shape
carat
color
clarity

Please help me find a good compromise re: Whiteflash inhouse diamonds :)

sugarcloud

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
262
Hi there everyone, I'm a newbie here, I came over from Weddingbee after hearing that this was THE place to find out about diamonds :geek2:

So basically I'm am on the hunt for a round brilliant solitaire. I've owned diamonds before but nothing of high quality and never anything over 0.3 carats. I have my heart set on a Whiteflash diamond in one of their in house ranges and I'm wondering how much I can compromise as far as colour before it becomes an issue.

My ultimate dream is a 1.5ct but in reality I am probably more likely to end up in the 0.9 - 1 carat mark.

My main goals are sparkle and size, but I also don't want to end up with a yellow looking diamond. I want a diamond that looks good in real life lighting if that makes sense. I feel like all diamonds look great under LED lighting but then I see all their flaws in the real world and my ocd kicks in. :oops2:

I am intending on setting it in a white gold solitaire. At first I had considered a hidden halo/collar but if I am flexible on the colour of the main stone I worry that the halo might make it look yellow. Originally I have intended to go with a H but now I am wondering how much further I can push things to get a bit more finger coverage.

Also an eye clean stone is essential but I think all of their in house stone are eye clean?

I know that I can probably find a diamond that is very close to their more premium cuts but tbh I don't feel knowledgeable enough and I think that taking the guess work out of it would be a huge relief mentally. Plus I live in Australia and given how ridiculously overpriced diamonds are here I would probably end up buying a dimaond online anyway so I figured I might as well aim for something super high quality.

I would love to hear from anyone who has bought from whiteflash as well :)
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
Hi there everyone, I'm a newbie here, I came over from Weddingbee after hearing that this was THE place to find out about diamonds :geek2:

So basically I'm am on the hunt for a round brilliant solitaire. I've owned diamonds before but nothing of high quality and never anything over 0.3 carats. I have my heart set on a Whiteflash diamond in one of their in house ranges and I'm wondering how much I can compromise as far as colour before it becomes an issue.

My ultimate dream is a 1.5ct but in reality I am probably more likely to end up in the 0.9 - 1 carat mark.

My main goals are sparkle and size, but I also don't want to end up with a yellow looking diamond. I want a diamond that looks good in real life lighting if that makes sense. I feel like all diamonds look great under LED lighting but then I see all their flaws in the real world and my ocd kicks in. :oops2:

I am intending on setting it in a white gold solitaire. At first I had considered a hidden halo/collar but if I am flexible on the colour of the main stone I worry that the halo might make it look yellow. Originally I have intended to go with a H but now I am wondering how much further I can push things to get a bit more finger coverage.

Also an eye clean stone is essential but I think all of their in house stone are eye clean?

I know that I can probably find a diamond that is very close to their more premium cuts but tbh I don't feel knowledgeable enough and I think that taking the guess work out of it would be a huge relief mentally. Plus I live in Australia and given how ridiculously overpriced diamonds are here I would probably end up buying a dimaond online anyway so I figured I might as well aim for something super high quality.

I would love to hear from anyone who has bought from whiteflash as well :)
Welcome to the forum :))

We're going to need a budget to work with ;-) :lol:


Also, what are you preferences for Colour and Clarity?

And in what order would you prioritise colour, clarity and carat weight?
 

sugarcloud

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
262
Welcome to the forum :))

We're going to need a budget to work with ;-) :lol:


Also, what are you preferences for Colour and Clarity?

And in what order would you prioritise colour, clarity and carat weight?

Thank so so much :) Ah yes the illusive budget hahaha well, I would love to be able to stay under 10k Aussie dollars, I think that works out to about $7.5K USD. Having said that for that price I would really want something over 1ct.

As far as colour and clarity, I mean as long as it's eye clean I'm not too bothered. The colour is where I'm struggling the most. I want it to look white but I also don't want to needlessly pay for a higher colour grade if I could be adding that onto the size. Having said that I also know that because it will be set in a classic solitaire the side will be somewhat visible so I don't want it too look yellow either.

So much to think about o_O
 

LLJsmom

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Messages
12,633
Thank so so much :) Ah yes the illusive budget hahaha well, I would love to be able to stay under 10k Aussie dollars, I think that works out to about $7.5K USD. Having said that for that price I would really want something over 1ct.

As far as colour and clarity, I mean as long as it's eye clean I'm not too bothered. The colour is where I'm struggling the most. I want it to look white but I also don't want to needlessly pay for a higher colour grade if I could be adding that onto the size. Having said that I also know that because it will be set in a classic solitaire the side will be somewhat visible so I don't want it too look yellow either.

So much to think about o_O

What do you consider "too yellow"? Would you be open to an I, or is H the lowest you can go? Would an I bother over time? If you had to choose a over 1 ct I and an under 1 carat H, which would you choose?
 

sugarcloud

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
262
What do you consider "too yellow"? Would you be open to an I, or is H the lowest you can go? Would an I bother over time? If you had to choose a over 1 ct I and an under 1 carat H, which would you choose?

