J, K colored diamonds

[angel777]

Hi All,

One of my best girl friends is looking to buy a round brilliant, 2ct+ in either J or K color.
I showed her my J, and she adores it, and cannot detect any color in it, and she is wondering if she will be able to see the yellow in a K.

I pointed her out to K stones in platinum thread, but its so tough to judge color from the computer screen, and none of our local jewelers seem to carry K stones.

Do any of you have in person experience seeing a J next to K? What are your thoughts?
Its just so strange that J is near colorless, and then K is faint yellow. Seems like such a jump.

Mara, I noticed one of your friends has a K stone in a Ritani setting. How does it compare to your lovely J?


Thank you!!

 

[belle]

keep in mind that diamond size and cut will make a difference in how much color you can see.
a 3.00ct j/k will definitely show color compared to a .30ct j/k just something to be aware of when you are out diamond hunting. it''s important to compare apples to apples.

 

[drk]

I think you have to take each individually. My K was actually less yellow/warm than one of the J''s of a similar size that I compared it to. When Jon put it on the colorimeter, it actually measured better than the J as well. If your friend couldn''t see color in your J, I doubt she''ll be bothered by the warmth of a K.

 

[angel777]

drk, your stone looks beautiful from the profile icon.

she is interested in purchasing a stone from either whiteflash or gog.
so the cut will be ideal. and round brilliants are supposed to mask the color better than other shapes from what I learned on this forum.

my J definitely is lacking "warmth".
I am thinking of recommending her a K with a medium blue flouro, just to be on the safe side.

 

[Cehrabehra]

IMO one of the things about selecting a "lower" colored stone is to *embrace* the color. Sure, it will face up with a lot of good white light... but they ARE slightly colored. It''s better to love them for what they are and think it''s cool that they also show up white rather than to hope they can fool someone or yourself into thinking they''re a D when they''re not.

 

[angel777]

Good point Cehra.
She definitely is interested in having a "whitish" looking stone, she mentioned that to me a few times.

This will be her upgrade stone, she currently has a .37 rb, E color, and she likes the whiteness of it, but can''t quite afford an E 2ct.

 

[sunkist]

Hi Angel. I have never seen a J or K in a 2+ct. I don''t even think I''ve seen a J compared to a K in person. But I do have a .95ct K, and I''ve been wanting to post on PS for the last couple weeks how happy I am and how much I LOVE my K stone!!!!! I like what Cehra said about embracing the color and not trying to fool people into thinking you''re wearing a D. It''s not a D, but it''s gorgeous. There are very few times during the day when I see any color in my stone. The ideal cut makes it fabulous. I can''t believe the fire and the whiteness.

I wouldn''t just go out and buy any K, or any J, just because I had a good experience with my stone though. I would definitely make sure it is ideal cut, little to no leakage, and see it in person before I went for it. But for me, buying a K was a great deal! I wouldn''t want anything different. Why pay more for a higher color when this stone gives me a beautiful white already?

I think you''re friend will probably like a J or K. Just have her test them out!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 10/12/2006 10:02:50 PM
Author: angel777
Good point Cehra.
She definitely is interested in having a ''whitish'' looking stone, she mentioned that to me a few times.

This will be her upgrade stone, she currently has a .37 rb, E color, and she likes the whiteness of it, but can''t quite afford an E 2ct.

hmm.... is this *the* upgrade or *an* upgrade? LOL .37 to 2 is HUGE and what I''d recommend is going from E to like G and get a 1.25 carat.... then in a few years go from a G to an I and up to 2.5 carat!! heheehehe - that way the color transition wil be slower. I love the warm stones, I think they''re so beautiful I almost feel offended when people want to hide their color LOL

 

[kcoursolle]

If she''s used to an E colored stone, a k might be a little bit of a shock for her. I like the warmth of J stones, but I think she should really see some in person before making a decision to get a feel for what they look like.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 10/12/2006 10:17:03 PM
Author: sunkist
Hi Angel. I have never seen a J or K in a 2+ct. I don''t even think I''ve seen a J compared to a K in person. But I do have a .95ct K, and I''ve been wanting to post on PS for the last couple weeks how happy I am and how much I LOVE my K stone!!!!! I like what Cehra said about embracing the color and not trying to fool people into thinking you''re wearing a D. It''s not a D, but it''s gorgeous. There are very few times during the day when I see any color in my stone. The ideal cut makes it fabulous. I can''t believe the fire and the whiteness.

