need advice on i colored hof stone

[rheanna]

Hi Everyone
just wondering if you could tell me whether the stone my fiance has picked for my ring is ok. I wanted at least 1.5 but after seeing the hearts on fire stones compared to our next choice (polar bear which is considered to be a very high quality diamond where I am from) I was just blown away and we decided to go with a 1.2 round VS2 stone. The price is very high for hof stones and we are aware that we are paying partly for the name. I really wanted to buy my diamond from the same place that is doing my setting so that influenced our decision as well. My only issue now is that the stone is an i color. I dont remember it looking yellow when I saw it, although it did have a darker deeper tone to it than the polar bear which looked more "glassy" than "fiery" in comparison. I think that has to do with the arrows partly. I have just been worried since reading some peoples posts about finding i color stones tinted. They have assured me that it will face up white and that the brilliance of the stone helps mitigate the body color. It did sparkle unbelievably and gave off a lot of color in the fire. I am considering going and having another look but I am afraid they will think I am crazy as it took me a long time to decide in the first place. Does anyone else have any experience with or opions on the color? They did have a 1 carat g for the same price almost but it seemed less sparkly and also had 1 noticeable inclusion.
Thanks a lot!

 

[kennyg]

Hi - some thoughts from my experience - a lot of PS people have I colors and even lower. But what makes their stones different from the rest of the I colors on the market is that PS people seem to select extremely high quality cuts. Those cuts minimize the color tint on a stone.

Now I started with a 1.5ct I color VS1 stone from BlueNile, but it turned out to be closer to J when I got it appraised. I also felt some cultural pressure to go close to near colorless (Asians and my family tend to really emphasize color). So I sacrificed on size and went for a 1.3ct G color VS1 stone from BlueNile for slightly less than what I paid for the 1.5ct.

I bought the setting from a local jeweler at a mall. It is actually a designer setting by Natalie K, and that mall store was an authorized dealer. When I brought the stone in to get it set, the salespeople recognized immediately that it was a high quality rock. I told them the story of how I switched it from an I to a G color, and their response was that once it was set, at this level of quality the I color stone would have faced up white and I wouldn't have known the difference.

So they told me this after there was no chance to influence my purchase of a diamond, and that makes me feel as if the B&M folks were being open and forthright with me. If so, that means in their opinion the I color would have looked great after setting.

Bottom line - if you are going with an I color and a stone from a B&M, check that you are getting a well cut stone using the HCA tool or Dave Atlas' grading tool. If you are then no worries. And of course once you get it back set, if you love it then no worries either.

Incidentally, my fiance is now happily showing off her ring, and all the remarks are about how huge, white, and sparkly it is - but no one has yet asked about what color grade or clarity grade it is. So if it looks white, it is white!

 

[marcy]

I think the i stone will look fine mounted and you''ll never notice any color in it. The HOF diamonds are gorgeous. I''ll be anxious to see the ring when you get it done.

 

[rheanna]

Thanks for the responses...I am probably going to look at it one more time because I think I am fairly color sensitive. My fiance wants to kill me lol. He thinks it is beautiful and it is. I just want it to be perfect because it is an expensive purchase. I will post pictures once it is set. I have chosen a beautiful design (Niki) with wg and pave delicate band and a very tiny band of yellow diamonds that encircles underneath the base of the stone. Will let you all know how it turns out

 

[susi]

Hello, rheanna, I have an HOF I color graded stone.....I don't know if it's any whiter than any other I graded stone, but, the cut makes the stone look like a headlight. It's so bright that I don't think I'd feel bad about having chosen a lower colored HOF stone ( all other things about them being equal, of course )

 

[ringabling]

<-------my avatar is an I color, faces up completely white. You can definitely get away w/ a lower color on excellent cut stones IMO.
My advice is to listen to what your eyes tell you, not what you read on the certificate. If I only read the cert, I wouldn't have bought my I colored stone and I would've gotten more like a 2.5 instead of a 3.67

I think a lot of us get too caught up on the specs and I consider myself slightly color sensitive as well.
Here's a close up of mine:

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I also think an I color is fine in a hearts and arrows stone. I do want to warn you that I looked at some Hearts on Fire stones and did find them priced much higher than some other totally equivalent branded stones. Just be sure you want to pay the price premium because you could get virutally the same stone for a good bit less. Here is one example of a 1.23 I VS2 branded "A Cut Above" hearts and arrows stone:

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-560209.htm ($6626 with wire/pricescope discount)

 

[galleygal]

HOF stones are so pretty. If you''re really color sensitive, you might want to go with a higher color stone. I also have an I colored stone and love it! My setting is HOF though. It will face up white b/c of the exceptional cut but you might get a tint of color from the side. If your setting hides most of the diamond, you won''t even notice. However, if you have a very open setting where the diamond is exposed...an I might bother you. I have a very open setting and can see a tint of color if I stare but that''s b/c it''s mine and I can stare. I doubt anyone will ask to examine your ring.

 

[rheanna]

I just went to see the stone again and although they didnt have my one, they had another slightly smaller I color HOF for me to look at. I can see a hint of warmth kind of a slight creaminess) when viewed from the side with the window behind me, but it was very bright and sparkly from the top and very white and silvery. It had a lot of color in the sparkles but it certainly wasn''t yellow and was definitely bright! It is a gorgeous stone so I am sure I will be happy with mine. I could have gone up to a g in a 1 carat for about 3 grand more or an f in a 1.6 carat for 15000 more! The f is tempting but I think my finacee is spending enough already and to be honest I think I want other things more than the bigger white stone at this point lol.
Thanks for all the help and replys...cant wait to post my pictures!

 

[Kay]

An I color should be white from the top in a super ideal cut stone like the HOF. I know you said you want to be able to buy from that store, but you probably could get a comparably cut super ideal stone in a better color or larger size if you buy online. HOF has a huge mark-up. Several PS members have compared the Whiteflash ''A Cut Above'' diamonds to HOF and found the same level of performance, but at a better price point. Just to give you something to think about:

1.218 ct G VS2 A Cut Above H&A $9,408.00 http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-273554.htm

1.268 ct F VS1 A Cut Above H&A $11,975.00 http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-560197.htm

1.55 ct I VS1 A Cut Above H&A $12,210.00 http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Diamond_Details.aspx?idno=232078#

1.562 ct G VS2 A Cut Above H&A $16,175.00 http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-560213.htm

BTW, those are the prices you pay if you pay by credit card. There is a Pricescope discount available if you pay by wire transfer.