Will a faint green diamond have any noticeable hue once set?

[diamondhoarder]

I am considering buying a faint green round brilliant diamond with strong blue fluorescence. It has some yellow and some grey to the body color, and from the side view it looks very tinted. In the video of the diamond the color is quite noticeable face up too, but I'm wondering if it will be in real life, as I have noticed comments from people on PS that faint hues are rarely that noticeable once set. With the diamond being round brilliant, and with the strong blue fluorescence, I am wondering if it will just end up facing up white? I was thinking of a rose setting for it, as maybe the contrast with the pink hue of the gold may make the green show up more. But if "faint" is really too faint to show up in real life I'll probably skip the green idea and just go for near colorless.

Does anyone own a faint green or other light green diamond? If so, how did you set it, and how noticeable is the color to your eyes?

Any photos would be great!

 

[kenny]

Re: Will a faint green diamond have any noticeable hue once

Is it graded by GIA as a Fancy Colored Diamond?
Or is it graded by GIA as a white diamond on their D-Z scale yet appears to have a whiff of green or is green mentioned on the report?
Was it graded by another lab?
Is it ungraded, but the seller is calling it green?

If GIA graded it Faint, then the color is extremely, well, faint.
Judging from the Faint FCDs I've seen nobody would guess it was green unless I told them and they held it just at the right angle under just the right lighting.

You asked for photos but keep in mind their limitations.
Though cool to look at they won't help you learn or judge anything, especially since you are asking about diamonds with faint color.
PS is chock full of pics of DEF diamonds that are all over the map, from blueish to yellowish.
There are too many things that distort what you see on your screen and the diamond itself is a mirror reflecting the colors it sees in its environment.
We all believe pics, but we shouldn't.

The most believable photos are taken in a white light box with soft even directionless lighting using a camera that was correctly white-balanced.
Few people bother with all that.

Chances are the video you saw was shot in a white light box so the only color visible would be the body color itself.
So, it's not that setting a diamond makes the color go away.
It's that it's no longer in a light box so it's reflecting the environment which has much stronger color than the faint body color.

 

[diamondhoarder]

Re: Will a faint green diamond have any noticeable hue once

Is it graded by GIA as a Fancy Colored Diamond?
Or is it graded by GIA as a white diamond on their D-Z scale yet appears to have a whiff of green or is green mentioned on the report?
Was it graded by another lab?
Is it ungraded, but the seller is calling it green?

If GIA graded it Faint, then the color is extremely, well, faint.
Judging from the Faint FCDs I've seen nobody would guess it was green unless I told them and they held it just at the right angle under just the right lighting.

You asked for photos but keep in mind their limitations.
Though cool to look at they won't help you learn or judge anything, especially since you are asking about diamonds with faint color.
PS is chock full of pics of DEF diamonds that are all over the map, from blueish to yellowish.
There are too many things that distort what you see on your screen and the diamond itself is a mirror reflecting the colors it sees in its environment.
We all believe pics, but we shouldn't.

The most believable photos are taken in a white light box with soft even directionless lighting using a camera that was correctly white-balanced.
Few people bother with all that.

Chances are the video you saw was shot in a white light box so the only color visible would be the body color itself.
So, it's not that setting a diamond makes the color go away.
It's that it's no longer in a light box so it's reflecting the environment which has much stronger color than the faint body color.

Kenny - thanks for your reply. I have admired your collection of FCD's on PS and its great to hear your feedback.

Yes, it is GIA certed and the cert says "faint yellow-green". It also has strong blue fluoro, although I'm not sure how this would effect the color if at all. There is a video, but no chance of an in-person gemmologist inspection so comment on the color or the fluoro.

In its favour is that it looks to be nicely cut and is very appealing in the video. But as you say, faint colors often don't really show that well. I saw a GIA graded rb faint pink and it took me ages to even realise that there was pink going on in the diamond at all. Would bezel setting improve the concentration of color do you think?

I love the diamond based on the video, but if its not going to look remotely green in real life then I'd rather give it a miss. (Particularly as it will cost me international shipping and customs to inspect it in person).

Here is the link to the video

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/fancy-color/green/round-cut/0.50-carat-vs2-clarity-sku-888291

Do you think that the green color showing up in the video is more down to the white light balance being off as you mentioned in your post?

 

[nojs]

Re: Will a faint green diamond have any noticeable hue once

Did you buy it? It is sold.

 

[kenny]

Re: Will a faint green diamond have any noticeable hue once

Kenny - thanks for your reply. I have admired your collection of FCD's on PS and its great to hear your feedback.

Thanks.

Yes, it is GIA certed and the cert says "faint yellow-green". It also has strong blue fluoro, although I'm not sure how this would effect the color if at all.

Fortunately yellow and blue mix to become green (at least when mixing pigments though mixing light may differ) so under light with strong UV content, like sunlight, the blue fluor may make the Yellow-Green look more Green.

In its favour is that it looks to be nicely cut and is very appealing in the video.

I agree, especially for an FCD.
63.5% is deep for a round, but that strengthens the color by increasing the amount of colored body material that the light must pass through.

But as you say, faint colors often don't really show that well. I saw a GIA graded rb faint pink and it took me ages to even realise that there was pink going on in the diamond at all. Would bezel setting improve the concentration of color do you think?

I don't know but I doubt it.
I've never set an FCD, so I've not looked into it too much.

But since the color is most noticeable in the side view I would not put it in a bezel setting which blocks more of that view.
I'd put it in a tension setting which reveals more side view than any other setting.

I love the diamond based on the video, but if its not going to look remotely green in real life then I'd rather give it a miss. (Particularly as it will cost me international shipping and customs to inspect it in person).

I can't answer that but, but if I were myself faced with that decision I'd pass ... but then I go for Intense, Vivid and Deep FCDs of a few points.
I'd get you to buy a 5-point Fancy Intense Green for the budget. ... so don't ask me.

Do you think that the green color showing up in the video is more down to the white light balance being off as you mentioned in your post?

The background looks neutral gray/white on my monitor so the white balance is good.
That's why I do believe the color James Allen's photographer has captured.
I see what you mean about seeing gray, but then GIA is the final word on hue and they did not not add a third modifier of gray so that may be an photographic artifact.

This is a real fully natural Green diamond per GIA.
That means something ... well, at least to people to whom it means something.

But at the Faint level of color don't expect people to come up to you and say, "OMG, I love your Green diamond."
Only you will derive pleasure from knowing what it is and its rarity.
That may be enough for you ... it may not.

If you prefer a fully natural FCD that boldly blurts out, "GREEN" you'll have to go down in size or up the budget.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

Re: Will a faint green diamond have any noticeable hue once

Great info in this thread!