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Which would you chose? Color vs size?

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diamondlove123

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 28, 2016
Messages
231
hi, so most of my friends considered crazy that I am even entertaining the thoughts of another ering. I already have one round that is 8.25mm in a halo but I have been obsessed over a larger round (I am willing to go down in color). I used to think it has to stop at J but I have seen some Ks that do not look that much different than Ks and can be super great "value". Between these two, which one would you chose and why. The K is 1K more expensive.

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I like J combined with strong blue fluorescence but would definitely want to see the stone live before committing because of the inclusions
 
Thank you. Why do you like the J? I have seen both in person but having a hard time deciding. I like the spread of the K to see visually a difference by going larger but I am not sure if I should sacrificing color for size.... although I did not see much difference in color in person. Is there a difference in terms of cut between the two?
 
For reference, this is the comparison for size. Not great picture but gives you an idea. They both face up quite white actually.

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I like the 34.5 CA on the J, and the fact that it has fluorescence which will help it look whiter
 
I prefer the K bc the cut on the stone looks nicer. The hearts on the J probably have more unevenness which are causing the differences in the arrow shafts. I also think the K would be more eye clean and it seems like you really want the size. They both look huge and very white face up!!
 
Thank you ac117! When I spoke to the gemologists, they also recommend the K but I am just trying to ensure that I am not just finding a reason to want bigger and trying to be objective with what is a better stone. I respect this community's view so I thought I turn here for additional feedback. Anyone have differing view or similar views with ac117 is appreciated. It is such a big purchase so I wanted to make sure I consider all angles.
 
I'll just say that most people will be able to see the tint in a K. i wouldn't go lower than J, but I also wouldn't consider SI2 in a 3 ct stone, either. Both stones have additional clouds not shown and that definitely can have an effect on the diamond's performance. Have you had the stones in your home with artificial lighting and various environmental colors? Because everything looks white under jewelry store lighting.
 
Diamondseeker thanks for the input. I have not had the diamond at home and I need to decide to proceed with one before I can inspect under all lighting conditions. Your post makes me second guess the K now. I thought I wanted the J but the K just shined more... I don't know. So confused. Since this is a 3rd diamond (so embarrassed to even say it), my budget is 23k max. Do you think you can find something better? I love the K size but I am not sure if K is the way to go.... maybe it's more of an mindclean problem too since it's outside of the near colorless range. Would there be a much color difference between J and K as I don't think my budget allows for higher color. I also have a D stone already so I have that color craving satisfied and am looking for cut and size this time around.
 
Table size, inclusion map, size difference. Something looks odd for me.

Please correct me if I am wrong.
 
What do you mean? The first picture which is the K color correlates to the second GIA report. Sorry if that was confusing. Does it still look odd to you? Please let me know.
 
Now that I realized that I posted the pictures and the gia report not in the same order, please tell me which one you think has better cut? The first picture is the pic of the K and the second is the J.
Thank you!
Ac117, did you mean that the second picture (which is the J has better cut?)
 
I never meant to cause any confusion. I just noticed things aren't matching well.

It is always important to check all photos and documents are of the same diamond presented to you.
It is actually not uncommon for vendors providing wrong reports and photos. In rare cases, they ship wrong diamonds.

Never hurt to be cautious, especially when you spend 25k.

I am still puzzled. If the first diamond is the K, what is the black inclusion??
 
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If I had to judge based only on the picture of two diamonds, I would choose whatever is at the bottom. IRL, I would look at it in all kinds of lighting, use a little ASET, and see which one you just LIKE more, for whatever reason. If you don't have OCD issues, go with your eyes.
 
Flyingpig, that's a good point. The gia report does not have the black inclusion but the picture does. I will ask the vendor again but I do see the other inclusions on the side of the stone... but I will ask.
LLJsmom, thanks for the input. Do you think the bottom stone has better cut than the top stone? In real life, they look very similar and the difference I see is size but since I know the color difference, I feel that my mind is fighting with my eyes, if that make any sense.
 
Yes, I like the second picture better and I thought that was the K since the second GIA report has the crystal and to me it seemed like that would be the first pic. You should double check...
 
diamondlove123 said:
Flyingpig, that's a good point. The gia report does not have the black inclusion but the picture does. I will ask the vendor again but I do see the other inclusions on the side of the stone... but I will ask.
LLJsmom, thanks for the input. Do you think the bottom stone has better cut than the top stone? In real life, they look very similar and the difference I see is size but since I know the color difference, I feel that my mind is fighting with my eyes, if that make any sense.
Click to expand...

Yes, only by the picture. But I feel like I see the size difference clearly, and the color difference. That may only be the angle and tilt of the stone. I cannot definitively say which is better. The lower stone looks bigger and whiter. I'm referring to the pic of the stones on your hand. Are you just having mental issues with choosing a K over a J? I know all about that. I am still of the opinion that you need to trust your eyes rather than the fact that J comes before K in the alphabet. I went from an F MRB to a K OEC. I still find it hard to believe that I have a K. It looks whiter and livelier than my F did most of the time. Go figure. I am glad I trusted my eyes rather than a letter on a piece of paper. But, if anyone gave me an H or I beautifully cut OEC, I would not kick it out of bed! :lol-2:
 
If the other 2 C's are equal, I would go down to H/I and get a bigger stone for a MRB.

