never even heard of aubergine until he met me!

Haha my fiancé and I have the opposite arrangement. She is fairly oblivious to color nuances. To her, the only colors that exist are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, gray, white, and black. I know just about every color under the rainbow.

A typical conversation between us:

Her: "Look! Purple!"
Me: "...Um, that's lilac hun"

 

[missyminx]

I got a 0 as well. No wonder I had a hard time finding matching color stones when I was in the market for earrings. I can tell the difference in my earrings which are 1 shade different, and I do it every morning cos the smaller higher colour goes in my smaller right lobe and the larger lower colour goes in my left larger lobe!

 

[Yimmers]

Haha, I usually am sensitive between the different nuances, mostly in undertones. However, my J does not bother me. My F always seemed a little gray and cold. Probably has to do with why I gravitate towards bright and warmer colored clothing. Coral colored dress - Yes! Black clothing - Not really.

 

[coda72]

The last time I did that test I got a 2, and my eyes were pretty tired. I’m sure I could get a 0 under the right circumstances. A while ago I had a job matching paint colors, so I had to be able to distinguish between subtle colors. But I also have a J colored diamond. When I first saw it, I thought it was too yellow for me. But over time it bothers me less and less, and I love the blue fluorescence it has. I would like to get an H colored diamond like I had in the past because that’s my personal sweet spots far as diamond color, but if I had an unlimited budget, I’d love a D-F diamond.

 

[missy]

I did the color test the first time it was shared and don't remember my results but I am fairly color sensitive.

However while I am color sensitive I want some warmth in certain cuts if that makes sense. In MRBs I prefer G or higher but in old cuts I like a bit of warmth and J is my sweet spot. I have seen a number of "whiter" G and H and even I old cuts and for me, they lacked the depth the warmer color brings to the old cuts. So my preference was a little warmer in old cuts.

Of course it depends on the particular stone and I am just sharing my general thoughts. Each stone must be evaluated on its own.

 

[rockysalamander]

Well, shoot. Now I'm worried the warmth in an H is going to drive me crazy!

There is a huge difference between being able to see color at different levels, and what color level one might prefer or dislike.

from @Karl_K

 

[missy]

from @Karl_K
There is a huge difference between being able to see color at different levels, and what color level one might prefer or dislike.

This exactly... what I was saying in my post above. Personally I see color but prefer some color with certain cuts. It adds a something special for me with old european cuts depending on the specific stone. Too much color and too little color takes away from the diamond but just the right color adds that something special for me.

 

[rockysalamander]

I score a zero on this test and most like it. My mom, however, not only scores well by as the vocabulary to describe the differences as an artist. She is not bothered at all by color in diamonds because she can see an appreciate the subtleties between colors. She loves the variations (although not when they are pairs...then they must match).

 

[rockysalamander]

This exactly... what I was saying in my post above. Personally I see color but prefer it with certain cuts. It adds a something special for me with old european cuts depending on the specific stone.

I agree with you @missy and appreciated your post. I was just reminding the poster that seeing and disliking are different.

 

[lambskin]

I have been selecting paints for my interior rooms for the last two years (I paint myself...it's theraputic and cheap) and am really, really good with hues-subtle or otherwise. I see I-J color in most diamonds.

 

[Kae]

I got a perfect score... I know I am color sensitive but didn't know i am that sensitive lol
I have a G VS2. No wonder sometimes I still see some tint in my diamond. Does that mean I should not go below F?

 

[Texas Leaguer]

I scored a 0. Which didn't surprise me all that much. I was a colored gem trader for the first half of my career. Perhaps that trained my eye. Or perhaps I was good at finding appealing gems because of my color acuity. Not sure.

But I'm on the team that says diamond color is not so much about whether you can detect color, but whether you respond positively or negatively to it. I also believe that this is a subjective thing that can change.

For years I held the belief that it was foolish to pay the significant premiums for colorless diamonds. A near colorless that had good clarity and well cut offerred by far the best value. Which is still true logically. But over the years, and I do mean it took years, I have come to immediately respond to colorless stones. Maybe it is psychological - the exclusivity thing. But I really believe it is more acquired taste. You start appreciating subtle aspects more vividly.

