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Regret not getting a lower color?

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Peepa

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Maybe you got a G and after the stone was set and you got it on your finger, you realized, "oh my, I don''t think I''m as color sensitive as I thought. I could have gone bigger (or spent the money on better clarity, etc.) by spending less on color. Should have gotten an H."
Or maybe you got an I and same scenario or even a J and thought "hmm, a K would have been just fine."
 

MichelleCarmen

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My eng. ring is a G and I''m happy with that. . .my pendant, I''m not so sure I would have gone for an E had I done it over. The size is really good and I would have kept that the same, but I think the E is too bright white and an H would look more warm/inviting.

Oh, and FWIW, I''m very color sensitive and can easily see the difference between my E and G. Both are cut about the same.
 

tlh

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I like to go warm up top... but stay nice and cool down below...
 

fleur-de-lis

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My engagement ring is an E, and because I am very color-sensitive I feel very fortunate to have been able to be given such a beautiful stone and have no regrets and would choose an E again today, but... I have to admit that I almost literally swooned in my seat when I realized that we could have gone to a touch over 5 carats had we considered J color.
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MichelleCarmen

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Date: 3/4/2009 1:38:59 PM
Author: fleur-de-lis
My engagement ring is an E, and because I am very color-sensitive I feel very fortunate to have been able to be given such a beautiful stone and have no regrets, but... I have to admit that I almost literally swooned in my seat when I realized that we could have gone to a touch over 5 carats had we considered J color.
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How big is your diamond? Would you even want a 5 ct stone? lol
 

niccia

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I have an I and I love it. It is a great cut which helps, but I don't see any color. Initially, I told my fiance I wanted no lower than an E, and would sacrifice size to get it. Fortunately, I found pricescope before he bought it. The jeweller also told me I would regret not going bigger. Now I think I may actually prefer the warmer colored diamonds, and I would definitely consider going lower, esp in a cushion cut.
 

Gypsy

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No I don''t regret it at all. It''s my engagement ring stone and a step cut, so the cut of it was the most important thing. Mine''s got pretty decent spread for an asscher, so overall, since my re-set I''m very happy with it.

Going forward though, I don''t think I''d go as high as F unless it was again, a fancy and everything else was right.
 

elle_chris

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Date: 3/4/2009 1:38:59 PM
Author: fleur-de-lis
My engagement ring is an E, and because I am very color-sensitive I feel very fortunate to have been able to be given such a beautiful stone and have no regrets and would choose an E again today, but... I have to admit that I almost literally swooned in my seat when I realized that we could have gone to a touch over 5 carats had we considered J color.
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link to thread with pics please. Don''t believe I''ve ever seen yours.

Mine is G. If I ever get DSS, I''m sticking in the G-H range. For no other reason other than I''m comfortable with those colors and wouldn''t second guess myself.
 

Lulie

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My old e-ring is an E marquise cut [''in'' back then] picked by DH so no replacements/regrets on that one......as for the stones I''ve purchased over the years, I tend to go a tad bigger w/lower color if the clarity is the same or close.
 

Lorelei

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I like the near colourless and warmer so I will often go that way to get increased size.
 

BlueSki231

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yes i can see myself doing this!

I don''t have an e-ring yet.. and I keep not-so-subtly hinting to the bf that size would be a good priority to focus on - instead of color.
I''m hoping for an I-J.
I don''t think I''d mind a K but it''s one of those things I''d have to see and approve of MYSELF to make sure the color is something I could live with - I imagine it''s something that varies from stone to stone depending on how well the stone is cut...
 

Haven

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I''ve never even thought about it! My stone is a g, so it''s not as if it is a super high color, though.