Oh a H would be totally fine in any size really, I'm thiking more about the possibility of going for something like J because I'm seeing that there are much more affordable options in that colour! I just wonder how much of the colour will show and whether the super ideal cut will cancel much of that out. :)
 

LLJsmom

Super_Ideal_Rock
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For some reason, I think leakage over time will bother you, so these are ACA's.



I would ask them to see what color the inclusions are and make sure they are eye clean. But I'm not too worried as these are ACAs.

To get a bigger stone:

But not sure if you can tolerate the color. You should ask them if this is a high I or a low I.
 

maryjane04

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 21, 2013
Messages
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Thank so so much :) Ah yes the illusive budget hahaha well, I would love to be able to stay under 10k Aussie dollars, I think that works out to about $7.5K USD. Having said that for that price I would really want something over 1ct.

Welcome fellow Aussie. How exciting that you are going to get an ACA!

There was a recent Aussie that bought her diamond from White Flash:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...lia-to-whiteflash-us-via-transferwise.260735/

GST + entry fee ended up being an extra 11.2% of the item cost, so just factor that in so you don't get a huge shock :)
 

sugarcloud

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
262
For some reason, I think leakage over time will bother you, so these are ACA's.



I would ask them to see what color the inclusions are and make sure they are eye clean. But I'm not too worried as these are ACAs.

To get a bigger stone:

But not sure if you can tolerate the color. You should ask them if this is a high I or a low I.

That bigger stone looks divine!! Hmm I don't know much about leakage to be honest so I will read more into it but I do worry about the things that would start to grate on me down the track so I'd rather consider everything beforehand!!
;)2 Thanks so much!
 

sugarcloud

Shiny_Rock
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LLJsmom

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Oh a H would be totally fine in any size really, I'm thiking more about the possibility of going for something like J because I'm seeing that there are much more affordable options in that colour! I just wonder how much of the colour will show and whether the super ideal cut will cancel much of that out. :)

It is different for each person. I have learned, over time, that I do notice color, even with crazy sparkle. I have a K OEC, which I love. I do notice the color, but it does seem appropriate for the stone. I had an F MRB, that I liked, but wasn't a super ideal, and over time, I definitely noticed the leakage. Did NOT like it. Again, just me. I learned, I'm freakin' anal. And I learned I could go higher than a F.

I can say for certain that a super ideal will return more light and will be brighter than a non-super ideal. But, with that said, I can still see tint in returned light, even though very bright. Can you, and if you do, will that bother you? And how much will that matter to you over time? Going with WF is a good idea because if you don't know yet, and it may take you a couple of years to figure it out, after living with it day after day, you can trade up/make changes with WF's great upgrade policy.

If it were me, I would not go any lower than a H to start with. You're in Australia, so I'm not sure how much of a hassle it is for you to return it if you find it too tinted. Thus, I would recommend an H as well for you. When you've gone to stores and looked at diamonds IRL, what was the lowest color you could live with?
 

sugarcloud

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
262
It is different for each person. I have learned, over time, that I do notice color, even with crazy sparkle. I have a K OEC, which I love. I do notice the color, but it does seem appropriate for the stone. I had an F MRB, that I liked, but wasn't a super ideal, and over time, I definitely noticed the leakage. Did NOT like it. Again, just me. I learned, I'm freakin' anal. And I learned I could go higher than a F.

I can say for certain that a super ideal will return more light and will be brighter than a non-super ideal. But, with that said, I can still see tint in returned light, even though very bright. Can you, and if you do, will that bother you? And how much will that matter to you over time? Going with WF is a good idea because if you don't know yet, and it may take you a couple of years to figure it out, after living with it day after day, you can trade up/make changes with WF's great upgrade policy.

If it were me, I would not go any lower than a H to start with. You're in Australia, so I'm not sure how much of a hassle it is for you to return it if you find it too tinted. Thus, I would recommend an H as well for you. When you've gone to stores and looked at diamonds IRL, what was the lowest color you could live with?

Thats very good advice, I am similar in that overtimes I start to nitpick and see flaws once the initial excitement has worn off. I dont want to get swept up in the idea of just go bigger at any cost and later on regret it. I havent been actively looking at diamonds in storesat the moment but I think I will have to go out and have a look at whats out there and really see how much the color bothers me. I have a H princess cut but its only 0.29 and I have always thought it looks super white. I dont even know the cut grade because we fell for all the chain store spiels when we got engaged almost 12 years... back in the day hubby and I knew nothing about diamonds haha!
 

