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Seeking advice on a diamond for 18K Yellow Gold setting

GDCish

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 3, 2015
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9
Hello diamond lovers!

I have spent many hours on pricescope learning all about diamonds over the past month or so. I have decided on a setting shown here that I am going to have a rock set into for my future fiance!

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/172...yl-engagement-ring-in?ref=shop_home_active_14

The setting will be in 18K yellow gold and I am looking for approx a 1+ carat diamond that falls into my budget of about $4K USD for the diamond.

I am looking for a good size to compliment the chunky setting and I am willing to sacrifice a bit on color to stay in my budget and since it will be set in yellow gold anyways. I have used Ritani, to search for loose diamonds ( mainly because it is easy to search on my phone etc) and have come up with a few good diamonds that i would like some opinions on. Is there any that you would not recommend right off the bat? Should i be using Ritani as a trusted dealer? Am i even close to something that will sparkle nicely?! I have entered them all into HCA and they all score below 2 - just to eliminate the "bad seeds". Once i get a response on here i will request actual photos/videos.

Is K going to be too yellow should I go down in size and look at I or J? What about all this BLUE florescence? Do I want that in a yellow gold setting?? I do want it to be somewhat white and without noticeable inclusions from a normal persons eye.

https://www.ritani.com/diamonds/round-diamond-1-01-Carat-J-color-GIA-certified/D-JFSHH0

https://www.ritani.com/diamonds/round-diamond-1-08-Carat-K-color-GIA-certified/D-JPJWQB

https://www.ritani.com/diamonds/round-diamond-1-08-Carat-K-color-GIA-certified/D-619P1X

https://www.ritani.com/diamonds/round-diamond-1-20-Carat-K-color-GIA-certified/D-J1W3N1

https://www.ritani.com/diamonds/round-diamond-1-05-Carat-J-color-GIA-certified/D-J5MSQ3


Is there any you would rule out right away?
 

kb1gra

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
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1,118
I would not go down to K in yellow gold. The overall effect will be, well, yellow. Unless I was sure my intended was really okay with the lower colors, I'm not sure I'd do J, either. Unless you went down into the intentionally yellow range like LMN for a different look.

$4k for a well cut 1ct round is going to be a tough point to hit, if you even can, and stay out of the obviously tinted range.

This stone is not quite 1ct but faces up very close to the same size and is in your budget. http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3585725.htm

Another nice stone:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-659059

I guess my question is - have you seen GIA J and K graded diamonds in person? I would punt on the 1ct and get a nice 0.90 which is almost exactly the same size but you can get a safer color.

Also, that 1.01J has SBF, so I would probably drop that one. I like fluor but a lot of people don't.
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Dec 17, 2008
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27,198
That's a beautiful setting :love: . I would probably stick to one of the J colored stones. Ask for ritani to look at them and
give you their opinion on which looks better.
 

GDCish

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 3, 2015
Messages
9
Thanks alot for the response.

I can agree on that in terms of the color, cause i was a bit worried about the color. I think I will look more towards I or so and forget about k all together and maybe drop down to a .9 or so.

I have seen the colors in person at a jewelry store and could tell the difference between the near colorless, and the tinted scale. But they were lose diamonds and not in a setting.

Thanks for the input and sending me some examples!!!
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
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38,364
Diamonds love to pick up and reflect colour from its surroundings and often times, will pick up colour from the setting, which is why most diamonds are set in a white metal. It is likely for the diamond to pick up some warmth from a yellow gold setting, moreso from a 18K YG setting.
 

GDCish

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 3, 2015
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9
Thanks Chrono.

I understand that setting will throw a lot of "yellow" into the diamond, and it is a big reason why i dropped down on the color scale.In addition she will like a bit of warmth I feel. I LOVE the setting and i know her style and she will absolutely love that setting as well!

Chrono, would you agree that it is OK to drop down to an I or J in this particular instance as long as Cut/Clarity measurements and other disciplines are aligned with an excellent diamond?
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
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That choice is yours and hers. I put a well cut L into a white gold setting and it looks white enough. I put the same well cut L into an 18K yellow gold setting and it is very tinted now. Think yellowed antique lace.
 

sugarski

Shiny_Rock
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Oct 7, 2012
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266
I'm no expert and I am going to disagree with everyone on this thread, but I like lower-color diamonds in yellow, not white metal. To me a warm (faint yellow body color) diamond looks dingy against the cool gray of platinum. I'm going to set my N OEC in either yellow or unplated nickel white gold, which is yellowish, for this reason. When I hold the stone up to those colors, it doesn't look *more* yellow to me, it just looks like the beautiful creamy vanilla color it is, and maybe even a bit whiter against the yellow because of the contrast (the yellow gold being a much deeper shade). And remember, with a well-cut diamond, on the hand you're seeing the sparkle and fire more than the body color, anyway... my N doesn't look like a light yellow piece of glass, it looks like a diamond. :)

I am also speaking with a respected PS vendor about setting my stone and he agrees with the above and says he prefers not to set lower-colored diamonds in platinum.
 

kb1gra

Brilliant_Rock
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sugarski|1446668115|3945722 said:
I'm no expert and I am going to disagree with everyone on this thread, but I like lower-color diamonds in yellow, not white metal. To me a warm (faint yellow body color) diamond looks dingy against the cool gray of platinum. I'm going to set my N OEC in either yellow or unplated nickel white gold, which is yellowish, for this reason. When I hold the stone up to those colors, it doesn't look *more* yellow to me, it just looks like the beautiful creamy vanilla color it is, and maybe even a bit whiter against the yellow because of the contrast (the yellow gold being a much deeper shade). And remember, with a well-cut diamond, on the hand you're seeing the sparkle and fire more than the body color, anyway... my N doesn't look like a light yellow piece of glass, it looks like a diamond. :)

I am also speaking with a respected PS vendor about setting my stone and he agrees with the above and says he prefers not to set lower-colored diamonds in platinum.