I had originally wanted a yellow sapphire engagement ring, so we were talking about the stone in terms of face-up size, since it varies so much with cushion cut sapphires. When we decided to go with a diamond, instead, I had already had my heart set on a cushion that faced up 8 mm by 7 mm. SO, our jeweler looked for a stone near that face-up size in our budget, which is how I ended up with a g-colored stone. I suppose all I''m trying to say is that color was secondary to cut and spread, for me.
 

kittybean

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I do find myself kind of wishing my FI had decided to drop the color and clarity (E VVS2) of my stone to get a touch more in size. I am very, very happy with what I have, but I would''ve used the same budget a little differently.
 

luvthemstrawberries

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Date: 3/4/2009 1:38:59 PM
Author: fleur-de-lis
My engagement ring is an E, and because I am very color-sensitive I feel very fortunate to have been able to be given such a beautiful stone and have no regrets and would choose an E again today, but... I have to admit that I almost literally swooned in my seat when I realized that we could have gone to a touch over 5 carats had we considered J color.
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Lulie

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Date: 3/4/2009 3:02:09 PM
Author: Haven
I suppose all I''m trying to say is that color was secondary to cut and spread, for me.
Ditto, all colors have their own beauty.
 

luvthemstrawberries

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Mine is supposedly a J, according to the certificate. But the jeweler said there's no way it's a J, which is why he gave it to us at a lower price. He compared it to a lot of other stones of the same brand and size, and honestly said he could not see why it was a J. In some photos it looks really warm, but in person, I've NEVER seen it look like it does in photos. Anyway, if this is J, I'm totally happy with it, and I think I'd probably be blinded by a colorless and think it's too blue or something!
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J/k, I'm sure they're beautiful.

The other stone we were considering was an I, and in comparing this one to it, we and the jeweler concluded this was an H. I think they're all gorgous colors - the warmth is very inviting, and still looks great with platinum/white metal.

ETA all the stones we looked at, including the one I now have, were ideal cut. And they're SI 1-2 but eye clean.
 

D&T

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Hmmm initially I was going with an H .75,, but after numerous chat on here, I then decided to go with a J a little over 1 ct... and I''m extremely happy,, I am actually considering a K next and up in size,, my stone faces up very white... i think,, but because of my yellow gold setting some pics looks yellow...reflecting the setting... my cut is an ACA ideal.. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat on a J.. or even a K... with Ideal cuts only... I wish I would have stuck with a simpler setting not custom and put more $ into my diamond size... now i''m in the process of changing my setting...again
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and turning my current into a RHR...
 

Haven

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Date: 3/4/2009 3:14:58 PM
Author: luvthemstrawberries
Mine is supposedly a J, according to the certificate. But the jeweler said there''s no way it''s a J, which is why he gave it to us at a lower price. He compared it to a lot of other stones of the same brand and size, and honestly said he could not see why it was a J. In some photos it looks really warm, but in person, I''ve NEVER seen it look like it does in photos. Anyway, if this is J, I''m totally happy with it, and I think I''d probably be blinded by a colorless and think it''s too blue or something!
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J/k, I''m sure they''re beautiful.
Are you saying your jeweler said it must be lower than a J? Or higher? I''m assuming lower if he gave it to you at a lower price? Because if he thought it was a higher color, why would he give you a better price?

I love all colors, by the way!
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Elmorton

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Mine is a G - I''m definitely glad we didn''t go higher in color, because I seriously cannot see anything other than white in my diamond (actually, I feel like it''s usually bluish, which is strange because it doesn''t have any flouro). I''m very happy with the stats of my e-ring - I think we did a pretty good job of negotiating clarity and color in our budget range.

In most situations though, I think I''m a lot more likely to want to see warm stones for a jewelry project than I am to ask for a D, E, or F. And, I will say that while I like warmth, it depends a lot on the shape and the setting. A warm OMC is a lot more pleasing to me than a warm EC - but a warm EC in a rose gold halo...ooooh, yum!
 

elrohwen

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FI inherited my stone, so I didn''t get to pick the color. My jeweler appraised it at an H, though I can very easily see the hint of color in it (maybe I''m just very color sensitive?). However, I adore the color and wouldn''t want it whiter at all. In fact, I''d love to get an M or even lower some day. Mine is an OEC/Transitional, so perhaps in a RB I would prefer a high color? I have no idea.