DK :))
 
Dk168, what do you mean going down to H/I? Do you mean go up in color as these stones are already lower in color at J/K.
LLJsmom, that's exactly the issue I have which is knowingly chose a lower color for size as I see a lot of size difference and not so much of color difference in real life. But then again, they may have showed me the wrong report so I will ask today and will let you all know. Thank you for all your input and sharing your views.
 
Apology for not reading the OP properly, and responded with my own general approach to buying a MRB, as in giving cut the highest priority, eye clean clarity may be down to SI1, colour H/I in order to get the biggest carat size.

DK :))
 
diamondlove123 said:
Dk168, what do you mean going down to H/I? Do you mean go up in color as these stones are already lower in color at J/K.
LLJsmom, that's exactly the issue I have which is knowingly chose a lower color for size as I see a lot of size difference and not so much of color difference in real life. But then again, they may have showed me the wrong report so I will ask today and will let you all know. Thank you for all your input and sharing your views.
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DL, it's hard to explain with diamonds sometimes. If you have compared irl just trust your eyes, and be sure you have the right GIA. ;)
 
I posted this in the wrong thread so posting it here.
So I have asked the vendor and for the K, because the inclusion is actually part of the twinning wisp, the report shows just the twining wisps since there are lots of those.... I love the size of the K but in the end, in my mind, I could not get passed the K color. Also, in the showroom, born stone looks similar in terms of color but I feel that is deceiving because J is a higher color and has strong flourescence and seems slightly better cut so all in, it would appear whiter in other situations. Plus it's slightly cheaper than the K. I could only chose 1 to have it shipped so in the end, I selected the J. I hope when I get it, it's a good choice. Does anyone have any picture of a 9.5mm solitaire for me to see? Do you think there's a large difference between the 9.5 and 9.8mm? Decisions decisions. I feel rediculous to even be thinking about it this much.
 
Hmm, there are several people here with rings in the 3 ct range. I am not sure about 9.5mm specifically, though. If you go to this thread (and I suggest starting at the end and go backwards), you'll find diamonds close to the size you are looking at. Then click the posters name under their avatar picture or do a search for their name and click on the threads started by that person. If you can find their Show Me the Bling threads, you should find the stone measurements and probably hand pictures.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/please-show-me-your-rings-w-3ct-centers.27384/page-20
 
Color vs. size. Which would I buy?

Higher color in lower carat weight.
But why ask?
All that matter is what YOU'd buy.

Even if 99% vote one way you may be in the 1% ... and being in the majority is not better than being in the minority.
 
I just got these pictures today from WF. Here's a 3.3 I VS2 versus a 3.5 I VS1.
The 3.3 is about 9.5 mm and the 3.5 is about 9.8 mm.

Last picture is of the 3.3 I next to the 3.5 I and a 3.5 J.

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IMG_4754.JPG

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Kayla, thank you for this! This is helpful.
 
Kayla, I read your posts and it's exactly the same situation. So do you like the size more than offset with the body color annoyance? i am actually still torn, I was going to get the 3.5 and set it in yellow gold but then I wonder if I will see body color all the time, all the situations. Are you going to keep your J and not get a smaller I? Sorry too many questions, I just realized I found someone in similar situation so just need to ask. Thanks again for all the infos. Would appreciate your thinking/insights so I can reflect on mine. I am normallh very decisive, just when it comes to diamonds I just always wonder if it's the best choice.
 
diamondlove123 said:
Kayla, I read your posts and it's exactly the same situation. So do you like the size more than offset with the body color annoyance? i am actually still torn, I was going to get the 3.5 and set it in yellow gold but then I wonder if I will see body color all the time, all the situations. Are you going to keep your J and not get a smaller I? Sorry too many questions, I just realized I found someone in similar situation so just need to ask. Thanks again for all the infos. Would appreciate your thinking/insights so I can reflect on mine. I am normallh very decisive, just when it comes to diamonds I just always wonder if it's the best choice.
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Hi,
I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. My goal when I decided to upgrade was to get a 3 carat and now after having the 3.5 J, I I can say I love the size, but I could see where it might be too big! But I have other rings so I can always wear something smaller depending on the occasion. I'm happy with clarity in both diamonds, so it's really a matter of the color and how much it bugs me. And of course, how much more it's going to cost me!! The 3.5 I VS1 is about another $12.5k and the 3.3 I VS2 is another $3.5k ( I think). I'm still waiting on WF to give me numbers. I don't think it's worth it to pay that much more for the 3.5 I, but I think it might be worth it to pay for the 3.3 I, bc it will give me peace of mind.
I had to send my J back bc the setting was crooked anyway and while it was there I asked for the comparison pictures of all three. I'm going to post pictures of both the 3.5's next to each other so you can see. I definitely think my J looks better in both pictures.
I showed the J to a few people in real life and no one told me they noticed color but I could definitely see some tint from the side. But again, I would probably see tint with an I as well bc I could see it sometimes with my H that I returned.
It also depends on your setting. I'm going to have a setting made that hides some body color so hopefully the tint won't bother me as much.
I honestly think if you get all yellow gold your diamond will pick up the yellow and look more yellow. I would stay with white gold or platinum for the prongs at least.
If I had to pick from your two pictures above. Just going by the pictures bc I haven't looked at the numbers, I would pick the second diamond. It looks crisper to me.

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Diamondlove123...here is a relative size difference between a 9.5 and a 9.8 on a size 6 1/2 finger.
(I had to mess with the carat size to get the right l/w on the stones so ignore carat size) 9.5 on left/9.8 on right
2 carat comp.PNG
 
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