How low would you go in color for a 2 carat round diamond engagement ring?

[ringbling17]

For me the lowest I would go would be a G to stay looking white without any tint. I currently have an I and I see tint occasionally but 95% of the time I don’t. It doesn’t bother me though and if it did I would definitely have traded up in color.
Now if budget was unlimited I would get an F.

 

[AdaBeta27]

Be aware that color sensitivity or awareness can develop over time. You can train yourself to see it, like diamond graders do. Also, larger diamonds concentrate tint more, so unfortunately for me, I would have to stop at a GIA G if I didn't want obvious tint. Even then, I have trained myself to be so color-aware that I will see the warmth in the G. I mention that, because when I got my first 2 diamonds, one of them was an I VS OEC with strong blue fluor, and the other is a G. I owned and wore that I OEC in a ring from 1993 to a while after I joined PS in 2004 or so, and honestly never saw the tint in it. Face up it is generally a bright white because it's 6.3mm and usually worn where there is UV light present.

And then, WHAM! One day, I looked at it, and it was unmistakable quite ivory colored from the side! And what has been seen cannot be unseen! So, just for laughs, I went to a Hearts on Fire dealer and looked at some of their superideal diamonds, including the Dream. And when they pulled the I color diamonds out of the display case, I could see the the ivory tint in the deeper Dream and the larger RBs from (honestly) 3 feet away, looking at the profile of the diamond.

And that's how it's been ever since. I can usually easily spot the slight color starting with G. That said, I think I am like the poster, above, who said she likes H and up, and light yellow like L/M and lower. I tend to skip the J/K because they are just dirty white or off white. But I love the pale yellow of L/M/N, even in a modern H&A RB..

 

[AdaBeta27]

Have you looked at the "helpful threads" section in show me the bling? There are threads for I / J and maybe K color, in platinum.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/smtr-helpful-threads-archive.131796/

 

[uyalison]

I went down to a K, and have no regret. To my eye, I, J, K are all tinted viewing from the side, but in varying degrees of course. So to me, just me, there is not point spending more getting a I or a J, if they are all tinted. From the top, I think it is very hard to tell the difference, given all the fire and scintillation being thrown to your eyes, given a great cut.

To me the color is obvious from the side view, even without another diamond in comparison, especially for a size of 2+ ct. So if icy white is what you are looking for, and you are the wearer of the diamond, go for H or higher.

 

[Bron357]

Maybe I’m odd, I wouldn’t care what colour grade, to me cut and great clarity mean more.
Though I guess J and K are looking too yellowish without being proper yellowish. I’ve seen some too die for M and Ps (more brownish than yellow) and they looked fabulous.