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Matching Color and Clarity

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TheRock

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2002
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Hi Everyone:

In my search for the right engagement diamond for my fiancee, I read an interesting bit of advice: To maximize the stone's value versus its price, make certain that the color and clarity of your stone are at roughly the same level. For example, the target color range for a VS stone is F though H, while the target color for an IF stone is D through F. When you match an excellent clarity with a lower-level color, so the advice goes, you do not benefit from the stone's clarity nearly as much, in terms of value.

Does anyone have any response to this? Is it sound advice or hogwash?

Personally I ask because I located an IF diamond with a G color, and I wondered if this made for a sound purchase...

Thanks, TheRock
 
Sounds like hogwash to me.

Follow the "price stats" link and you can get a pretty clear picture of how tradeoffs in color and clarity affect price per carat.
 
Also, the naked eye cannot tell the difference between IF and VS2 (and in many cases SI1), and has a hard time discerning any color difference between D and G, face up, in a mounted stone.

Yet the average price per carat on Pricescope for a an AGA "1A cut" between 1.0 and 1.5 carats is:

$15,309 for a D-IF
$6,544 for a D-VS2
$7,936 for a G-IF
$5,706 for G-VS2
 
The rule of thumb for buying diamonds that will increase in value the most over price are the ones that are in demand. If you take a look at values over the past 10-20 years, you will notice that diamonds with clarities ranging from VS1-SI2 and color of F-H have increased the most. This trend will hold true for years due to teh fact that these diamonds are the ones that most people can afford. Who wants to buy a diamond that is IF or VVS1 if it is going to be hard to sell if you decide to do so? Once a diamond is mounted in a setting, it is near impossible to tell the difference in clarity from IF to VS2 to the naked eye. In terms of color, an F is probably the best bet since it is still in the colorles range but a lot less epxensive than a D or E color...and just like clarity, it is almost impossible to distinguish between these colors when a stone is mounted.
If you want to get a diamond that is going to increase in value, I would suggest sticking to a vs1 or vs2 which is a good median. Getting a vs1 or vs2 that is in the color range of f-h will give you a beautiful stone that will increase in value more than the higher clarity stones. Why spend thousands more on a IF or VVS1 if no one can tell the difference once the stones are mounted in a setting.
 
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