Thinking of a thread on BWW, this kind of reminds me of the difference between getting a white white wedding dress or an ivory/off-white dress. It seems like many people actually prefer the "softer" colors of the off-whites and I think the same can be said about diamonds. I love the soft color of mine, though I can totally see the appeal of a bright white diamond or dress.
 

gemgirl

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My e-ring stone is an F 1/2 and I own seven Gs between my stud earrings and five stone. My new earrings are two H VS2 and those are fine because they are being mounted in yellow gold. I think G is my sweet spot.
 

kcoursolle

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My original engagement ring was an F/VVS2 and when I had an opportunity to change it when the setting was damaged I went a little bigger and got an H/SI2. I think this is a great combo and a great balance. I think I/J range is great for pendants and earrings!
 

lovewhitediamonds

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No regrets. My original ER is an F and my upgrade is a G. I would never consider lower for my ER, but would love to have a warmer OEC or OMC for a RHR!
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luvthemstrawberries

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Date: 3/4/2009 3:44:05 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 3/4/2009 3:14:58 PM
Author: luvthemstrawberries
Mine is supposedly a J, according to the certificate. But the jeweler said there''s no way it''s a J, which is why he gave it to us at a lower price. He compared it to a lot of other stones of the same brand and size, and honestly said he could not see why it was a J. In some photos it looks really warm, but in person, I''ve NEVER seen it look like it does in photos. Anyway, if this is J, I''m totally happy with it, and I think I''d probably be blinded by a colorless and think it''s too blue or something!
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J/k, I''m sure they''re beautiful.
Are you saying your jeweler said it must be lower than a J? Or higher? I''m assuming lower if he gave it to you at a lower price? Because if he thought it was a higher color, why would he give you a better price?

I love all colors, by the way!
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Ack, good point. Haha I must have been spacey when I wrote this. Ok, the story is the place we got it through ranges their diamonds kind of like Whiteflash does theirs - they have the elite set of ideal cut stones, then their next step down that barely didn''t make the cut, and so on. The original stone we were looking at was in the elite set. The second stone we looked at (the one we actually got) was set in the 2nd category that barely didn''t make it. He explained that these stones are still ideal cut, but have one little quirk or aspect that keeps them from being rated among their top stones. But when he examined ours, he couldn''t tell why it was in that category. He pulled the certificate, and it said it was a J in color. He couldn''t believe that, and examined it some more. So in the end, he "declared" that in his eye, there''s no way this stone is a J. He thinks somebody goofed on the certificate, because it looked a much higher color than that. But since that''s what''s on the cert, that''s why it''s in the second category. And those in that category have a significant price slash compared to the ones in the elite group. So I guess I shouldn''t have said it discounted it. But he was at least nice enough to not try charging us a higher price based on his assumption about the stone being a higher grade.

He compared it to the first stone we were considering from the elite group, which was an I. And this second stone was whiter. So he thinks it''s an H. Anyway, no worries. Like I said, if this is a J, I like J! I don''t see how it is, based on the extensive research and shopping we did, though. Oh well!
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Haven

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luvthemstrawberries--What a great deal! It sounds like you guys totally lucked out.
I remember your e-ring now, with the swoopy designs in the shank. I love it! It''s very unique.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my ring is a lower color than a G, as it sometimes looks warm to me in certain lighting. I don''t really care, though, because I luuuuurve it, warmth and all!
 

babysteps

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Great question - I am really color sensitive I have found - my ering stones are E/F and I am very happy there - but those are rings. I went with G/AGS0 for my diamond studs, though, and when I realized how white/brite those well-cut stones are, esp. for earrings where you''re not up close - boy do I wish I had gone bigger with an H! (And I will next time . . . . but in this economy that is gonna be a while!)
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AmberGretchen

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I''m exactly there - I got a G, and now have realized that in a true ideal cut, I is actually my favorite color - I love that tiny hint of warmth.

But hey, I figure changing to a different color is what an upgrade is for, right?
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chrono

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I am aware of colour but am not bothered by it. I like it "cool" for step cuts and fancies, but like them "warm" for rounds and antiques.
 

diamondseeker2006

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My stone is graded H but is borderline G-H according to the colorimeter at GOG. I love the color and have never considered getting a larger, lower color stone. I also got H studs.
 

DiamanteBlu

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I wished I had used different criteria for my first e-ring. It was a 1.56 carat I VVS1 RB. The color was fine but the clarity was way higher than necessary. I would have preferred a larger stone. This was in 1980 and I had no idea what I was doing as far as diamonds went at the time!
 
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