LLJsmom

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Messages
12,633
Thats very good advice, I am similar in that overtimes I start to nitpick and see flaws once the initial excitement has worn off. I dont want to get swept up in the idea of just go bigger at any cost and later on regret it. I havent been actively looking at diamonds in storesat the moment but I think I will have to go out and have a look at whats out there and really see how much the color bothers me. I have a H princess cut but its only 0.29 and I have always thought it looks super white. I dont even know the cut grade because we fell for all the chain store spiels when we got engaged almost 12 years... back in the day hubby and I knew nothing about diamonds haha!

For a while, I was looking for a larger stone that was as bright as my 30 pointers in my 5 stone band that were Es. I compared 2 carat Fs to it and the 2 carat stone still looked darker than the 30 pointers. My point is that small stones look whiter than the same color in a larger carat. Looking at stone IRL will help you get a reality check.
 

sugarcloud

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
262
For a while, I was looking for a larger stone that was as bright as my 30 pointers in my 5 stone band that were Es. I compared 2 carat Fs to it and the 2 carat stone still looked darker than the 30 pointers. My point is that small stones look whiter than the same color in a larger carat. Looking at stone IRL will help you get a reality check.

So true, I'd kind of forgotten about that! I will definilty go and have a look at some really life stones and go from there. :)
 

sugarcloud

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
262
For a while, I was looking for a larger stone that was as bright as my 30 pointers in my 5 stone band that were Es. I compared 2 carat Fs to it and the 2 carat stone still looked darker than the 30 pointers. My point is that small stones look whiter than the same color in a larger carat. Looking at stone IRL will help you get a reality check.

I've done a separate post about this but thought you may know: do I need to look at the HCA score when looking at ACA diamonds? I've just learned about this today and noticing that a lot of the stones are scoring below 1. Do ACAs trump this test given that they are already have an ideal rating?
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Dec 17, 2008
Messages
27,198
No need to check HCA. Super Ideals like ACAs are AGS000 (Ideal light return), H&A stones with all the images to prove they are performers.
(All the above trumps HCA).

I'm not sure how color sensitive you are but just knowing that you are trying to maximize size I would probably look in the "I" color range.
You can ask Whiteflash for side-by-side images of stones (like an H, I, J) so you can see a relative difference in the colors. That 1.24 I/VS2
looks pretty good. Almost hits the 7mm point.

Here's a D/H/L pic but I think there is a better one around here somewhere if someone can find it.
478497
 

Kh0117

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 21, 2018
Messages
77
HJK from Whiteflash. I just purchased a K recently and can’t really tell the tint but I’m no expert nor color sensitive.

9A3D1947-1A1D-464F-B03A-39DBBCAB7A03.jpeg 87F9FF79-4B5F-4ED4-91D8-482BB4E9A349.jpeg
 

sugarcloud

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
262
No need to check HCA. Super Ideals like ACAs are AGS000 (Ideal light return), H&A stones with all the images to prove they are performers.
(All the above trumps HCA).

I'm not sure how color sensitive you are but just knowing that you are trying to maximize size I would probably look in the "I" color range.
You can ask Whiteflash for side-by-side images of stones (like an H, I, J) so you can see a relative difference in the colors. That 1.24 I/VS2
looks pretty good. Almost hits the 7mm point.

Here's a D/H/L pic but I think there is a better one around here somewhere if someone can find it.
face_up_dhl.jpg

Thank you that is a relief! I have also been wondering how the ACAs compare to to James Allen True Hearts. From the photos I can seen that WF seems superior, much more crisp and perfectly shaped, but I am also tempted to bump up the carat weight and maybe get something closer to my ideal size if I go with JA. Plus I think with first purchase there might be a discount?
 

foxinsox

Ideal_Rock
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Jul 18, 2015
Messages
4,061
If you’re trying to maximise on size for price, have you considered Whiteflash’s Expert Selection range as well as the ACAs? ES are eligible for their upgrade program and are still better than most XXX cuts out there given they’re basically ACAs that missed on one or two small parameters. They represent good buying if you’re into ideal cuts.
When you go looking at colour in the shops, ensure you see them in natural light and GIA- graded. Otherwise you’ve got no real idea what colour you’re looking at. Where in Australia are you? Holloway Diamonds is in Melbourne and are reputable (Gary wrote the HCA tool).
 

tuckie

Shiny_Rock
Premium
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Apr 21, 2013
Messages
229
Is there a Tiffany or other jeweler in your area that has well cut stones available to view? I am not at all suggesting purchasing, but you might learn your color tolerance from a visit.

I myself would probably be hoping a just-right I colored Expert Selection stone in my pricerange came up for sale.
 

Lookinagain

Ideal_Rock
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May 15, 2014
Messages
4,422
I was going to suggest and I color and Expert Selection too. My earrings are I color ACA's from WF and they look very white to me. Each stone is about .85 in size so I'm not sure how much more tint might show with a larger stone but if you figure out your color tolerance, then look for Expert Selection in that color and you should be in good shape.
 

Lookinagain

Ideal_Rock
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