Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibisch

[PrincessCath]

I am still a newbie here, so I hope I am in the right section. It all started with a possible redo of an old ring, and one thing led to another... Well, my SO and I are now looking at Fancy Yellows.

I heard Leibisch highly recommended here, and their search engine is so perfectly convenient. There I found a roundish oval, just above a carat (6.69x5.42x3.65) IF Intense (GIA) that really tugs at my heartstrings. I know that for colored diamonds, clarity is less of an issue, but IF sounds nice nevertheless, and I like the plumpness and of course the soft canary yellow. I don't want anything dark or orangey, or too pale either. Question is, since color is THE dominant factor for FYDs, are accurate colorwise are the pix at Leibisch? I read here that GIA Intense can cover a lot of hues...

I also visited Diamonds by Lauren, where there are many large-scale pix of the same stone, which is most convenient. I didn't see anything there that really blew me away, though (within budget, of course, they have great stones above that.)

I am looking ideally for a round, or in the alternative a cushion or a roundish oval around 1 ct, Intense to Vivid. I can't seem to find any rounds. Does anyone know of one floating out there?

Many thanks in advance

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

I've purchased from Leibish and can say that the pictures are very spot on.

I've also seen pictures of stones from DBL and then saw them in person. David does his very best to represent what he seens in real life in his photos and videos. I was very pleased with what I saw in real life

Both companies do their best to offer more pictures and answer questions. You can't go wrong with either company.

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Thanks, Davi! Your info makes the Leibisch stone very attractive. Here's the link:
http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/5958.htm

What do you think? So between Leibisch and DBL, I have covered all the online territory? Wow, this is indeed a small market. No rounds that I can see at either place...

The reason why I am looking for round/roundish: I would love to get a design close to this, as I have a bunch of colorless quarter carats I would like to reuse. The center stone would be yellow instead of the orange/brown, of course, and the side stones would be round instead of pears, and there would be no gaps between them.

So it would be almost like a traditional halo, but with the side stones much larger than usual compared to the central stone. The idea is for the ring to look like a marguerite.

Any comments, critiques, suggestions?

 

[Amys Bling]

Sounds lovely!!

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Sounds lovely!!

Thanks, Amys! I think it has a juvenile feel to it. It reminds me of the flowers I would draw in kindergarden.

 

[SB621]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Hi there,

I just wanted to add in that you should call David at DBL. He didn't have at the time what I wanted within my price range so he got on the phone and called his supplies who found exactly what I was looking for under budget. Definitely call and talk to both companies to see their stock that is not online.

 

[Amys Bling]

Hi there,

I just wanted to add in that you should call David at DBL. He didn't have at the time what I wanted within my price range so he got on the phone and called his supplies who found exactly what I was looking for under budget. Definitely call and talk to both companies to see their stock that is not online.

Ditto- there may be something out there prefect for you that isn't listed on the online inventory.

 

[kenny]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

You asked if the pics at Leibish are accurate.
I can testify that their pics are very accurate in color, and I've bought 20 FCDs from them.

I have a collection of FCDs in many colors of the rainbow.
Something that has mystified me is how their color can look so different as the lighting and environment changes.
This brings up the very legitimate question that challenges the photographer and the customer alike, "What really IS the true color?"

I'm also a photographer and love to take macro pics of them.
Often, even with fancy equipment and correct white balancing, it is difficult to get the hues of colored diamonds to come out correctly.

My photography experience and my experience viewing my own FCDs live makes me respect Leibish's honest and accurate photography of diamonds even more.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Thanks, Davi! Your info makes the Leibisch stone very attractive. Here's the link:
http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/5958.htm

What do you think? So between Leibisch and DBL, I have covered all the online territory? Wow, this is indeed a small market. No rounds that I can see at either place...

The reason why I am looking for round/roundish: I would love to get a design close to this, as I have a bunch of colorless quarter carats I would like to reuse. The center stone would be yellow instead of the orange/brown, of course, and the side stones would be round instead of pears, and there would be no gaps between them.