I wouldn''t just go out and buy any K, or any J, just because I had a good experience with my stone though. I would definitely make sure it is ideal cut, little to no leakage, and see it in person before I went for it. But for me, buying a K was a great deal! I wouldn''t want anything different. Why pay more for a higher color when this stone gives me a beautiful white already?

I think you''re friend will probably like a J or K. Just have her test them out!

Mine is a J and hides NO color with the cut type... i shows everything and I love it! When I first got it I was bummed it didn''t have MORE color but really I''m just happy that it is what it is and I love it for whatever that is LOL Like my husand LOL I think also, not all yellows are created equal. Some lean lemony and some lean brown or whatever... mine looks like a white dress has sat in the attic for a hunderd years and been recently washed and let to dry in the sun... it''s antique white. it''s so gorgeous that Im'' actually GLAD its color isn''t hidden by brilliance... I know that sounds so weird, but it such a sensual shade.... not stark white, but like naked skn or something...

 

[angel777]

Thank you girls for sharing your opinions and views, I will let her know. I think going for a 1.25 in G would be really perfect for her, but she really likes the way that one 2ct stone looked on her hand apparently.
Her hubby is letting her upgrade and I think she really wants it to be a final upgrade, she is also looking for a perfect setting, but isn''t quite there yet, as stone is her first priority.

I agree masking colors is silly, I think she is trying to maximize carat for her money (she is quite the size girl, after having .37 stone, she wants size, size, size.

 

[Mara]

I started with a ~1.2 stone in a G and then went to a 1.29 H then a 1.6 J and then a 2.32 J. I could see no visual diff from G to H at all. From H to J I saw some color differerences that are more pronounced the larger the stone gets. She might have a bit of a visual change to get used to from E to a J esp from a .30 to a 2c. But if she is OKAY with that then by all means go for it! My stone looks WHITE face up...aka when I am looking down into the stone...when I put it next to other stones it only has to be next to a D or E or F to show any difference. But from the side I do see color differences in other stones. However, and this may sound weird but my 1.29 H was TOO WHITE for me. It drove me kinda nuts. It was like this blinding white beacon on my hand. I also have a darker olive skin tone and so I felt like my hand made it look even more white. Maybe this is why I embrace the warmer colors a bit...maybe I feel like they look better on my hand? It''s very hard to say.

If she wants that 2c look then she''d have to get a J or K to make it affordable. I''d say stick with J. My girlfriend''s 1.6c K is phenomenally beautiful but it does show a bit more color than mine side by side. Nothing earth shattering but it is a tiny bit visible. I think to go from an E to a K would be a real visual difference for her. If she CAN make it work, I''d say try to stick maybe with a jump to an I. Maybe a 1.75c I would work? Many people say that I to J is the point where they start to see some colors. So she may be more okay with an I.

In any case, she has to see some stones to find out her own mental threshhold, it''s so personal for all of us and yes make sure she is looking a well-cut ideal stones, because a crappily cut maul J is not going to look like a well-cut ideal J. I have seen some really colorful J''s and even some I''s or H''s that are not well-cut that show more color than my stone. The cut can make a huge difference in body color. Good luck!!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 10/13/2006 12:33:37 AM
Author: angel777
Thank you girls for sharing your opinions and views, I will let her know. I think going for a 1.25 in G would be really perfect for her, but she really likes the way that one 2ct stone looked on her hand apparently.
Her hubby is letting her upgrade and I think she really wants it to be a final upgrade, she is also looking for a perfect setting, but isn''t quite there yet, as stone is her first priority.