Another closely related taste thing is lighting. I have always been intrigued by they different types and qualities of light, and especially their effects on color rendition. And I have observed how differently people respond to different kinds of light. At one time I thought 6500K daylight was the ideal, so I started installing this type of lighting at home and in the office. I found that many people did not like it (too blue), even though it is supposed to be much healthier and gives better color rendition. Now I tend to like 5000K (bright white) for most situations. But I realize that warm white is really lovely for certain situations. I prefer modern, but if I was furnishing a home with an antique decor, I would probably go with lighting on the warm side.

So, it's clear to me that color in diamonds is both a perception and a taste thing. And that tastes can sometimes change over time.

 

[Emeraldsaremyfavorite]

Scored 1. And both I ECs have been perfectly white for me

 

[Polished]

I did this test before and have a high colour sensitivity. I once owned a D and found it too harsh white. I traded it in for a low G, nearer to an H and love the softer effect of this diamond. If I'd gone straight to the low G, I might be obsessing on the slight tint I can see from the side as opposed to enjoying the diamond as a whole.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

I did this test a few years ago & I scored under 5, pretty certain 3 but I can't bet my life on it. My 1st stone was a GIA G & I thought that was pretty white. I had seen D-E-F but in reality, I liked the G. Then as DSS set in, with prices as high as they were back then, the logical step was to look lower on the scale to obtain size. I wouldn't have been able to up the stone size had I not been ok with this step. For modern stones, I cap my search at J, & with vintage, a K. I do see tint as I'm colour sensitive but in order for me to have size, I have to give up or rather balance out the factors which would allow me to have a larger stone without breaking the bank. I'm sure if I found myself with a huge windfall, I'd trade in my stone for a large G but that scenario is still being played out in my dreams. In the meantime, I'm happy to have a large ring, & seeing tint has been a love hate relationship, but mainly love. But then again, all my stones are well cut.

 

[pearaffair]

Scored a 0, and I love my D super ideal
But honestly I never noticed how white it was until I saw it next to my friend’s ring... oops! Awkward when she noticed as well...

 

[AGBF]

I scored a 25, but I don't believe my score. I just got annoyed at looking at the darned things and didn't want to do it anymore. When I look at colors in matching clothing, I am very put off if red is "off" with another red in an outfit or a blue clashes with another blue. Still, it is an interesting test. I liked it.

AGBF

 

[natasha-cupcake]

I've taken the test several times and have scored 0 every time. By the 3rd time, I was able to zip through it really quickly. I'm definitely a carrier of the color blindness gene--my dad is color blind, as is my son. I don't know if I'm tetrachromatic or not, but I suppose I could be. To me I just see colors "normally". As far as diamonds are concerned, I can see small color differences and I prefer high colors. My E CBI has a teeny tiny tint to me. I actually think it's a high F rather than an E. I've seen a few GIA E's in jewelry stores and I can see that they are whiter than my E. In fact, after cutting my diamond, CBI staffed judged it F. It came back as E from AGS, so that's what it "is". Color grading has human subjectivity involved and really, we're talking about slightly fluid points along a continuum, so E or F, who knows or who cares? Mentally, actual color grade is not that important to me. What is important, is how pretty the diamond looks to me. Mine looks gorgeous. I think CBI staff are more likely to be "correct", though, in terms of the color grading.

All things being equal, and with a nice fat wallet, if I wanted to upgrade, I would go for a slightly larger diamond in a D color. I might consider a significantly larger one in E or F, but I see way too much color in G and below. For old cuts, though, I'm okay with lower colors, down to I or maybe even J. I've seen a few K old cuts and the color bothers me at that level. These are just my preferences, of course.

 

[msop04]

The first time I ever took it about 4 years ago, I scored a 12... the last time I took it (this year), I scored a 0. Seeing color and being bothered by it are two very different things. My very favorite color for a MRB is F/G... would I snub a D?? Hardly! I own a 3.33 ct I and feel like it's "white enough" for me. Smaller MRBs (1.25-ish ct or less) with full-on side viewing would be just fine in a J for me.