So it would be almost like a traditional halo, but with the side stones much larger than usual compared to the central stone. The idea is for the ring to look like a marguerite.

Any comments, critiques, suggestions?

The one question I would ask of Leibish is what color the fluorescence is. That can have an effect on what the stone does in natural lighting.

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

You asked if the pics at Leibish are accurate.
I have a collection of FCDs in many colors of the rainbow.
Something that has mystified me is how their color can look so different as the lighting and environment changes.
This brings up the very legitimate question that challenges the photographer and the customer alike, "What really IS the true color?"

I'm also a photographer and love to take macro pics of them.
Often, even with fancy equipment and correct white balancing, it is difficult to get the hues of colored diamonds to come out correctly.

My photography experience and my experience viewing my own FCDs live makes me respect Leibish's honest and accurate photography of diamonds even more.

Kenny, I know of your gorgeous FCD collection for having admired it here a number of times (new member, long-time lurker.)
If the color at Leibisch is accurate, then I love this stone. Not washed out, nor garish. A perfect (to my non-expert eyes) soft yellow. Would you mind giving me your opinion of it?
http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/5958.htm

Davi, the GIA report says the fluorescence is faint. Could it still affect color?

Sarah and Amys, I followed your advice and asked David at DBL whether he could locate something rounder. I doubt he could find anything closer to my heart's wishes in terms of yellow, though.

Many thanks for your help! Today being a holiday, I doubt I will hear back, but I will post updates as they come.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

HI PrincessCath:
First- a general rule about fancy colored diamonds, and yellow in particular.
The basic design of a modern round brilliant is aimed at maximizing colorless light exiting the diamond.
For this reason, the same piece of rough cut into a Radiant, or Cushion will have a lot more intensity of color coming out of the top - which is how GIA grades these colors.

The result is that rounds are extremely rare in Fancy Intense Yellow- and can trade for twice the price of a Radiant with similar color.
But in general you'll see a lot less of them.


We are open today and just to confirm- we did not receive an email from you today

 

[Lotus99]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

I've got no advice about the diamonds, but I think the ring design would still look pretty with an oval center diamond. But, perhaps it's not the exact daisy look you're trying for.

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

HI PrincessCath:
First- a general rule about fancy colored diamonds, and yellow in particular.
The basic design of a modern round brilliant is aimed at maximizing colorless light exiting the diamond.
For this reason, the same piece of rough cut into a Radiant, or Cushion will have a lot more intensity of color coming out of the top - which is how GIA grades these colors.

The result is that rounds are extremely rare in Fancy Intense Yellow- and can trade for twice the price of a Radiant with similar color.
But in general you'll see a lot less of them.

We are open today and just to confirm- we did not receive an email from you today

Rock, I did send you an email around 10:28 am EST at the address I found on the DBL site. It didn't bounce and must have gotten lost in cyberspace. Is there another address I should use? Anyway, many thanks for the info on the scarcity of round yellows. I found a few at Langerman but didn't like the color at all, and they were well above my budget ($20,000+ per ct, indeed over twice the price of other shapes in the same color.)

Lotus, in light of what Rock says, I will likely have to go with an oval anyway. I agree, a roundish oval shouldn't change the overall daisy design. I just wish to find a center stone that would evoke the center of a flower.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

HI Princess- what about a cushion?
IMO that will achieve the look you seek......


Email:
please resend to diamondsbylauren at gmail dot com

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

HI Princess- what about a cushion?
IMO that will achieve the look you seek......


Email:
please resend to diamondsbylauren at gmail dot com

I just resent it. Yes, I believe a cushion might work.