I agree masking colors is silly, I think she is trying to maximize carat for her money (she is quite the size girl, after having .37 stone, she wants size, size, size.

masking ugly colors isn''t silly = but really, how many truly ugly diamonds are there out there? I doubt anything she''s considering would be ugly - a gorgeous clean cut rb isn''t going to look ugly in *any* color!

 

[firebirdgold]

Is she interested in the diamond looking white as a color, or looking white as in returning a lot of white light? A bright and ''white'' stone was really important to me. I so didn''t want a grey diamond, but one that returned a lot of ''white'' light under most lighting conditions. I look at my ring now in dim lighting and shadowed by my head and my OEC looks bright and ''white''. My diamond is a J (I think) and I happen to love the slight warmth in a platinum setting.

Basically what I''m saying is that lay-people can use different terms than we''re used to when trying to describe what they want or what they see. There''s a chance she was referring to how the diamond returns light rather than the color of the light.

 

[Giangi]

J and Ks are great values, and I personally love them, but chances are that a 2 carater won''t look blinding white. Surely white enough for platinum, though. It''s a look you have to like - and if you do, then stones in that range can be great deals.

 

[crowmama]

Hey all. I just wanted to chime in about J and K colors...

Very good points made by all. K is a funky color, some more yellow, some a little brown. I have a .93 pear, and in certain light the lower half by the point looks more L-M-N, while the upper part looks G-H-I. But only I notice it -- set in 14k yellow gold it actually faces up more G-H most of the time.

The important thing with these TLB colors is that the stones have other things working for them in cut, clarity, proportion, fire, etc. A stone could be D color, but if it has a fisheye or just looks dead, well, the high color is worthless.

So, color be hanged. Angel, If your friend likes the stone, she should get it and enjoy it!

 

[swingirl]

I don''t know your budget is but WF has this one. A little bigger but beautiful.

2.432ct K VS1
http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-65857.htm

 

[angel777]

Thank you for everyones input!!
My friend found this post very helpful and informative. She ended up calling a few jewelry stores and seeing if they have J, K colored stones and one did.
They are similarly sized, both GIA Excellent cut grade.
She prefers J to a K, but *I* thought K looked lovely!!

 

[susi]

Seeing a stone''s color face up has a tremendous amount to do with what we call white light return, IMO, which is affected by how well the stone is cut.

My HOF round with a grade I color looks lots whiter than my E-F stones, face up, in many lighting conditions and the HOF is pretty much larger than it''s more colorless graded sisters.

Trying to say that more things than color grade affect how a stone''s color is perceived. It''s best to look at many stones and compare, I feel

 

[3hearts]

I have a 2.5 K VS2 set in a full bezel platinum. The only regret is that it''s not a 3 carat

I love the sparkle of colors that come from J and K stones. Yes, there''s a hint of color from the side, but it''s not always there.

Please post pics when she gets her stone

 

[davidwolf]

I would be under the impression that people who say they like their J color stones would have purchased a H or higher color stones if they could have afforded them. Rather then get the opinions of how people feel about their stones why not go to the mall and have her look for herself?

It is pretty obvious that a G color stone would have a much higher resale value then a J color stone, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if it is her FINAL upgrade then who cares as long as she is happy with it.

 

[FacetFire]

Date: 10/20/2006 6:43:21 AM
Author: davidwolf
I would be under the impression that people who say they like their J color stones would have purchased a H or higher color stones if they could have afforded them. Rather then get the opinions of how people feel about their stones why not go to the mall and have her look for herself?

It is pretty obvious that a G color stone would have a much higher resale value then a J color stone, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if it is her FINAL upgrade then who cares as long as she is happy with it.