But this poster is specifically looking at the near colorless range, where picking up color from a setting is exactly what you don't want. I have an I in yellow gold and it definitely DOES add some color to the stone - which is fine, because I knew what I wanted, but if I were buying an engagement ring for someone else - I wouldn't have done that.
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Um, did I miss something? No one said that a lower colored diamond looked like yellow glass. The setting he has selected is 18k yellow gold. I don't see where anyone recommend putting the stone he selects in platinum.

Maybe a post got deleted that I didn't see?
 

GDCish

Rough_Rock
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Sphene

Brilliant_Rock
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GDCish|1446834964|3946349 said:
The more i looked at K color in yellow gold the more I like it. Which allowed me to go up a bit in size which never hurts. I requested phots/video from Ritani on the two bellow. Any thoughts? on these diamonds below. I still have the .93 I color in my back pocket that i still might ultimately go with



https://www.ritani.com/diamonds/rou...or-GIA-certified/D-CR1Q7S?search_key=D-CR1Q7S

https://www.ritani.com/diamonds/rou...or-GIA-certified/D-J0P5P2?search_key=D-J0P5P2

No
 

GDCish

Rough_Rock
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Nov 3, 2015
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Is there a reason why?

I saw photos and they looked pretty good!
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
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GDCish|1446834964|3946349 said:
The more i looked at K color in yellow gold the more I like it. Which allowed me to go up a bit in size which never hurts. I requested phots/video from Ritani on the two bellow. Any thoughts? on these diamonds below. I still have the .93 I color in my back pocket that i still might ultimately go with



https://www.ritani.com/diamonds/rou...or-GIA-certified/D-CR1Q7S?search_key=D-CR1Q7S

https://www.ritani.com/diamonds/rou...or-GIA-certified/D-J0P5P2?search_key=D-J0P5P2

These 2 have good numbers. (not sure why others are not liking them) Can you get an idealscope image of them?

I dont like the 1.20 because I'm not a fan of the big table, lower crown and shallow depth.
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
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58,547
I started at the beginning of the thread and really loved the setting on the Adzias page. Go back and look at it. That setting in the picture was made for a 7.5mm stone.

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/172046867/yellow-chrysoberyl-engagement-ring-in?ref=shop_home_active_14

I have to be honest with you, your ring looks like they cast it for a 7.5 mm stone like the original and just bent the prongs over to fit your smaller stone instead of creating a new design to specifically fit your 6.95mm stone. The look is not the same and I would not be happy with it. I think they should either redo it right or refund your money. Any custom jeweler here specifically does the design to fit the specific stone size. I am only saying this because you possibly may have time to get this fixed. I just hate to see that lovely design not made in the right size to look the same with your diamond.
 

JDDN

Ideal_Rock
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DS just hit the nail on the head. When I saw the photos I thought what a gorgeous setting, however something looked off but I couldn't quite figure out what it was. And DS is right, the setting is for a larger diameter stone. Even if you like the look of it, I would be very hesitant as it doesn't look like it will be as secure around the stone as a setting that was made to fit your diamond would be. They really should not have put a smaller stone in the setting you received. It's gorgeous, you should have it made properly.
 

acaw2015

Brilliant_Rock
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Great advice from diamondseeker2006 and JDDN! I agree and am also very impressed by diamondseeker. :wavey: I hope you will be able to make these changes to the ring because I love the design. Beautiful ring and yg!
Good luck and keep us posted!
/aca
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I have to agree. It doesn't look like the setting was pared down for your size stone. There is too much blank/air space underneath
the stone. You can look at the difference between yours and the original one in the link. You paid a lot for a beautiful custom
setting and I think you should talk to them about getting it fixed (or getting a big discount perhaps if you are ok with the way it
looks). You might also take it to an independent appraiser, show them the link and ask them if your setting fits the size stone you
have. I think it's worth getting another opinion.

Unbiased appraisers...
https://www.pricescope.com/appraisers
 

GDCish

Rough_Rock
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Nov 3, 2015
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9
Thanks everyone for the input, in real life it doesn't have that same feeling that it was made for a bigger stone. In fact it looks like the stone fits amazing in the setting

The original setting has 8 prongs where this has 6 to meet the smaller stone size so i can assure you it is a differnt setting made for the stone, the stone actually fits in there perfectly imo and that is all that really matters. To be honest its unique different and it looks AWESOME, which is probably why the hens aren't to keen on it cause its not your typical setting. Anyway, i shouldn't be too surprised to see mostly negative feedback on here as that is actually all I had ever received here haha
 

MollyMalone

Ideal_Rock
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I dunno... what makes the setting seem oversized to my eyes is not the head & prongs, but rather that they maintained the same depth of gallery underneath the diamond as created for the appreciably deeper chrysoberyl. But maybe that actually was/would be your aesthetic preference?

ETA: I wrote-posted the above before seeing the OP's latest, preceding post. I do like Adzia's work & think the yellow gold looks smashing with your diamond.
 

JDDN

Ideal_Rock
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No one is saying the ring isn't "unique, different or AWESOME" rather all of us HENS have indicated that it's gorgeous. Not sure why you're saying all you have ever received here is negative feedback. You've posted asking for advice on Rocky Talky so you will get lots of opinions, suggestions, and advice. I think you made very nice choices and you have a beautiful ring. What DS and I have expressed is concern for the stability of the diamond in the basket. It has nothing to do if your ring is AWESOME or not. If the diamond is totally secure, then it's fine. It does appear that something is too large for the diamond but that doesn't necessarily detract from the beauty, rather it raises concern for security.
 
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