I color plus strong blue florence

[xiaohanzhu]

Hi Everyone,
My wife and I had been shopping for GIA/AGS stones in 2.5ct range. Initially we wanted to go with I color. However my wife heard from her colleague that there were big difference when putting I and G color together and all her friends got at least G. This obviously has a huge impact on our budget.
I would like to get some expert opinions on I vs G. Is it really that obvious? In addition I read that when strong blue flourence combined with I, the stone will look whiter. Will this bring the I close to G? Maybe it is just my wishful thinking. Any suggestions will be really appreciated.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I will tell you that I went diamond shopping with a friend and she was buying an I color stone with medium blue fluorescence and I could not tell it apart from an H stone. I think you are going to be in trouble if matching the friends' rings is important, because they apparently talk about the color grade, so less than a G is going to be less than a G no matter what. Some people also have a negative (mis)perception that fluorescence, so if she is really conscious about what the friends think, you might be safer going to an H at least.

 

[xiaohanzhu]

I think as long as the difference in visual inspection is unnoticeable with untrained eyes, it should be OK for her. We could argue that we are better at picking diamonds with the help of the experts here

I will tell you that I went diamond shopping with a friend and she was buying an I color stone with medium blue fluorescence and I could not tell it apart from an H stone. I think you are going to be in trouble if matching the friends' rings is important, because they apparently talk about the color grade, so less than a G is going to be less than a G no matter what. Some people also have a negative (mis)perception that fluorescence, so if she is really conscious about what the friends think, you might be safer going to an H at least.

 

[0-0-0]

I think most people can see a difference of 2 color grades in that range if the stones are side by side. At arms length with set stones, I need at least a difference of 3 or 4 grades in the D-I range to tell color apart. I agree with diamondseeker2006 that going with at least a H would be safer if close comparisons are going to be an issue.

An I will always look like an I, even with strong blue fluorescence, in most lighting. I find that in dimmer, diffused lighting without UV components the actual tint is most apparent. The only times I have noticed where my I with strong blue fluorescence look "whiter" are when there's UV light in the environment, be it from the unfiltered sun or some fluorescent lamps. Keep in mind that an I with strong blue fluorescence may also display a blue tint in the sun.

 

[Christina...]

If she is going to be comparing her stone to her friends stones than I think you should also consider where her friends purchased their diamonds and who did the grading. Different labs grade color and clarity differently, for instance GIA will grade a stone an I while EGL will call it a G or perhaps even better. A lot of mall stores carry EGL and IGI stones because they make more money selling them for obvious reasons since they are so loosely graded and the average consumer doesn't realize that they are paying for F VS2 when they are really getting a G SI1. These same stones are often not ideally cut either which will have a large impact on color and perfomance, because well cut diamonds always look whiter and brighter than poorly cut ones. I'm not suggesting that her friends all have poorly cut stones graded by an inferior lab, I'm just saying that if you're going to make comparisons then make sure you're comparing apples to apples kwim?

 

[Gypsy]

If she is going to be comparing her stone to her friends stones than I think you should also consider where her friends purchased their diamonds and who did the grading. Different labs grade color and clarity differently, for instance GIA will grade a stone an I while EGL will call it a G or perhaps even better. A lot of mall stores carry EGL and IGI stones because they make more money selling them for obvious reasons since they are so loosely graded and the average consumer doesn't realize that they are paying for F VS2 when they are really getting a G SI1. These same stones are often not ideally cut either which will have a large impact on color and perfomance, because well cut diamonds always look whiter and brighter than poorly cut ones. I'm not suggesting that her friends all have poorly cut stones graded by an inferior lab, I'm just saying that if you're going to make comparisons then make sure you're comparing apples to apples kwim?

Exactly!