 

[MollyMalone]

I scored a 25, but I don't believe my score. I just got annoyed at looking at the darned things and didn't want to do it anymore. When I look at colors in matching clothing, I am very put off if red is "off" with another red in an outfit or a blue clashes with another blue. Still, it is an interesting test. I liked it.
AGBF

Even if your raw score really is 25, that's eminently respectable for women our age (think you & I are just about the same age). Run your score through the various age groupings that appear in the drop-down menu for Age Range & you'll see that your "standing" improves as you move up through the age categories. See the comment re Changes in color perception in this article from the American Optometry Association about changes in vision commonly experienced after age 40:
https://www.aoa.org/patients-and-pu...ars-of-age/adult-vision-41-to-60-years-of-age

 

[MollyMalone]

I'm wondering what differences in scoring there can be -- even when using just yourself as the test subject -- owing to your computer or device screen's color calibration. Or lack thereof. I "refresh" my iMac's and iPad's color calibration, using the OS's built-in display calibrator, 2-3 times a year 'cause color calibration drifts somewhat over time. But unlike my brother, who's a photography buff, I've never made the investment in a color calibration hardware tool like those ColorMunki itself sells. This ColorMunki test is doubtlessly fine-tuned on their end, but I doubt I can be certain that my own display is always truly in sync with ColorMunki. Plus, even a slightly different viewing angle makes a difference in what you see on your display.

I bonded with my late father-in-law early on in our relationship by asking him to teach me how to play bridge & doing "diamond tutorials" with him, a diamond dealer who was passionate about diamonds (he candidly was hoping he could sway me from my strong preference for colored stones). One set of his tutorials covered diamond color grading: he had a GIA-certified, diamond master color comparison set
http://thegraduategemologist.com/wp...1/GIA-Master-Color-Comparison-Set-Grading.pdf
and, because he frequently was on the road, a CZ master set. After taking me through his diamond color "curriculum" and repeatedly testing me, he said, with a pleased laugh, "You missed your calling." Yet, the several times I've done the ColorMunki test since it first appeared online, I've never scored in the low, single digits because my hue discrimination falls off at the far ends of the final Results spectrum. So I'm also thinking that one's score is not inevitably predictive of one's sensitivity (meaning ability to discern, not your preference-tolerance) to diamond color.

 

[doberman]

My experience was much the same as @Texas Leaguer. For years I couldn't understand why someone would pay so much money for a tiny difference in shade. And then I saw my D stone and was blown away by its icy crispness (for lack of a better term).

And @Karl_K is absolutely correct about color perception and color tolerance. Often the two have no relationship.

 

[AGBF]

Even if your raw score really is 25, that's eminently respectable for women our age (think you & I are just about the same age). Run your score through the various age groupings that appear in the drop-down menu for Age Range & you'll see that your "standing" improves as you move up through the age categories. See the comment re Changes in color perception in this article from the American Optometry Association about changes in vision commonly experienced after age 40:
https://www.aoa.org/patients-and-pu...ars-of-age/adult-vision-41-to-60-years-of-age

I want to put you on retainer as my lawyer.

 

[cflutist]

My experience was much the same as @Texas Leaguer. For years I couldn't understand why someone would pay so much money for a tiny difference in shade. And then I saw my D stone and was blown away by its icy crispness (for lack of a better term).

And @Karl_K is absolutely correct about color perception and color tolerance. Often the two have no relationship.

Yes I agree about icy crispness. I love your D color MRB (and your fancy yellow too). Loved my 2.05 D-VS2 oval from ex-hubby. But wanted a larger diamond from current hubby so I traded it in for a 3.01 F-SI1 pear. F is my compromise in color for 2+ ct diamonds (the 2.31 Q-VVS2 CBI doesn't count, lol).

I would love to have a 4ct D colored CBI, but pricing is in the realm of crazy for me.

 

[sledge]

I've been pretty busy with work and initially took the test using a dual monitor setup at the office. Re-did the test on my personal laptop. Got a 0. Maybe there is some truth to color calibration.

Either way, I agree there is a difference between color sensitivity and color tolerance.

Still waiting on the fiancee to take the test. Curious where she will fall, but given the fact she is using names I've never heard of to describe wedding colors, I think she's more sensitive than me. I told her she needs to communicate in "man colors" -- purple, light purple, dark purple....WTF is wysteria? At first I wanted she wanted Def Leppard music.

 

[mockturtle]

Fun test! Way better than “what kind of dessert are you?”
I scored 0. I always thought I prefer the lower colors. I was disappointed that an L stone wasn’t warm enough. I recently got a cute little OMC that is very white. I enjoy the iciness, but I think I still prefer much warmer color for my dream “some day” old cut ring.