Yellow diamond information

[divergrrl]

Happy Holidays!

I recently fell in love with yellow diamonds, and think it would be a nice stone to have in a cocktail ring for my right hand! What is the difference in a yellow diamond vs. a white in regards to pricing, and what should one look for when shopping for one.

I do avoid malls & B&M stores when it comes to jewelry, and plan on buying the stone loose before designing the setting. (something like the Michael B Trois setting)

I am also interested in an oval shape between .80 to 1.25 carats.


Thanks!

 

[mike04456]

I'll let the appraisers speak to the cost issues, but I believe, in general, that yellow diamonds tend to be cheaper than colorless in the fainter color ranges but more expensive as the color gets more saturated.

With colored diamonds, the most important value factor is the color. Cut is less important because most colored diamonds are cut to intensify the color rather than for maximum brilliance.

One thing you should be aware of is that treated color diamonds are getting increasingly common in the market. For this reason, you *absolutely* need a grading report from one of the major labs stating whether the color is natural or enhanced. It's usually possible to detect such enhancements, but it requires some sophisticated equipment and experience in detection that your average jewelry store gemologist doesn't possess. That they *think* the color is natural doesn't mean squat if they don't have a report on it.

Of course, if having enhanced color doesn't bother you, such diamonds do tend to be significantly cheaper than natural color diamonds. I believe you can buy such diamonds loose, but I don't know any manufacturers well enough to recommend one.

 

[StevL]

Just to add to a very good post........ most treated canary diamonds have a slight greenish or blue-ish tint to them. I'm not giving you an identifying trait, I'm just trying to make you aware of the slightly different look.

 

[mike04456]

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Just to add to a very good post........ most treated canary diamonds have a slight greenish or blue-ish tint to them. I'm not giving you an identifying trait, I'm just trying to make you aware of the slightly different look.
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That's something I've noticed as well, that most enhanced-color diamonds just "don't look right." The colors are often *way* too intense or just not natural-looking somehow, almost as if they've been dipped in vegetable dye.