Which is the right blue for me?

[periwinklegirl]

Dear knowledgeable diamonds fans, can I please draw on your wisdom and expertise?

I''m a first-timer here, and I need some diamond advice:
I''m at that very fun moment of choosing my engagement ring. And my partner, dear man that he is, will get me whatever I want.
And I, being a lover of all things lab-created (have a lab sapphire ring and get compliments on it ALL THE TIME), I want a lab-created diamond. And, being a lover of all things blue, I want a blue diamond.
After spending several hours in the friendly local diamond showroom, I''ve chosen my setting (Halo - pic attached). And after reading lots about lab diamonds, we''ve decided we should get it from D.NEA (and if you wonderful D.NEA folks are here, I heard about you from Synthetic Diamond Fan''s blog post). Thanks to D.NEA''s guarantee, even my non-online-shopping partner has agreed.
However, when it comes to choosing the shade of blue (ie. intense, vivid, etc.), it''s a little more difficult. It''s not like I can walk into a local store and ask to see their blue diamonds.
And the pictures online look different on every monitor.
So here''s my question: how blue do I go? Periwinkle is my favourite shade of blue.
Is vivid too vivid? Is intense too pale in person?

For those of you who have seen blue diamonds live and in person, your advice would be appreciated!!!

Thank you!

PS. I know that we could choose a stone, order it and then if I don''t like it, exchange it for another. But returning things is not my partner''s preferred modus operandi and, well, it''s a pretty important moment for us, so he''ll be extra sensitive. So ideally I''d like to get it right the first time. Engagement rings are NOT like shopping for anything else, apparently.

 

[EEFranklin]

Periwinklegirl,

First off, thank you for considering D.NEA. Secondly, very few people have ever seen one blue diamond in-person let alone many blues of different colors at the same time, so you may not receive much response. Color is a challenging thing to describe in words, and the ''right'' color is different for everyone, but I''ll see if I can help. It is a question we receive frequently, so hopefully this will benefit others trying to make the same decision.

The typical color range for blue diamonds goes from ''light blue'' to ''fancy vivid blue''. These are industry-standard naming schemes used by all the major gem labs for both mined and lab-grown diamonds, though some producers use different names that may not match up exactly. The descriptors (e.g. fancy vivid) also apply equally to yellow and other fancy colored diamonds.

''Faint blue'' and ''light blue'' have more white light return than they do blue, with ''faint'' being more white than ''light''. It may not be obvious to others that this is a blue diamond, as it is a very icy white color. This may be a good choice for people wanting the traditional white diamond look, but in a size where synthetic whites are not yet available.

''Fancy light blue'' is close to a sky blue color. It is noticeably blue but still has a lot of white light return. Even though it is blue, some people may still think this is a white diamond, but mainly because they may not realize blue diamonds exist, and in that light of a shade.

''Fancy blue'' shouldn''t be mistaken for anything other than a blue diamond. It is very noticeably blue, even from across the room, but still shows a lot of white scintillation and brilliance that everyone expects a diamond to have. ''Fancy blue'' is the widest color range and is the best starting point when you want a pretty and obvious blue diamond. I would consider this category to be closest to a periwinkle, though there are not any lavender or violet tones in any of the blue diamond shades.

''Fancy intense blue'' and ''fancy vivid blue'' both have saturated and obvious blue colors. You can''t miss the fact that it is blue, yet still performs like everyone expects a diamond to. Intense is less saturated than vivid and has a little bit more white light return, while vivid has a bit more blue color.

''Fancy deep blue'' is more saturated than a ''fancy vivid blue'', and could probably be described as a navy blue. Starting with this color, the diamond starts to lose the white sparkle that most people expect a diamond to have. While it still has the same technical brilliance and scintillation as any other color, and is pretty in its own right, all of the light returned is deep blue, so it doesn''t appear as brilliant as a lighter shade, which returns more white and lighter blue colored light.

''Fancy dark blue'' is the darkest shade. It could probably be considered midnight blue, and has a lot of black in it, with little brilliance. ''Fancy dark blue'' is probably the closest color comparison to a sapphire.

Knowing all of that, each diamond will look a little more or less saturated in daily wear depending on the environment and lighting conditions. Also, the color range is a smooth gradient while grading the color is subjective with defined categories, so there may be cases where for example, a ''fancy intense blue'' could be the same color or slightly lighter than a ''fancy blue'', depending on who grades it, when and other circumstances.

With all as-grown blue diamonds, the color is a pure blue with no green or violet undertones. The color comes from boron being trapped in the diamond lattice and is a very natural looking color. Treated blue diamonds also exist and come from off-white mined diamonds. These treated blues normally have a neon tone and usually some teal or green color in them.

Below is a picture showing the most common blue shades next to each other. Each diamond is unique and will obviously sparkle in person making it look different than a static photo, but hopefully this information can point you in the right direction.

FYI, I believe the diamond in your photo is a fancy vivid blue.

 

[elle_chris]

Can''t help you but I do love the color of the stone in the pic you posted.

The only ones I''ve seen in person are the irridated diamonds and they look very fake to me and not quite blue..
Didn''t realize you can get a blue diamond in the colors Eric posted unless they were mined.