 

[acebruin]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

i just wanted to add something... with your budget (or my guess at what your budget is), fancy intense or fancy vivid yellow round is out of the budget...

http://www.fancycolordiamond.net/search/fancy_colored_diamond_details.cfm?id=6130

i'm guessing a 1 carat fancy vivid yellow RB will cost you in the 30-40k range! fancy intense is probably half of that...

i'd stick with radiant / cushion / oval if i were you...

round is very scarce when it comes to fancy colored diamonds... as david mentioned earlier RB are cut to maximize the light returned to your eyes... fancy colored diamonds are cut the exact opposite of that, trap in more, let the light bounce more, to pick up color...

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

i just wanted to add something... with your budget (or my guess at what your budget is), fancy intense or fancy vivid yellow round is out of the budget...

http://www.fancycolordiamond.net/search/fancy_colored_diamond_details.cfm?id=6130

i'm guessing a 1 carat fancy vivid yellow RB will cost you in the 30-40k range! fancy intense is probably half of that...

i'd stick with radiant / cushion / oval if i were you...

round is very scarce when it comes to fancy colored diamonds... as david mentioned earlier RB are cut to maximize the light returned to your eyes... fancy colored diamonds are cut the exact opposite of that, trap in more, let the light bounce more, to pick up color...

Yes, I have now made my peace with the notion that round is out of my league. All I found is a round .51 vivid at Leibish, and I don't like the color at all anyway. Yellow is very tricky, and I have a specific idea of what I want colorwise. I won't compromise on that (else what's the point of getting a FCD?) but I am ready to look at different shapes.

Fortunately there are plenty of cushions and ovals (radiants are a bit too square for the design I have in mind) within budget in the Intense range. Lucky for me I don't like most vivids...

 

[Amys Bling]

Good luck with your search!!

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Good luck with your search!!

Thanks, Amy! I may need it.

I have been asking Leibisch for more info on 2 stones, and it ain't easy. I sent emails yesterday, and received responses regurgitating exactly what is on the website. So I called today, and first talked to a gentleman who was very nice but not fluent in English. He told me to call back 20 minutes later. Which I did, and talked to a lady who spoke English, but didn't know anything about the stones. She sounded very surprised when I asked for additional pix in natural light (one has a medium blue fluorescence.) "What, you don't like the pictures on the website?" she asked. Yes, obviously I do, else I wouldn't be bothering them, but I would like to see more. She said they would get back to me within 24 hours. As for having a peek at the stones in person in NY or Europe, they don't do that (yet the website says it can be arranged.)

So, if I understand well, you like a stone on the website, you don't bother them with questions or what not. You order it, and if you're not happy, you return it. If you want to compare 2 stones, you order both and return one (or both.)

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Now 2 things, which in all fairness I should specify:

- the daisy ring I posted above (I couldn't remember then where I had picked it up) turns out to be a DBL design, and David kindly informs me he doesn't mind the pic posted here. Here's a link for more shots: http://rockdiamond.com/index.php/je...ownish-orange-mens-diamond-ring-planned-r3910
The color is the diamond is not what I am looking for, but I find the design is so lovely...

- a perfectly articulate lady from Leibisch contacted me to discuss a few stones and promised more pix. So I feel I should amend my prior remarks about their customer service.

For the rest of this adventure, stay tuned!

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Still hesitating between a few FIYs... And I found a pic of a vintage ring with a marguerite design.
With the size of the center stone within my budget, and my 25 pointers around it, the effect would be similar, except of course the flower center would be a nice yellow...

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

I feel I owe everyone an update on my FCD search. The first stone I posted slipped between our fingers and was on its way to Australia. I was sad, of course, but began looking at other Leibisch stones, and the ones at DBL.

Great customer service at Leibisch (deserves a thread all by itself.) After hesitating for days, and bugging Aviva without mercy, she informs me that the Australian buyer chose another stone after all, and the one I liked so much is on its way back to Israel! I immediately tell my SO so he could reserve it ASAP. He says yes, sure, he'll get to it, but he can't reach Aviva, and then it's Shabbat and they are closed, etc...