I don''t think that''s true in some cases. My stone is an OEC, and I actually don''t like the way OECs look in D-E-F-G colors. It''s not until an OEC gets down to an H or I that I start to feel it''s "glow."

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 10/20/2006 6:43:21 AM
Author: davidwolf
I would be under the impression that people who say they like their J color stones would have purchased a H or higher color stones if they could have afforded them. Rather then get the opinions of how people feel about their stones why not go to the mall and have her look for herself?

It is pretty obvious that a G color stone would have a much higher resale value then a J color stone, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if it is her FINAL upgrade then who cares as long as she is happy with it.

I think your "impression" is mistaken and even somewhat offensive. Several issues: I have a gorgeous 2.36 J/SI2 RB. I certainly COULD HAVE "purchased an H or higher color stone" (and in fact my first diamond was a 1.53 G/VS). But since diamonds are a "luxury" item, and since most of us do not have unlimited funds -- color, clarity, and carat weight must all be balanced and certain choices must inevitably be made. Plus your post seems to imply that those of us with J colored diamonds have just (sadly?) "settled" - when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Cool white diamonds don't appeal to everyone -- there is a lovely warmth and depth of fire to lower-colored diamonds that some of us love.

And as for directing someone to THE MALL to check out diamonds... hellllo, that is really poor advice. Mall diamonds are generally graded by soft labs (if they are even graded at all) and believe me, the J colored stones in the mall look NOTHING like the ideal-cut, AGS-0 J colored stone on my finger.

AND, your last sentence seems to imply that diamonds are in some way a good investment, when in reality, that is simply not the case. Yes, all other things being equal, a G colored stone may "resale" for more than a J colored stone, but it also cost a lot more. Reselling any diamond almost always means a financial loss for the owner, whether that diamond is a G or a J or anything else.

 

[davidwolf]

Last I heard Tiffany had a store at the mall I wouldnt call their diamonds poor by any means.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 10/20/2006 10:43:13 AM
Author: davidwolf
Last I heard Tiffany had a store at the mall I wouldnt call their diamonds poor by any means.

There's no Tiffany's in my mall!

In fact, I have to travel 7 hours to get to the nearest one.

I don't mean to sound argumentative, but really, when someone says "the mall", I doubt that *most* people think of Tiffany's. I bet they think of Zales... Kings... Kays...

PLUS... no one is going to see any J colored diamonds at Tiffany's anyway, as the lowest color they choose to sell is "I".

 

[FluorIsMore]

Date: 10/20/2006 9:38:12 AM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 10/20/2006 6:43:21 AM
Author: davidwolf
I would be under the impression that people who say they like their J color stones would have purchased a H or higher color stones if they could have afforded them. Rather then get the opinions of how people feel about their stones why not go to the mall and have her look for herself?

It is pretty obvious that a G color stone would have a much higher resale value then a J color stone, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if it is her FINAL upgrade then who cares as long as she is happy with it.

I think your ''impression'' is mistaken and even somewhat offensive. Several issues: I have a gorgeous 2.36 J/SI2 RB. I certainly COULD HAVE ''purchased an H or higher color stone'' (and in fact my first diamond was a 1.53 G/VS). But since diamonds are a ''luxury'' item, and since most of us do not have unlimited funds -- color, clarity, and carat weight must all be balanced and certain choices must inevitably be made. Plus your post seems to imply that those of us with J colored diamonds have just (sadly?) ''settled'' - when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Cool white diamonds don''t appeal to everyone -- there is a lovely warmth and depth of fire to lower-colored diamonds that some of us love.

As sad as it is true, it would be the most common view of most consumers that people who can''t afford colorless buy that which has more color. Like what you like, that''s the most important. But you shouldn''t get offended because people don''t follow the uncommon stance that you''ve taken. After all, you were aware of that common view and perception when you chose your diamond right?