I''m also working on a project (right hand ring), and thought about getting another white diamond. But now I''m curious about these blues.
Eric, is there any way you can post some real pictures showig the different blue colors? (not the glam shots) Like on a neutral background, or on someone''s hand? As I''m in NY, I can''t get out to your store

 

[EEFranklin]

Elle,

IMHO, the as-grown blues are much better looking than irradiated blues (of course I am biased though). For those that don''t know, irradiated blues are usually off-white mined diamonds treated to make them blue. The color is usually a neon greenish blue, while as-grown blues have no green and are a very natural looking color.

The ''glam'' shots do a pretty good job of representing the in-person color, though you are right, they are staged shots with a specific photo setup. I''ll see if I can find any other pictures. I should probably find an irradiated blue to make a comparison photo too.

 

[EEFranklin]

This picture, while still shot in our setup, may give some perspective. It is a 0.84ct fancy vivid blue radiant cut.

 

[elle_chris]

Date: 3/4/2010 2:36:00 PM
Author: EEFranklin
This picture, while still shot in our setup, may give some perspective. It is a 0.84ct fancy vivid blue radiant cut.

THAT IS GORGEOUS! The color looks identical to the pictures I''ve seen of mined blues. Thank you. More pics please

But yeah, the irridated ones I''ve seen are always greenish and too dark. Not sure why they call them blue.

 

[EEFranklin]

A couple more pictures, hopefully more ''real''. The same 0.75ct fancy vivid blue shot on black, white, a hand and a candle.

 

[periwinklegirl]

Thanks so much Eric. Based on your advice (and pics!), we''ve decided to go with fancy vivid blue.

 

[periwinklegirl]

The irradiated ones really don''t look good. I actually ordered one on Overstock so I could see them in person. They are dark, opaque (ie. don''t let the light in) and don''t look nice at all. Plus kind of teal-coloured.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 3/15/2010 3:37:56 PM
Author: periwinklegirl
The irradiated ones really don''t look good. I actually ordered one on Overstock so I could see them in person. They are dark, opaque (ie. don''t let the light in) and don''t look nice at all. Plus kind of teal-coloured.

There are different quality levels of irradiated diamonds, just as there are for any kind of gemstone. If you search for irradiated blue diamond asscher here on PS, you will see a remarkably clean one as someone''s engagement ring. It looks a lot like the color of a swimming pool or a Swiss blue topaz.

 

[FrekeChild]

Here you go.

Link

 

[anni02b]

this is my first time as well but would like to know more about the blue diamonds.

 

[AprilBaby]

Very Beautiful stones!

 

[Rock of Luv]

Periwinklegirl Did you get the stone/ring? Can you please post some pics of it?

 

[periwinklegirl]

Sure. I will post some when I get it. We just ordered it. In the end I went with intense blue in a halo setting.

 

[periwinklegirl]

Here it is! I'm picking it up next week, but here's the pic Eric sent me. He's been great. If any of you are considering a lab grown diamond, I strongly encourage you to go with D.NEA!

BTW, it's a fancy intense blue, just under 3/4 carat.

 

[periwinklegirl]

So now I have it in person. It's totally beautiful and the photo I posted doesn't do it justice at all.

This is the first coloured diamond I've met in person, so to speak, and I learned something interesting: the colour looks different depending on the type of light. Lighter blue in daylight (no sun) or fluorescent light, much darker in sunlight or incandescent light. And it changes depending on the angle of the sunlight too.

And it's really true that natural coloured blue diamonds, as opposed to irradiated, are really steel blue rather than another shade.

My partner and I both really love it!

When I have a free afternoon, I'll work on taking some hand shots. I'm beginning to understand how difficult it is to capture the how beautiful fancy coloured are in real life.

 

[stone-cold11]

Pics please... :p

 

[periwinklegirl]

I finally had a chance to take some pics, so here they are.

This captures one of it's blue moods. In this close up, you can see the inclusion (makes it SI3). But it really is eye-clean in person.

 

[periwinklegirl]

And here it is in the sun, where it looks darker.

 

[periwinklegirl]

And here's a handshot.

 

[periwinklegirl]

And one last one in the sun.

 

[EEFranklin]

I'm clearly biased, but I think it's gorgeous!

P.S. I love your signature.

 

[periwinklegirl]

Thanks again, Eric. You're allowed to be biased, without you, I wouldn't have it! I do get compliments all the time. And this seems to be a popular thread.

I did my best to show how good it looks in regular photos. But there's no way to capture the fire. For all those of you who wonder about how coloured diamonds look in real life as opposed to glamour shots, all I can say is, even better!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Re:

The irradiated ones really don''t look good. I actually ordered one on Overstock so I could see them in person. They are dark, opaque (ie. don''t let the light in) and don''t look nice at all. Plus kind of teal-coloured.

The problem with many irradiated is the wource material is brown goods that still show some of the brown color.

Your ring looks fab!

 

[periwinklegirl]

Here's a better pic! I've gotten better at photographing fcds with my iPhone.

 

[periwinklegirl]

And here it is with its pear friends. Eventually I'll have it reset into a three stone!