So anyway yesterday (Sunday) first thing in the morning I get an email from Aviva saying she is soooo sorry, but my little ray of sunshine is gone again! I show the email to my SO (and maybe I was more than a tad mad at him for letting that happen ) and then he comes clean: he is the one who reserved it for me! He wanted it to be a surprise...

Here are the specs:
1.07 Carat
Fancy Intense Yellow
Oval
Clarity IF
Measurements 6.69 x 5.42 x 3.65
Total Depth 67.3%
Fluorescence Faint
Polish Very Good
Symmetry Very Good

Of course, I have yet to meet my little sunray in person. As for my choice, it's a combination of factors. It is not round (my preferred shape, but way outside what I understood to be my SO's budget, as some here pointed out) but it's a very plump oval. I love the color on the pix, canary, with just a teensy hint of orange. The IF is a plus, but it was not a decisive factor. All things being equal, I don't think it very much affected the price either. The faint fluoro should not change the color too much, but we'll see in person. And it fits, give or take a few tenths of mm, the proportions of the antique ring I posted above, along with the 25 pointers I want to reuse. How perfect can it get?

I hope there's no limit on the use of emoticons here... I just felt this post needed a lot.

 

[SB621]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Oh I just love happy endings!!!!!! Congrats and hold onto your SO---he is a wonderful guy!!!!

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Thanks, Sarah! Yes, SO is a keeper. He looked patiently at dozen of FCD pix on my monitor, allowed himself to be dragged to Tiffany's in his ski parka and clodhoppers (they were very nice to us nevertheless) and now this...

 

[chel180]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

can't wait to see real life pictures.

Heres a similar setting to the one you want with an oval diamond centre, right at the bottom of the page. A bit of eye candy if not!
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/catching-fire.156504/#post-2859704#p2859704

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Sure, I'll post pictures. Thanks for the eye candy. We never get enough...

 

[Enerchi]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

That is such a sweet surprise - he reserved it for you!!! I'm so glad you are getting the stone you wanted all along Congratulations and can't wait to "meet" it!

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Thank you! I read somewhere on PS that you know when a stone is meant to be yours. It's true, and FCDs have such distinct "personalities." Cheerful Miss Sunny immediately caught my eye among the hundreds of stones Leibisch carries. During her Australian trip, when I thought she was gone forever, I couldn't bring myself to pick another one and kept changing my mind. No more doubts now.

And yes, SO was so sweet to surprise me.

Sunny should arrive in LA in a couple of weeks, just like me. Can't wait to meet her...

 

[Enerchi]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Thank you! I read somewhere on PS that you know when a stone is meant to be yours. It's true, and FCDs have such distinct "personalities." Cheerful Miss Sunny immediately caught my eye among the hundreds of stones Leibisch carries. During her Australian trip, when I thought she was gone forever, I couldn't bring myself to pick another one and kept changing my mind. No more doubts now.

And yes, SO was so sweet to surprise me.

Sunny should arrive in LA in a couple of weeks, just like me. Can't wait to meet her...

She'll have lots to tell you about her travels - you can swap stories about your trip too! (ok, seriously a stupid thought, but it struck me as amusing! )

That is so wonderful it is finally yours. I agree with you - somethings are just meant to be and this stone was meant to be yours. Knowing you couldn't even look for another one, just reinforces that! I hope she is all that you were hoping for. ARe you going with the halo plan like you had shown above? New ideas since learning she will be yours? Do share...!!

 

[PrincessCath]

Re: Looking at round/roundish Yellow Intense, possible Leibi

Sure, I can swap travel stories with Miss Sunny. I move around quite a bit, but have never been to Australia (home of many PSers.)
As for the setting, I am still very much in love with the antique daisy design I posted above. My 25 pointers are modern cuts, though, so the effect won't be quite as soft. The central prongs need to be YG, along with the shank, but I wonder whether the halo prongs should be WG or plat. What do you think?
I am open to any suggestions regarding the setting. Maybe another thread would be in order...