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 10/20/2006 2:44:00 PM
Author: FluorIsMore

As sad as it is true, it would be the most common view of most consumers that people who can't afford colorless buy that which has more color. Like what you like, that's the most important. But you shouldn't get offended because people don't follow the uncommon stance that you've taken. After all, you were aware of that common view and perception when you chose your diamond right?

Oh believe me, I'm not offended in the least, I just said his comment could be offensive. There is a big difference.

I am still not getting this "sad"/"can't afford" business, though.

Believe me, no one who looks at my diamond feels sorry for me!

And I could fully "afford' another "G" diamond if I wanted one... or even a "D" for that matter. Granted, it might be SMALLER than what I have now -- but the monetary output could be the same (or more or less, depending on vendor, quality and size.) But it'd be a "G", or a "D" or whatever.

And you think my "stance is uncommon"? I'm sorry, but I don't think so. One look at the killer "J (or K) stones in platinum" threads and it's obvious that LOTS of PSers with awesome, gorgeous diamonds feel just like I do.

And what exactly are these known "views and perceptions" when I bought ("chose") it? The only views and perceptions I know of are my own and those of everyone else who has seen my diamond -- which BTW, blows away every other diamond I have ever seen IRL.

 

[FacetFire]

This may sound weird, but I actually didn''t want a D colored diamond also because I think they look fake sometimes. On some people''s skintones, they look way too white and frankly can look like a CZ.

 

[FluorIsMore]

Date: 10/20/2006 6:35:25 PM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 10/20/2006 2:44:00 PM

Author: FluorIsMore


As sad as it is true, it would be the most common view of most consumers that people who can't afford colorless buy that which has more color. Like what you like, that's the most important. But you shouldn't get offended because people don't follow the uncommon stance that you've taken. After all, you were aware of that common view and perception when you chose your diamond right?

Oh believe me, I'm not offended in the least, I just said his comment could be offensive. There is a big difference.

I am still not getting this 'sad'/'can't afford' business, though.

Believe me, no one who looks at my diamond feels sorry for me!

And I could fully 'afford' another 'G' diamond if I wanted one... or even a 'D' for that matter. Granted, it might be SMALLER than what I have now -- but the monetary output could be the same (or more or less, depending on vendor, quality and size.) But it'd be a 'G', or a 'D' or whatever.


And you think my 'stance is uncommon'? I'm sorry, but I don't think so. One look at the killer 'J (or K) stones in platinum' threads and it's obvious that LOTS of PSers with awesome, gorgeous diamonds feel just like I do.


And what exactly are these known 'views and perceptions' when I bought ('chose') it? The only views and perceptions I know of are my own and those of everyone else who has seen my diamond -- which BTW, blows away every other diamond I have ever seen IRL.

PS's opinions and views are one thing, but they very few in numbers relative to the population and are far from your average person who knows just knows the very basics in everyday real life.

Your average person (views and perceptions) knows that less color means a more expensive and rare diamond.

Our of curiosity, what do you say when someone asks you what color your diamond is? Do you tell them it's a J?

 

[belle]

Date: 10/20/2006 7:07:18 PM
Author: FluorIsMore


PS''s opinions and views are one thing, but they very few in numbers relative to the population and are far from your average person who knows just knows the very basics in everyday real life.

and most people have never laid eyes on well cut (truly well cut) diamonds. there is a big difference between well cut diamonds of lower color and mediocre/poor cuts. when i was looking at diamonds locally, i could *easily* see yellow in anything below ''h'' color. this wasn''t just some ''warmth'' from the side, the whole diamond looked yellow! after that i was sure i did not want anything less than a ''g'' color diamond. it wasn''t until seeing an ''h'' color aca diamond in person that i realized that CUT QUALITY makes all of the difference in the world. now i am the PROUD owner of ''j'' color earrings. i absolutely love them. no one ever (never, ever, never) thinks they are anything but completely colorless. of course i am very happy, definitely proud, to tell them they are ''j'' color.